Russell Launches Global Equity Offering

March 5, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Russell Investment Group has launched a Global Equity Fund in the U.S., the company announced.

A Russell news release said the fund aims to provide investors with long-term capital growth by seeking the best equity investments around the world.

The multi-manager fund initially includes three managers, according to the announcement:

  • Altrinsic Global Advisors
  • ClariVest Asset Management
  • T. Rowe Price.  

The company also announced that the Global Equity Fund has been added as an underlying fund to Russell’s LifePoints Funds and its recommended asset allocated model strategies, to exploit the strategy and provide a source of additional diversification and potential returns without material increase in the active risk in the portfolios.

“By giving managers greater stock selection freedom, for example letting them buy the best auto stock in the world, not just the best in the U.S., we are aiming to provide a complementary source of potential return to investors who may be accustomed to regional funds in which managers focus on local markets. Moreover, we are able to provide greater overall diversification within a portfolio,” said Phil Hoffman, Russell portfolio manager, in the news release.

The company said that compared with Russell’s existing U.S. equity and non-U.S. equity funds, the new offering allows for greater country and sector tilts. It also holds relatively fewer stocks and this additional focus may be attractive to many investors.

“The emergence of global investment research processes based on cross-border security analysis is, in Russell’s view, among the most important developments in active management in recent years. Factors such as the globalization of markets, the convergence of national accounting rules, the spread of quantitative techniques and improvements in data disclosure and corporate governance have created new investment opportunities pursuing a wider range of styles and approaches,” said Tim Noonan, managing director, individual investor product and advice group, in the news release.

Further information is at www.russell.com .

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