TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., June 20, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Aurora Oil & Gas Corporation (AMEX:AOG) is set to join the Russell 3000 index when Russell Investment Group reconstitutes its family of U.S. indexes on June 30, according to a preliminary list of additions posted Friday on www.russell.com.
Along with membership in the Russell 3000, the Company will be included in the Russell Microcap index as well as the appropriate growth and style indexes. Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primary by objective, market capitalization rankings and style attributes.
William W. Deneau, President and CEO of Aurora Oil & Gas Corporation remarked, "Inclusion in a recognized market index is a kind result of our efforts to bring value to our shareholders. The AMEX listing which was completed in May will continue to facilitate recognition by the broader market and create growth opportunities for our company and our investors."
Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. An industry-leading $3.8 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to them. Investment managers who oversee these funds purchase shares of member stocks according to that company's weighting in the particular index.
Annual reconstitution of Russell indexes captures the 3,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization to create the Russell 3000. The largest 1,000 companies in the ranking comprise the Russell 1000 while the remaining 2,000 companies become the widely used Russell 2000. The smallest 1,000 in the Russell 2000 Index plus the next smallest 1,000 comprise the Russell Microcap index. These investment tools originated from Russell's multi-manager investment business in the early 1980s when the company saw the need for a more objective, market-driven set of benchmarks in order to evaluate outside investment managers.
Aurora Oil & Gas Corporation is an independent energy company focused on unconventional natural gas exploration, acquisition, development and production with its main operations in the Michigan Antrim Shale and Indiana New Albany Shale.
Russell, a global leader in multi-manager investment services, provides investment products and services in 44 countries. Russell manages more than $167 billion in assets and advises clients worldwide representing $2.4 trillion. Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual and is headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., with additional offices in New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Auckland and Tokyo. For more information, go to www.russell.com.