Russell — J. Nicholas Georgis joins Individual Investor Services group (Russell.com)

Russell hires leading industry figure for new wealth management role
J. Nicholas Georgis joins Individual Investor Services group

TACOMA, Wash. — October 3, 2005 — Russell Investment Group announced that it has appointed J. Nicholas Georgis to the newly created position, managing director, wealth management, for its U.S. Individual Investor Services group. Georgis will be responsible for building and managing Russell's relationships with individual wealth managers, including independent registered investment advisors across the country. He will also join the Individual Investor Services senior management team, advising broadly on business, marketing, products and industry-relations issues, and will report directly to Greg Stark, managing director, Individual Investor Services.

"Nick brings powerful experience in executing advisor sales strategies, product development and relationship management in the independent space. He has a proven track record and is well known in the advisor community where he has made a demonstrable impact on many businesses," said Greg Stark. "As we pursue an aggressive growth trajectory in the wealth management space, Nick's experience will be invaluable. His reputation for integrity makes him an ideal addition to our existing team."

An industry veteran with more than 20 years experience, Georgis joins Russell after spending five years as senior vice president, national sales manager, Schwab Institutional. Reporting directly to the president, Georgis was instrumental in providing vision and strategic direction for Schwab Institutional during this period.

"Russell has a unique offering that I believe has particular relevance for the many issues advisors face while trying to build and run their businesses," said Georgis. "I am very excited to join the team and I feel there is enormous opportunity for Russell to deepen and create relationships that in turn allow advisors to compete more effectively."

Georgis initially joined Schwab Institutional in 1992 as a regional manager covering client acquisition and retention in the Greater San Francisco Bay region. From there, he held positions of increasing responsibility including vice president, general manager, Schwab Retirement Plan Services and vice president, western division sales manager, Schwab Institutional.

"Nick is one of the pioneers of the US independent advisory business and has shown a consistent ability to build evergreen relationships with clients and industry leaders alike," added Stark. "Russell's opportunities in wealth management are enormous and we believe we have a unique offering that puts us in a leadership position in this space. Nick's decision to join Russell is an important endorsement of our approach and we are very excited to welcome him to the team."

Prior to joining Schwab, Georgis was vice president, investments, at Wells Fargo Bank, where he was responsible for retirement planning and fixed income securities.

About Russell
Russell Investment Group, a global leader in multi-manager investment services, provides investment products and services in 39 countries. Russell manages more than $136 billion in assets for advisory clients as of June 30, 2005, and provides other financial services to clients worldwide representing more than $2.3 trillion. The company is one of the top five companies in DALBAR's 2004 Financial Professionals "General Opinion" survey and ranked second on the Great Place To Work Institute's 2004 list of Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America.

Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual and is headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., with additional offices in New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Auckland and Tokyo.

Contact:
Jennifer Tice: 253-439-2921
Kerstin Parkel: 718-875-2121

Russell Investment Group is a registered trade name of Frank Russell Company, a Washington, USA corporation, which operates through subsidiaries worldwide. Frank Russell Company is a subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Russell Fund Distributors, Inc., Member NASD

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