Greenwich Study: Qualitative Factors Trump Performance in Money Manager Selection Russell most often ranked "Best in Class" by U.S. money managers Tacoma, WA — October 30, 2007 — In a recent survey conducted by Greenwich Associates, 75% of U.S. money managers surveyed cited qualitative factors such as philosophy, people and process, as being 'extremely important' to the manager evaluation process. In contrast, 51% cited quantitative information, such as performance and risk, as 'extremely important', giving qualitative factors a 50% margin. The study, which was commissioned by Russell Investments and independently conducted by Greenwich Associates, collected input from 112 domestic equity/fixed income and global equity/fixed income institutional money managers on two areas: the qualities and skills believed to be important to the manager research process, and ratings of manager research teams with which they interact. The survey participants were not informed of Russell's involvement. "The money managers we surveyed had clear and consistent views regardless of size or asset class. When evaluating and selecting a money manager, it is important to be adept at considering qualitative factors such as the underlying investment philosophy, the professionals involved and the consistency of the investment process. It is these characteristics that money managers believe should be considered during a comprehensive evaluation process," said Andrew Klebanow, a consultant with Greenwich Associates. When provided with a 10-member peer group list of firms that conduct manager research, money managers ranked Russell highest when asked to rate the firms on their qualitative research abilities. Moreover, when asked to "rank in order the top three firms that you consider 'Best in Class' in their ability to understand your investment capabilities," managers gave Russell the number one spot most often. "Russell is a world authority on the people who manage money; our relationships with some of the world's best money managers are highly valued by us and critical to the success of our business so we are gratified that these very people have concurred that we understand them the best," said Tom Hanly, Russell's chief investment officer. "We invest a substantial amount of resources in our global manager research function because we believe that finding some of the best money managers in the world is critical to helping individual and institutional investors reach their goals for financial security." Russell has researched money managers for more than 30 years and, through a proprietary process of objective analysis and face-to-face interviews, currently evaluates more than 2,500 traditional asset class managers and more than 2,100 alternative investments managers globally each year. "At a time when we are seeing the rise and widespread adoption of products such as target date funds and alternative investment strategies, understanding the managers behind these products and how they can best play a role in a portfolio is more critical than ever," said Mark Eibel, director, U.S. Equity Manager Research, Russell. "Our manager research helps institutional and individual investors and their advisors avoid the trap of relying on past performance; instead, we deliver insights that enable them to strategically put some of the best managers to work on their behalf." Methodology This Greenwich Associates research is based on 112 interviews completed with domestic equity/fixed income and global equity/fixed income institutional investment managers. Greenwich Associates compiled the target respondent list and participants were not informed of Russell's involvement. Interviews were conducted via the internet with follow up calls from January to April of 2007. About Russell: Russell Investments provides strategic advice, world-class implementation, state-of-the-art performance benchmarks and a range of institutional-quality investment products. With almost $231 billion in assets under management (as of 9/30/07), Russell serves individual, institutional and advisor clients in more than 40 countries. Russell provides access to some of the world's best money managers. It helps investors put this access to work in corporate defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and in the life savings of individual investors. 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, Sydney, Singapore, Auckland and Tokyo. About Greenwich Associates: Greenwich Associates is the leading global research-based consulting firm in institutional financial services. Greenwich's studies provide benefits to the buyers and sellers of financial services in the form of benchmark information on best practices and market intelligence on overall trends. Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, with additional offices in London, Toronto, and Tokyo, the firm offers over 100 research-based consulting programs to more than 250 global financial-services companies. Russell Contacts: Jennifer Tice, 253-439-2921 Kerstin Parkel, 718-875-2121 Greenwich Associate: Andrew Klebanow, 203-625-5189 RC#4784 First used: October 2007

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