Russell Investment Group acquired Towers Perrin's Australian pension consulting and employee benefits business. Terms were not disclosed, said Steve Claiborne, Russell spokesman. Russell will take on 270 Towers Perrin employees, increasing Russell's Australian presence to about 340 people. Towers' former HR Services will be renamed Russell Employee Benefits. Also, the two asset consulting practices will be integrated, creating Australia's largest asset consulting practice. Russell and Towers Perrin (Australia) had been sharing investment research resources and jointly servicing many of Australia's leading pension funds for the past three years.
Alan Schoenheimer will continue as managing director of Russell's overall Australasian business, while David Solomon, managing director of Towers' HR Services business in Australia, will become managing director of Russell Employee Benefits.
