Frank Russell Canada announced today that it has entered into an agreement to purchase First Asset Advisory Services (FAAS) from AMG Canada Corp., making FAAS a subsidiary of Russell.

The deal is expected to close in January 2006, pending regulatory approval.

Russell said today’s purchase reinforces its commitment to become the leading provider of separately managed account programs in Canada.

Russell will continue to offer its Sovereign Separate Accounts Program through its growing distribution partnerships with leading Canadian brokerages. In addition, it will offer the FAAS produced Legacy Wealth Management Program along with several other national white labeled programs, through the existing partners that FAAS has established relationships with.

With this acquisition Russell expands both its assortment of managed money solutions, and its distribution relationships with Canadian Advisors, Planners and Counselors.

“This transaction solidifies Russell as the pre-eminent provider of managed account programs across the entire spectrum of managed money solutions, from multi-manager funds-of-funds to bundled and unbundled individual separate account programs,” said Joe Perrin, president and managing director of Russell Canada, in a release.

Lisa Langley, President and COO of First Asset Advisory Services, endorsed the transaction, “We believe that being part of Russell will allow us to continue to provide our clients with the excellent service to which they are accustomed. Our industry-leading, independent SMA platform coupled with Russell’s experience and expertise in the areas of manager research and managed money solutions will serve our clients well and help us to expand further. Together we will build the most robust SMA platform and programs available in Canada.”

Russell launched the Sovereign Investment Program, a pooled multi-manager wrap program; the first of its kind in Canada in 1993. This was followed in 2000 by the launch of LifePoints Portfolios to the retail marketplace, a series of multi-manager funds-of-funds and one of the fastest growing products in its category. Earlier this year, Russell launched the Sovereign Separate Accounts Program, a multi-manager, unified managed account program that has been designed to alleviate many of the challenges of manager selection, portfolio construction and account administration associated with traditional separate account programs.

As a result of this ownership change, Russell does not anticipate that FAAS will undergo any significant organizational changes.

Clients of both FAAS and Russell will see service enhancements over time as a consequence of combining our resources and experience.