London, 22 October, 2007 --- State Street Corporation,Barclays Global Investors and Russell Investments today put forward a joint response to the proposed T-Charter initiative for the transition management industry. The move comes as a result of today’s launch of the new charter which these companies have signed.

In a joint statement the three companies detailed their response, “While we welcome and applaud any initiative that aims to set best practice standards for the transition management industry, we are concerned that in this case the standards for performance are not as strong as they should be and ultimately may not provide a sufficient level of protection or comfort to clients.”

“There’s no question that we need to unite as an industry around common standards, but we also need to ensure that these standards truly reflect best practice and not just a level or standard that all potential participants can achieve.”

Notes to editors:

About Barclays Global Investors
Barclays Global Investors is one of the world's largest asset managers and a leading global provider of investment management products and services. It had over 2,900 institutional clients and over $2.0 trillion of assets under management as of June 30, 2007. It transformed the investment industry by creating the first index strategy in 1971 and the first quantitative active strategy in 1979. BGI is the global product leader in Exchange Traded Funds (iShares) with over 290 funds for institutions and individuals trading in 19 markets. Globally, it had $359 billion of iShares assets under management as of June 30, 2007.

For further information about Barclays Global Investors, please visit our website www.barclaysglobal.com.

About Russell Investments
Russell Investments provides investment products and services in more than 44 countries.  Russell manages $219 billion in assets, of which $81bn is managed from Europe.  Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual and is headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., with additional offices in Amsterdam, Auckland, London, New York, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.

Russell Implementation Services Limited.  Company No. 3049880.  Registered in England and Wales with registered office at : Rex House, 10 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4PE.  Telephone 020 7024 6000. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS. 

About State Street
State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world's leading provider of financial services to institutional investors, including investment servicing, investment management, and investment research and trading. With US$15.1 trillion in assets under custody and US$2.0 trillion in assets under management, as of September 30, 2007, State Street operates in 26 countries and more than 100 geographic markets worldwide. For more information, visit State Street’s website at www.statestreet.com.