Yield-oriented US large cap stocks, as measured by the Russell U.S. Large Cap High Yield Dividend Index, had returns exceeding the broad universe of U.S. large cap stocks, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index, for the following time periods:
  • 12.7% for the Russell U.S. Large Cap High Dividend Yield Index for one year ended Feb 29th compared to 4.9% for the Russell 1000® Index.
  • 28.6% annualized for the Russell U.S. Large Cap High Dividend Yield Index for three years ended Feb 29th compared to 26.3% annualized for the Russell 1000® Index.
  • 3.3% annualized for the Russell U.S. Large Cap High Dividend Yield Index for five years ended Feb 29th compared to 1.8% annualized for the Russell 1000® Index.
  • 7.6% annualized for the Russell U.S. Large Cap High Dividend Yield Index for ten years ended Feb 29th compared to 4.6% annualized for the Russell 1000® Index.
  • The dividend yield for the Russell U.S. Large Cap High Yield Dividend Index is 4.31% compared to 1.39% for the Russell 1000® Index as of Dec 31st.

"The Russell High Dividend Yield Indexes are objective, rules-based dividend indexes, with a primary focus of maximizing yield while ensuring high-quality index membership," said Rolf Agather, managing director for index research and innovation at Russell Investments. "This approach allows the index focus to remain on identifying and selecting companies which appear to provide maximum yield potential from within a universe of the stocks of quality-oriented and financially strong companies."

Source: Russell Investments


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1 Year    3 Years   5 Years  10 Years
                                      Ended     Ended     Ended      Ended
Russell Index                         2/29/12   2/29/12   2/29/12   2/29/12
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Russell US Large Cap High Dividend
Yield Index                            12.7%     28.6%     3.3%      7.6%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Russell 1000® Index                  4.9%      26.3%     1.8%      4.6%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Opinions expressed by Mr. Agather reflect market performance and observations as of February 29th, 2012 and are subject to change at any time based on market or other conditions without notice. Please remember that past performance does not guarantee future performance.

The Russell Global Index includes more than 10,000 securities in 48 countries and covers 98% of the investable global market. All securities in the index are classified according to size, region, country and sector. Daily Returns for the main components are available here: http://www.russell.com/indexes/data/daily_total_returns_global.asp Disclaimer: http://www.russell.com/indexes/about/index_alerts.asp#disclaimer