Will I outlive my money? Russell Investments Canada Limited launches Retirement Lifestyle Solution

New tool helps Canadian financial advisors achieve business scale, engage with clients and address investors'  concerns about generating sustainable retirement income

TORONTO, Oct. 7, 2014 /CNW/ - Russell Investments Canada Limited (Russell Canada) has launched the Russell Retirement Lifestyle Solution.™ This new program, available only through financial advisors, is designed to help Canadian pre-retirees and retirees address their most basic personal financial questions; do I have sufficient funds to finance my desired lifestyle in retirement and, if not, how can I take proactive steps to get there?

"With Canadian retirees set to outnumber youth for the very first time*, investors at or near retirement are asking for more advice and reassurance from their financial advisors that they are on track with their retirement savings. This presents a tremendous opportunity for advisors to have meaningful discussions with their clients in a very personal way," said David Feather, president and chief executive officer for Russell Canada. "Advisors and investors know there is no 'magic bullet' solution, but they aren't completely satisfied with the retirement income options currently available. We believe advisors will find the Russell Retirement Lifestyle Solution to be a unique and valuable program to help navigate the retirement process, deliver a customized solution and provide ongoing support to clients. It is about getting investors through, not just to, retirement."

The program features an innovative, online tool designed for advisors to use in the retirement planning process. The tool draws on a key concept of defined benefit pension plans – the funded ratio – to help determine whether investors 50 years of age and older will have enough money to meet their retirement income needs. And, depending on the determination, the tool recommends a suitable course of action.

The funded ratio is a financial health measure which evaluates an individual investor's "retirement readiness" by comparing assets to liabilities to determine a personal funded status. A funded ratio above 100% means the investor is generally on track to meet their retirement spending goals, while a funded ratio below 100% means the investor may need to contribute more money, adjust their asset allocation or make changes to their retirement plan.

The ultimate goal is to address the specific problem of providing consistent retirement income by determining a suitable investment allocation between growth, income and capital preservation in order to reduce the likelihood that the investor will run out of money. In developing the Russell Retirement Lifestyle Solution for Canadian financial advisors and investors, Russell Canada drew from proprietary research focused on advisors and clients and leveraged its more than 40 years experience applying strategic market insights, global money manager research and rigorous investment processes to create and implement multi-asset portfolios for large institutional investors.

"Retirement funding is a dynamic process that needs to be maintained pre and post retirement by advisors and their clients. All else being equal, the more relevant and simpler the solution the greater the probability that clients will actually use it to pursue their goals," added Keith Pangretitsch, director of national sales for Russell Canada. "Russell's solution serves that effort well and provides advisors with a comprehensive support program to help advisors engage clients in meaningful, productive conversations on these vital retirement questions."

For more information, call Russell Canada at 1-888-509.1792 or visit our website.

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. Russell stands with institutional investors, financial advisors and individuals working with their advisors—using the firm's core capabilities that extend across capital market insights, manager research, portfolio construction, portfolio implementation and indexes to help each achieve their desired investment outcomes.

Russell has more than $298.0 billion Cdn in assets under management (as of 6/30/2014) 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 $2.4 trillion in assets under advisement (as of 6/30/2013). 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 $1.6 trillion in 2013 through its implementation services business. Russell also calculates approximately 700,000 benchmarks daily covering 98% of the investable market globally, including more than 80 countries and more than 10,000 securities. Approximately $5.2 trillion in assets are benchmarked (as of 12/31/2013) to the Russell Indexes, which have provided investors with 30 years of smarter beta.

Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Russell operates globally, including through its offices in Seattle, New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, Toronto, Chicago, San Diego, Milwaukee and Edinburgh. For more information about how Russell helps to improve financial security for people, visit www.russell.com or follow @Russell_News.

Important Information

^*Source: Census of Canada 2011. "Youth" defined as 15-24 year old Canadians.

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 is a publication of Russell Investments Canada Limited and has been prepared solely for information purposes. It 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 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 2014. All rights reserved. This material is proprietary and may not be reproduced, transferred, or distributed in any form without prior written permission from Russell

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SOURCE: Russell Investments Canada Limited

Catherine Winchell, 416.640.6899; Beja Rodeck Communications, 905.885.5945