The Financial Times Honors Russell Investments for Outstanding Client Solutions and Industry Leadership

Russell Investments was named Top Service Provider of the Year for Outsourced Solutions. Zach Buchwald and Kate El-Hillow also received awards for top CEO and CIO, respectively.

SEATTLE, 2026-10-20 – The Financial Times has named Russell Investments Top Service Provider of the Year for Outsourced Solutions at its Asset Management STAR Awards North America. The Financial Times also named Russell Investments Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Zach Buchwald as Investment Manager CEO of the Year, and President and Chief Investment Officer Kate El-Hillow as Investment Manager CIO of the Year.

Russell Investments is a global investment solutions partner serving institutional investors, financial advisers and individual investors. The firm has been an innovator in asset management and investment consulting since 1936, helping to pioneer multi-manager investing and the outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) model. Over the past three years, the firm’s assets under management have grown from $280 billion to $434 billion.

“These awards belong to everyone at Russell Investments. For 90 years, we’ve innovated portfolios to help more people achieve financial security, and we’re proud of what we’ve built together with our clients. But our ambitions for the future are even bigger. We want to bring the benefits of great investing to those who haven’t always had access," said Zach Buchwald, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Russell Investments.

Tailored investment solutions for institutional clients

Russell Investments’ outsourced solutions span the full spectrum, from investment consulting and strategic advice to implementation and full-discretion OCIO. The firm tailors the mix of support and discretion to each client’s needs, drawing selectively on its open-architecture investment toolkit. Across industries, investment structures and markets, each partnership is built around the client—not a one-size-fits-all program.

“Our clients support a wide range of missions, across retirement, healthcare, higher education and more, and each has distinct investment goals, structures and resources. Our flexible solutions let us shape the outsourcing partnership around what each organization is working to achieve, whether that calls for a full OCIO relationship or focused support in specific areas. By bringing the right mix of investment expertise and execution skills, we help clients make progress on their priorities with confidence,” said Lindy Freeman, Global Head of Institutional at Russell Investments.

Russell Investments has been a pioneer in institutional investing since 1969, and the firm ranks among the top four global OCIO managers.1 Its Customized Portfolio Solutions complement its investment capabilities with execution services that help clients translate strategies into practice.

A global perspective to mobilize bottom-up conviction for all clients

Russell Investments' open-architecture approach is unique in the industry, wherein the firm seeks to build portfolios using strategies from across the industry with best-of-breed providers in every segment, rather than guiding clients to a largely proprietary approach.

As President and Chief Investment Officer, Kate El-Hillow oversees all aspects of the investment division, including asset management, implementation and research. The firm’s global investment platform combines manager research, portfolio construction and trading capabilities to build portfolios around client goals, drawing on active, passive, traditional and alternative investments.

In 2026, El-Hillow introduced Five Forces Actively Changing Portfolios, an investment framework examining how AI, evolving diversification, the convergence of public and private markets, expanded retail participation in markets and geopolitics are changing how investors build portfolios. She has shared these insights at client conferences worldwide, helping investors assess the implications for long-term investment strategies.

"The best investment strategies and organizations take a long-term view while continuing to evolve. That's what I value about our investment platform. We've spent decades researching managers, building portfolios and developing the tools to implement them. As CIO, I get to bring all of that together, while pushing our research and investment process forward to better serve our clients," said Kate El-Hillow, President and Chief Investment Officer of Russell Investments.

1 Russell Investments ranked fourth by OCIO assets under management (AUM) in Charles Skorina & Company’s “OCIO Directory Summer 2026,” based on AUM as of December 31, 2025. We paid this publication a fee for licensing and usage rights of the directory.

About Russell Investments

Russell Investments is a global investment solutions partner serving institutional investors, financial intermediaries and individual investors around the world. Since 1936, the firm has worked to make financial security more achievable for investors. Russell Investments had $434 billion in assets under management as of 09/30/2026. The firm serves clients in 31 countries, has offices in 17 cities worldwide, and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

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First used: July 2026 A-00142