Australian Stock Exchange and Frank Russell introduce new stock indexes to measure Australian growth, value investment styles.

SYDNEY, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 20, 1996--Frank Russell Australia, in conjunction with the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), this week launched the first comprehensive stock indexes that measure the performance of different investment styles for the Australian stock market.

The six new ASX/Russell Style Indexes are designed to help investors evaluate their stock investments against meaningful growth and value benchmarks. Performance data (including history beginning with December 1990) is based on three existing market indexes, the ASX All Ordinaries(R), the ASX100(TM) and the ASX Small Ordinaries(TM). The Australian style indexes are ASX/Russell All Value(TM), ASX/Russell All Growth(TM), ASX/Russell Value 100(TM), ASX/Russell Growth 100(TM), ASX/Russell Small Value(TM) and ASX/Russell Small Growth(TM).

"These style indexes can allow investors a better understanding of performance and a more meaningful insight into the decisions being made by investment managers," said Paul Cheever, managing director of Frank Russell Australia. "The whole idea is to fill a gap in the performance evaluation process in the Australian equity market."

The Australian stock market is the 10th largest in the world and the third largest in the region, after Japan and Hong Kong.

Russell's research of investment managers shows that style can greatly affect equity returns. "Historical data from the ASX/Russell style indexes shows that value has outperformed growth by more than 8 percent per year during the past five years," said Cheever.

ASX Chairman Maurice Newman said, "Those of us who follow the market for a living are always looking for new tools to help us interpret the Australian market. The combination of Frank Russell's knowledge of value and growth methodology along with ASX's knowledge of the Australian marketplace and its extensive historical database has resulted in the development of these six new indexes to serve both Australian and international investors."

At present, most Australian fund sponsors rely on the All Ordinaries (Australia's broad-market index) to evaluate the performance of their Australian equities investment managers, regardless of the managers' investment styles. The ASX/Russell style indexes will allow fund sponsors to determine how much a specialized manager's performance is due to general style considerations or factors such as stock selection or sector allocation.

The ASX/Russell series of style indexes will encourage a better understanding of portfolio structure and investment manager style, offer a proven alternative to measuring the relative performance of growth and value investments, and raise awareness of different investment strategies in the Australian market.

The mission of the ASX is to provide the most internationally competitive and fair market for financial securities and derivatives to enhance Australia's position as a regional financial center.

Frank Russell Australia is a Sydney-based subsidiary of Frank Russell Co., one of the world's leading asset strategy consultants. Frank Russell Co. advises retirement plan sponsors and other institutional investors on combined assets of more than $600 billion worldwide. Russell also manages more than $26 billion globally in a series of multi-manager, multi-style funds. Founded in 1936, Frank Russell Co. is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington (USA), and has offices in Sydney, Auckland, Tokyo, New York, Toronto, London, Zurich and Paris.

Frank Russell Co., a Washington, USA corporation, operates through subsidiaries worldwide.

CONTACT: Chris Phillips or Sherry Wilson, 206/594-1858

Brent Carr, Sydney, 011-61-2-251-5244