SEATTLE, October 7, 2020 — Russell Investments has expanded its team of investment professionals to support the design, construction and management of the firm’s recently announced Personalized Managed Accounts (PMA).

• Michael Yip has joined Russell Investments as a senior portfolio manager. He has 15 years of industry experience. Most recently he served as Director, Portfolio Management at Parametric Portfolio Associates, where he was responsible for managing taxable and tax exempt separately managed accounts (SMA) and unified managed account (UMA) portfolios for institutional and high net worth clients.
• Wei Su, will bolster Russell Investments’ research team, taking on the role of senior quantitative research analyst. He has 14 years of industry experience including roles as a quantitative research analyst at True Arrow Capital Management and as a portfolio manager at Fuller & Thaler Asset Management. Su holds a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of California, Los Angeles.

They have joined a robust team of investment professionals, who along with associates in the financial advisor business solutions group and other specialists across the firm, have united to launch Russell Investments’ PMA solutions during the fourth quarter.

“Michael and Wei bring a successful track record of direct experience to our PMA team,” said Brad Jung, Head of North America Advisor and Intermediary Solutions at Russell Investments. “We’re firing on all cylinders as we move towards the launch our PMA engine which aims to deliver custom diversified portfolios for advisors utilizing multiple SMA strategies. We know the future of product evolution will depend on how we can continue to personalize the investment experience.”

As announced in August, Russell Investments’ PMAs will initially feature six tax-managed SMAs that leverage technology to help meet both growth and optimal after-tax outcomes. These distinctive solutions will include three actively managed equity SMAs, two direct-indexed SMAs and a core equity SMA, which combines active and lower-cost direct indexing strategies. Each will provide financial advisors with the opportunity to customize their high-net-worth investors’ portfolios to individual preferences.

The firm’s PMA solutions will feature dedicated portfolio managers (including Yip, as well as Nick Zylkowski, Director, Proprietary Strategies, Equity; Megan Roach, senior portfolio manager; and Jordan McCall, portfolio manager), quantitative research analysts (including Su, as well as Senior Quantitative Research Analysts Emily Steinbarth and Eric Thaut) and service teams. These solutions will also offer centralized trading and implementation, as well as automated year-round tax management including tax-loss harvesting, wash sale minimization, tax-smart turnover and managed holding periods. Ultimately, the solutions will aim to help meet advisors’ desired outcomes by minimizing the impact of taxes and transaction costs while maintaining tracking error to the target portfolio.

Jung said Russell Investments’ PMAs aim to serve wealth management firms and their advisors with the institutional-caliber solutions that have made the firm a global leader in outsourced investment management (OCIO). He expects PMA will be both value-additive and complementary to the firm’s current wealth management capabilities as well as further establish the firm’s leadership position in the managed accounts space. According to Cerulli Associates’ US Asset Allocation Model Portfolios 2020 report, Russell Investments ranks as the industry’s top provider of asset allocation model portfolios based on total assets.

Russell Investments is a leading global investment solutions provider offering tailored solutions and services to institutions and individuals through financial intermediaries. Russell Investments is dedicated to improving people’s financial security, leveraging an 84-year client-centric heritage rooted in investment innovation. Since 1985, for example, with the launch of our first tax-exempt bond fund, the firm has been helping investors grow after-tax wealth. Russell Investments is the fourth-largest adviser in the world with $284.8 billion in assets under management (as of 6/30/2020) and $2.5 trillion in assets under advisement (as of12/31/2019) for clients in 32 countries. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Russell Investments operates through 19 additional offices in major financial centers such as New York, London, Tokyo and Shanghai.

Contact:
Steve Claiborne, 206-505-1858, newsroom@russellinvestments.com