Asian Defensive Stocks Outperformed Their Dynamic Counterparts YTD in 2012 as of September 10th as Measured by the Russell Asia Pacific Index

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - September 14, 2012) - The Russell Asia Pacific Defensive Index returned +11.0% for the year-to-date as of September 10th, compared to a +4.4% return for the Russell Asia Pacific Dynamic Index for the same time period.

The spread between the performance of defensive and dynamic stocks in Asia was approximately 2% for the first half of 2012, with a +5.7% return for the Russell Asia Pacific Defensive Index compared to a +3.7% return for the Russell Asia Pacific Dynamic Index.

This spread has widened in the third quarter as of September 10th, as illustrated by a +5.0% return for the Russell Asia Pacific Defensive Index compared to a +0.7% return for the Russell Asia Pacific Dynamic Index for this time period.

"The risk-off stance has been rewarded YTD in 2012 by the market," said Sarah Lien, Asia-based senior research analyst for Russell Investments. "Defensive stocks have clearly been the better performers as investors watch the unfolding of macro-economic events in Europe, the US, and China. It will be interesting to watch how this trend continues to progress over the rest of the year."

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Russell Asia Pacific Index Returns

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                        First Half 2012  Third Qtr To Date  2012 YTD Returns

Index                       Returns       (as of 9/10/12)     (as of 9/10) 

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Russell Asia Pacific                                                        

Dynamic Index                 5.7%              5.0%             11.0%     

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Russell Asia Pacific                                                       

Defensive Index               3.7%              0.7%              4.4%     

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 benchmark 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

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