Russell Indexes Beef Up Biotech Listings

Forty-six biotechnology research and production firms, including 15 in Washington State, have moved into the broad-market Russell 3000® and/or Russell Microcap® indexes. These stocks replaced other companies that didn't fare as well during a widely positive year on Wall Street.

Most of the deletions from the Russell 3000 dropped into the Russell Microcap, while those leaving the Russell Microcap moved up to the Russell 3000 or disappeared from Russell's U.S. indexes altogether. Final index membership remains in place for one year. The reconstitution process is followed closely by many investors because the Russell indexes currently benchmark $4 trillion in assets and account for an industry-leading 54% of all institutional investment products.

Other industries that gained the most among the 277 additions to Russell's U.S. index universe are computer services (33), banks (32), drugs and pharmaceuticals (21) casualty-property insurance (27) and crude oil producers (20). Similarly, 43 banks currently in the Russell 3000 and Russell Microcap indexes were removed.

Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and headquartered in Tacoma, with principal offices in Amsterdam, Auckland, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.