Farid Bedjaoui: Equity Managers are Less Bullish on Emerging Markets

DUBAI, UAE, April 26, 2011 - Manager bullishness for emerging market equities fell dramatically and
reached its lowest level since March 2009, according to the latest Investment
Manager Outlook, a quarterly survey of U.S. investment managers conducted by
Russell Investments. While 51 percent of managers responding to the survey
are still bullish on the asset class, this figure represents a significant
decline from the 71 percent who were bullish in the December 2010 iteration
of the survey. Non-U.S. (developed market) equities also saw a notable drop
in bullishness, decreasing 9 percentage points from the last survey to 49
percent.

"I believe the strong run in Emerging Markets equities may soon be over
and the time for profit-taking is now," said Farid Bedjaoui, founder of Rayan
Asset Management. Aware of the growth opportunities in the Middle East,
Russell has opted to partner with Rayan Asset Management to introduce
Russell's investment solutions to regional institutional investors looking to
diversity into global markets. Farid Bedjaoui has been advising Middle
Eastern investors for the last 10 years helping them build their
international investment portfolios.

Farid Bedjaoui goes on to say, "International investors are taking note
of the civil unrest in the Middle East and the impact of food inflation in
emerging economies, and some have concluded that this often volatile asset
class is less attractive than it once was."

In the latest survey, Russell asked managers whether concerns about
interest rate increases over the next 12 months are affecting their
investment decisions. Just over half (54 percent) say concerns regarding
interest rate increases are indeed impacting investment decisions. Of the
managers expressing concern, 30 percent say that they are increasing exposure
to equities or to other asset classes with attractive valuations. Another 29
percent say they are reducing their exposure to U.S. Treasuries, and 14
percent indicate they are reducing exposure to fixed income. "We might be
entering a new phase of rising interest rates and this is making many
investors nervous about the potential impact on markets," added Farid
Bedjaoui.

Russell's Investment Manager Outlook is an ongoing survey intended to
generate a meaningful snapshot of investment manager sentiment each quarter.
For the current installment of the survey, Russell collected the opinions of
180 U.S. senior-level investment decision makers at equity investment
management firms and fixed-income investment management firms. The survey was
fielded before the devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, and
so responses do not reflect the impact of this tragedy.

    For more information, please contact:

    Monika Magda
    Tel : +97143900100

.