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Launch of the Russell-Jadwa Shariah Indexes


London — June 24, 2009 — Russell Investments (Russell) and Jadwa Investment (Jadwa) today signed an agreement to launch a new Shariah compliant offering, the Russell-Jadwa Shariah Index family. The signing ceremony was attended by HRH Prince Faisal bin Salman, Chairman of Jadwa, Mr. Andrew Doman, President and CEO of Russell and senior managers of both companies.

Screened from the approximately 10,000 securities in the Russell Global Index universe, the Russell-Jadwa Index is expected to contain approximately 2,700 securities from over 60 countries. The new index family will be divisible by region, country, developed and emerging markets, capitalization size, sector, industry and style to provide fully modular benchmarks representing the comprehensive opportunity set within each segment.

Andrew Doman commented "The Jadwa team has earned a reputation for leading innovation across the Shariah compliant financial services industry and we are proud to be collaborating with them on this initiative.

"The last decade has witnessed growth for Islamic finance and Shariah-compliant funds. The Indexes we have built with Jadwa include securities from 62 countries, offering investors the most complete country coverage currently available. At the same time, we believe our screen offers strict Shariah compliance. Our methodology will filter out many more financial companies than our competitors for example," Doman added. "Our clients' have been demanding this robust approach and we expect $1 billion in assets to follow the new index family."

On this occasion, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, managing director & CEO of Jadwa Investment said: "We are very excited about the launch of the family of indexes with Russell. Russell is the acknowledged leader in this field and their indexes are widely used by investors and fund managers alike. Their methodology better suits the high expectations we have for Shariah compliant investment managers. The launch of these indexes strengthens our partnership with Russell which started with two multi manager Shariah compliant equity funds in 2007. We aim through this important project to provide a Shariah compliant investment product that meets the needs of the investors in the Islamic world."

Fadi Tabbara, Jadwa's head of asset management and CIO commented, "As managers of Shariah-compliant funds and discretionary accounts, we have often struggled to find benchmarks that would provide an appropriate comparison with peers and an accurate measurement of our performance. The Russell-Jadwa Shariah Index fills that void with its comprehensive universe, transparent methodology and its modular design offering unlimited divisibility."

The index will be approved and monitored by an independent Shariah board comprising of the following eminent scholars: Sheikh Dr. Abdullah Al Mutlaq (Chairman), Dr. Mohammed Daud Bakar (Member), Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Ali Elgari (Member) and Shaikh Esam Mohammed Ishaq (Member). Specific sector and financial-based filters will be applied to exclude businesses that offer products and services which are considered unacceptable or non-compliant according to Shariah law.

The Russell-Jadwa Shariah Index will be available mid-summer.

About Russell
Russell Investments is a global investment company with $136 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2009. Russell serves individual, institutional and advisor clients in more than 40 countries and provides investment solutions including mutual funds, retirement investments, institutional asset management, implementation services and global stock market indexes. Russell is world-renowned for its depth of manager research, quality of manager selection and access to some of the world's leading investment managers. It helps investors of all sizes put this access to work in corporate defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and in the life savings of individual investors.

About Jadwa
Jadwa Investment is a Saudi company regulated by the Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority and offers a complete range of Shariah-compliant investment services. Jadwa's vision is to be a world-class investment bank rooted in Islamic values and committed to providing customized shariah-based financial solutions to institutional and individual investors. The company has carved a niche as a specialist in the Saudi and GCC markets, winning multiple awards including 'best private equity house' (PEW MENA) and for the most 'innovative financial deal of 2008' (EuroMoney 2008). Globally, it has forged strategic alliances with leading investment companies, none more important than including a joint venture with Russell Investments for offering shariah-compliant funds and services.

Contact:
Steve Claiborne, 253-439-1858




Russell Investments is the owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes, including the Russell-Jadwa Shariah Index.

Russell's indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly.

Nothing contained in this material is intended to constitute legal, tax, securities, or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, nor a solicitation of any type. The general information contained in this publication should not be acted upon without obtaining specific legal, tax, and investment advice from a licensed professional.

Forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update publicly such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The forward-looking statements are qualified by certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from what is contemplated by the forward-looking statements.

This is not an offer, solicitation or recommendation to purchase any security or the services of any organization.

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