Russell Global Indexes

From MarketsWiki

The Russell Global Indexes were developed by U.S.-based asset manager Russell Investments (Russell) to track the performance of different sectors within a range of global equities markets. They are constructed in the same way as Russell's signature U.S. stock market indexes like the Russell 2000.

This page needs a sponsor.

Put your logo here!

Email us for information
on how to support MarketsWiki.

Brief background

Russell launched its first global indexes early in 2007, covering 98 percent of global investable equity by tracking 10,000 stocks in 63 countries. Just over a year later, Russell added 'growth' and 'value' styles to most of their global indexes to track different sector performances in different regions.^[1] To track different sectors of different regional stock markets, Russell can now create nine different indexes for each using size (small cap, large cap, total market) and style (growth, value, total) characteristics.^[2]

Trading Market

Russell Global Indexes faces stiff competition from the more established global indexes of asset manager MSCI Barra. MSCI launched its first international index series - including the signature MSCI World Index that's still the most widely-used - in 1969 and the group added four new international indexes in 2007.^[3] One significant difference between the two groups' indexes is the fact that Russell's global company sizes (small-, mid- and large-cap) are determined across a single global standard rather than the region-to-region method MSCI employs.^[4]

In March 2008 the Russell Global Index received an infusion of 70 initial public offerings (IPOs) of company stocks from 59 different countries, including 12 from the U.S. and nine from China.^[5] Sixteen of those stocks moved directly into the Russell Global Large Cap Index, including three based in Hong King and three in Brazil.