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Newport Beach, CA (April 10, 2015) - Research Affiliates, a global leader in smart beta and asset allocation strategies, and FTSE Group, a global leader in indexing, are delighted to announce that the FTSE RAFI Low Vol series turns one year old this month. The Index Series launched in April of 2014, and represents the second major collaboration between the firms since the award winning FTSE RAFI index series was launched in 2005. The FTSE RAFI Index series will celebrate its ten year anniversary in November, marking a major milestone for the investment industry's 'smart beta' revolution.

"Mark Makepeace, at FTSE, was among the very first to see the trail breaking potential of our Fundamental Index methodology 10 years ago," said Rob Arnott, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Research Affiliates. "It was very courageous to launch the index suite in the face of active opposition from his cap-weight index licensees. That launch sparked a major shift in how people now think about index investing and opened the door for the global adoption of smart beta. We are fortunate to be allied with a partner that shares our ongoing commitment to innovation, always with an eye to adding value for the end customer."

The partnership between Research Affiliates and FTSE and Russell index families, which includes the FTSE RAFI, FTSE RAFI Low Vol, and Russell Fundamental series of indices, represents the leading range of smart beta solutions in the industry. There are 63 mutual funds and ETFs tracking their indices with over US $100B in AUM.

"We have had a long and fruitful relationship with Research Affiliates," said Mark Makepeace, Chief Executive of FTSE Group. "2015 promises to be another busy year for FTSE and Research Affiliates. We have a number of activities planned around the 10 year anniversary of our partnership and also expect to announce collaboration on new initiatives in the coming months. "

More information about the FTSE RAFI investments solutions is available at: http://www.researchaffiliates.com

About Research Affiliates, LLC
Research Affiliates, LLC is a global leader in smart beta and asset allocation strategies. Dedicated to creating value for investors, Research Affiliates seeks to have a profound impact on the global investment community through our insights and products.

The firm is built on a strong research base, led by Rob Arnott and Jason Hsu. Research Affiliates delivers solutions in partnership with some of the world's leading financial institutions, who offer mutual funds, ETFs, separately managed accounts, and/or commingled accounts.

Research Affiliates was founded in 2002 and is based in Newport Beach, California.

As of December 31, 2014, about $170 billion in assets were managed worldwide using investment strategies developed by Research Affiliates.

Smart beta generally refers to a category of investment solutions that seek to add value by systematically investing in well-established sources of excess returns using a transparent and rules-based approach.

More information on Research Affiliates is available at www.researchaffiliates.com.

The trademarks Fundamental Index™, RAFI™, Research Affiliates Equity™ and the Research Affiliates™ trademark and corporate name and all related logos are the exclusive intellectual property of Research Affiliates, LLC and in some cases are registered trademarks in the U.S. and other countries.  Various features of the Fundamental Index™ methodology, including an accounting data-based non-capitalization data processing system and method for creating and weighting an index of securities, are protected by various patents, and patent-pending intellectual property of Research Affiliates, LLC. (See all applicable US Patents, Patent Publications, Patent Pending intellectual property and protected trademarks located at https://www.researchaffiliates.com/legal/terms-of-use#copyright, which are fully incorporated herein.)  Any use of these trademarks, logos, patented or patent pending methodologies without the prior written permission of Research Affiliates, LLC, is expressly prohibited.  Research Affiliates, LLC, reserves the right to take any and all necessary action to preserve all of its rights, title, and interest in and to these marks, patents or pending patents. 

About FTSE Group
FTSE is a global leader in indexing and analytic solutions. FTSE calculates thousands of unique indices that measure and benchmark markets and asset classes in more than 80 countries around the world. FTSE indices are used extensively by market participants worldwide for investment analysis, performance measurement, asset allocation and hedging. Leading pension funds, asset managers, ETF providers and investment banks work with FTSE to benchmark their investment performance and use FTSE’s indices to create world-class ETFs, index tracking funds, structured products and index derivatives. FTSE also provides many exchanges around the world with their domestic indices.

A core set of universal principles guides FTSE’s index design and management: FTSE’s transparent rules-based methodology is overseen by independent committees of leading market participants, focused on applying the highest industry standards in index design and governance. The foundation of FTSE’s global, regional, country and sector indices is the FTSE Global Equity Index Series, which includes the flagship FTSE All-World Index.

FTSE is well known for index innovation and customer partnerships as it seeks to continually enhance the breadth, depth and reach of its offering.

FTSE is wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group.

For more information, visit www.ftse.com.