Frank Russell Co. and Frank Russell Canada Ltd. have selected T. Rowe Price International, Inc. to manage four emerging markets equity assignments in Russell’s multi-manager funds complex, involving over $1 billion in emerging market equity fund assets available to investors in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

The four emerging markets assignments for T. Rowe Price, represent about $240 million in total, and are the first in Russell’s funds complex for the London-based firm.

“We expect to further improve performance of these multi-manager funds through the addition of T. Rowe Price International,” said Tim Hicks, chief investment officer at Frank Russell Canada. “This manager offers investors a growth-driven product that is focused on established earnings and stock valuation based on bottom up research.”

The Canadian-based assignment involves managing a portion of the Sovereign Emerging Markets Equity Pool, which is available to Canadian individual investors through RBC Dominion Securities, ScotiaMcLeod and TD Waterhouse Investment Advice. TRPI joins two other managers in this pool, Schroder Investment Management North America Ltd. and Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC, a subsidiary of Alliance Capital Management L.P.

Two other of TRPI’s new assignments involve funds that are available to U.S. investors. The remaining assignment involves a UK-based fund, FRIC PLC Emerging Markets Fund.

Frank Russell Canada has also recently restructured the Russell Overseas Equity Fund, by terminating JP Morgan. Their 10% weight in the fund was allocated to the fund’s two value managers, The Boston Company and Lazard Asset Management.

Fidelity Management Trust (growth), Marvin & Palmer Associates (growth) and Capital Guardian Trust (market-oriented) continue to play their respective roles in the Fund. The fund is available directly to Canadian institutional investors, and to individual investors as one of the underlying funds within each LifePoints Portfolio, a Russell Multi Asset Multi Style Multi Manager investment offering.