Russell Investments launches Real Assets Portfolio for Canadian investors

TORONTO, May 22, 2013 /CNW/ - Russell Investments Canada Limited has launched the Russell Real Assets Portfolio for Canadian investors seeking diversification beyond traditional stocks and bonds, as well as increased exposure to potential global growth opportunities.

The new Portfolio complements Russell's existing suite of multi-asset solutions by offering investors an opportunity to invest in an actively managed, one-stop diversified fund that offers exposure to investments that until recently had been difficult for individual investors to access, such as infrastructure, real estate, commodities and real return bonds.

"Institutional investors have expanded their use of real assets as a source of potential yield enhancement as well as a way to diversify their portfolios," said David Feather, President and Chief Executive Officer, Russell Investments Canada. "Individual investors will have the opportunity to obtain similar benefits through the Russell Real Assets Portfolio."

"Real assets" are physical assets like land, bridges, gold and timber, which have an intrinsic value that comes from their properties or the worth of their components. This characteristic helps to reduce the volatility of these assets regardless of the market environment, which means real assets could react to market events in a very different manner than financial assets do, and can help provide investors with tangible diversification benefits beyond the traditional stocks and bonds that make up a typical investor's portfolio.

"Investors who are looking for alternatives to traditional stocks and bonds should consider investing in real assets," said Greg Nott, Chief Investment Officer for Russell Investments Canada. "An allocation to these asset classes can give investors a means to diversify their portfolios while also giving them exposure to some of the world's fastest-growing economies."

The new Russell Real Assets Portfolio includes an allocation to the following:

Russell Global Infrastructure Pool

The Russell Global Infrastructure Pool's objective is to provide long-term growth of capital and current income primarily through exposure to equity and fixed-income securities issued by companies that are involved in, or indirectly benefit from, the development, maintenance, servicing or management of infrastructure. The Pool is sub-advised by two experienced global infrastructure managers, each bringing complementary investment strategies. Colonial First State Asset Management Australia (Limited) is a specialized infrastructure manager with a slightly GARP (growth at a reasonable price) approach. Nuveen Asset Management focuses on companies that are not just in the traditional infrastructure sectors such as airports, ports, shipping, toll roads, pipelines and utilities, but also in public transportation, renewable energy and environmental services.

Russell Global Real Estate Pool

The Russell Global Real Estate Pool invests primarily in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and other REIT-like entities that own interests in real estate around the world, including retail, office, apartment, industrial, hotel and specialty property sectors. It is sub-advised by two experienced global real estate managers, each bringing complementary investment strategies. AEW Capital Management is a value-oriented investment manager that selects REITs it believes are mispriced relative to their peers. RREEF America selects real-estate securities after evaluating both external factors such as the business cycle and competitive environment as well as company-specific factors such as leverage, earnings growth and competitive position.

PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund

The PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund is expected to offer investors a cost-effective and convenient way to obtain exposure to commodity futures. It also earns interest income from United States Treasury bills and other high-quality short-term fixed income securities.

Real-Return Bonds (RRBs)

Real-Return Bonds (RRBs), which are also known as inflation-linked bonds or ILBs, provide investors in the Portfolio with a fixed-income component that is indexed to inflation. Both the principal and the interest payments of RRBs adjust to changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

About Russell Investments

Russell Investments (Russell) is a global asset manager and one of only a few firms that offers 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 market insights, manager research, portfolio construction, portfolio implementation and indexes.

Russell has  $176.3 billion in assets under management (as of 3/31/2013) and works with over 2,500 institutional clients, independent distribution partners and individual investors globally. As a consultant to some of the largest pools of capital in the world, Russell has $2.6 trillion in assets under advisement (as of 12/31/2012). It has four decades of experience researching and selecting investment managers and meets annually with more than 2,200 managers around the world. Russell traded more than $1.4 trillion in 2012 through its implementation services business. Russell also calculates approximately 700,000 benchmarks daily covering 98% of the investable market globally, which includes more than 80 countries and more than 10,000 securities. Approximately $4.1 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the Russell Indexes.

Russell is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA, and has offices around the world including Amsterdam, Auckland, Beijing, Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Melbourne, Milan, New York, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. For more information about how Russell helps to improve financial security for people, visit www.russell.com or follow @Russell_News.

Important information

Nothing in this publication 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. This information is made available on an "as is" basis. Russell Investments Canada Limited does not make any warranty or representation regarding the information.

Russell Investments and the Russell Investments logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Frank Russell Company, used under license by Russell Investments Canada Limited.

Russell Investments Canada Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Frank Russell Company and was established in 1985. Russell Investments Canada Limited and its affiliates, including Frank Russell Company, are collectively known as "Russell Investments".

Copyright © Russell Investments Canada Limited 2013. All rights reserved. This material is proprietary and may not be reproduced, transferred, or distributed in any form without prior written permission from Russell Investments.

SOURCE: Russell Investments Canada Limited

Rob Baird 
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Beja Rodeck
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Russell Investments
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