Dubai 25th January 2012: The Russell Global Index reflected a return of (-7.7%) in 2011, relative to (-19.2%) for the Russell Emerging Markets Index and (-20.7%) for the Russell Frontier Index.

And within the Russell Frontier Index, for the Middle East countries, Qatar returned +7.2% in 2011, followed by Oman (-10.8%), Kuwait (-12.9%) and Bahrain (-27.0%).  Within the Russell Emerging Markets Index, the United Arab Emirates had a return of (-15.5%).

"Qatar appears to have benefitted from a number of positive factors in 2011, including increasing global demand for liquified natural gas and a relatively well-capitalized financial sector." said Stephen Wood, Russell Investments Chief Market Strategist. "These factors may have influenced the performance of the Qatar index within the Middle East."



Opinions expressed by Mr. Wood reflect market performance and observations as of January 17, 2012 and are subject to change at anytime based on market or other conditions without notice.  Please remember that past performance does not guarantee future performance.

The Russell Global Index includes more than 10,000 securities in 48 countries and covers 98% of the investable global market. All securities in the index are classified according to size, region, country and sector. Daily Returns for the main components are available here: http://www.russell.com/indexes/data/daily_total_returns_global.asp

Please note: Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly. Returns represent past performance, are not a guarantee of future performance, and are not indicative of any specific investment. Russell's publication of the Indexes or Index constituents in no way suggests or implies a representation or opinion by Russell as to the attractiveness of investing in a particular security. Inclusion of a security in an Index is not a promotion, sponsorship or endorsement of a security by Russell and Russell makes no representation, warranty or guarantee with respect to the performance of any security included in a Russell Index.

Russell Investment Group is a Washington, USA corporation, which operates through subsidiaries worldwide, including Russell Investments, and is a subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

CORP-7354

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About Russell Investments (Boiler plate)
Russell Investments (Russell) is a global asset manager and one of only a few firms that offer actively managed, multi-asset portfolios and services that include advice, investments and implementation. Working with institutional investors, financial advisors and individuals, Russell's core capabilities extend across capital markets insights, manager research, Indexes, portfolio implementation and portfolio construction.

Russell has over 30 years experience in the Middle East.  The firm won its first consulting client in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1975.  Since then it has had a long history of successful regional and local partnerships including Rayan Asset Management in the UAE, Jadwa Investment, the world-class investment bank specialising in innovative Shariah-compliant financial solutions in Saudi Arabia and the GCC, as well as the Tadawul, the Saudi Stock Exchange.

Russell has about $141 billion in assets under management (as of 12/31/11) and works with 2,300 institutional clients, 530 independent distribution partners and individual investors globally. As a consultant to some of the largest pools of capital in the world, Russell has $2 trillion in assets under advisement (as of 6/30/11). It has four decades of experience researching and selecting investment managers and meets annually with more than 3,000 managers around the world. Russell traded $1.5 trillion in 2010 through its implementation services business. The Russell Global Indexes calculate over 50,000 benchmarks daily covering 85 countries and more than 10,000 securities.

Russell is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA and has offices in Amsterdam, Auckland, Chicago, Dubai, Frankfurt, London, Melbourne, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. For more information about how Russell helps to improve financial security for people, visit www.russell.com.

Contacts:
Alex Jones
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aljones@russell.com

Mary Khamasmieh
M: Communications
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Email: khamasmieh@mcomgroup.com

© Press Release 2012