Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting and The Townsend Group Form U.S. Strategic Alliance

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting and The Townsend Group, the largest global institutional real estate consulting specialist, today announced a strategic alliance whereby Townsend will provide real estate consulting services in the United States to Watson Wyatt clients.

"This relationship benefits both organizations and, most importantly, our clients, who will have access to the world's premier real estate consulting firm," said Howard Crane, North American practice director for Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting. "With real estate an important asset class for pension managers, this alliance helps us to provide clients with independent, world- class consulting services."

Townsend will be the exclusive real estate contractor to Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting. It will provide analysis of real estate investment trends and opportunities and access to its full array of resources, including proprietary databases and manager research. Townsend will also assist in the design and implementation of client real estate investment portfolios.

"We are pleased to be assisting Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting," said Terrance Ahern, co-founder and principal of Townsend. "This relationship will allow us both to do what we do best: serve the investment needs of institutional investors."

Sanjay Mansukhani, who oversees Watson Wyatt's research into investment managers in private equity and real estate in the United States, will manage the relationship with Townsend.

About Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting

Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting, a division of Watson Wyatt, is focused on creating financial value for institutional investors through independent, best-in-class investment advice. We are specialist investment professionals who provide coordinated investment strategy advice based on expertise in risk assessment, strategic asset allocation and investment manager selection. Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting provides investment advice to some of the world's largest pension funds and institutional investors, and has more than 300 associates in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

In the United States, investment advisory and investment consulting services are provided by Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Watson Wyatt & Company. Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting, Inc. is a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Watson Wyatt is a leading global human capital and financial management consulting firm. The firm specializes in employee benefits, investment consulting, human capital strategies, technology solutions, and insurance and financial services and has 6,000 associates in 30 countries. The firm is located on the Web at http://www.watsonwyatt.com/.

About Townsend

Townsend is the leading provider of real estate consulting services worldwide. The firm serves a wide range of clients, including public pension plans, foundations, endowments and Taft-Hartley plans. The firm provides consulting services to more than 70 client portfolios with real estate assets in excess of $70 billion. Townsend has 32 dedicated real estate professionals plus support staff located in Cleveland, San Francisco and Denver.