Rexx Index LLC Announces Introduction of New Real Estate Index For Emerging Commercial Property Derivatives Market

29 Nov, 2006, New York

Cushman & Wakefield and Newmark Knight Frank to contribute capital and proprietary data to support REXX Index

Rexx Index, LLC (Rexx) has been formed to produce commercial real estate indices to support origination and execution of property derivative transactions in the US office market (REXX Index). Cushman & Wakefield and Newmark Knight Frank, leaders in the commercial real estate services industry, will each own a minority interest in the new venture, with the remainder held by Rexx’s founder, Paul Frischer, and his affiliates.

In addition to their investment, Cushman & Wakefield and Newmark Knight Frank will provide proprietary information with other sources of data considered reliable to be used in the construction of the REXX Index. Rexx will produce, on a quarterly basis, total return and sub-indices for Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Miami, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C. and the Rexx Composite Index based on the Frischer Kranz ∆ Rent Model.

Cushman & Wakefield President and CEO Bruce Mosler said, “We are pleased to help establish the REXX Index and believe it will become the bellwether in the development of property derivatives, an exciting product for the commercial real estate industry.”

Prior to the development of property derivatives, commercial real estate investors in the United States were unable to use derivative hedging strategies such as swaps and options linked to the underlying value and performance of their properties.

Barry Gosin, CEO of Newmark Knight Frank, said, “This index allows the market to track the movement of commercial real estate quickly and provide the opportunity to mitigate risk.”

“Development of a property derivatives market in the U.S. will enable investors and other market participants to create synthetic long and short positions in commercial real estate and execute other sophisticated hedging strategies,” said Chris Lowery, CEO Global Capital Markets and Principal Activities, Cushman & Wakefield.

A robust property derivatives market has developed in the United Kingdom, where investors can trade in swap transactions based on the Investment Property Databank (IPD) Index, published by IPD Ltd. Trading in UK property derivatives has accelerated, with approximately ₤2.4 billion ($4.5 billion) of transaction volume from the fourth quarter of 2004 through the first half of 2006.

In July 2006, Cushman & Wakefield Finance Ltd, the European finance arm of Cushman & Wakefield, and BGC International, a leading inter-dealer brokerage firm, announced the signing of a 50-50 joint venture agreement, to provide execution services in the growing European property derivatives market.

Paul Frischer, Managing Member of Rexx Index, LLC added, “Working with the leading real estate service providers enables the REXX Index to differentiate itself from other indices by using current market conditions and macro economic factors that are indicative of the movement in value of commercial real estate as compared to lagging and highly volatile based indices.”

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About Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.

Cushman & Wakefield is the world’s largest privately held real estate services firm. Founded in 1917, the firm has 195 offices in 55 countries around the globe, and 11,000+ talented professionals. Cushman & Wakefield delivers integrated solutions by actively advising, implementing and managing on behalf of landlords, tenants, and investors through every stage of the real estate process. These solutions include helping clients to buy, sell, finance, lease, and manage assets. C&W also provides valuation advice, strategic planning and research, portfolio analysis, and site selection and space location assistance, among many other advisory services. To find out more about Cushman & Wakefield, please call 1-800-376-3133, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.cushmanwakefield.com.

About Newmark Knight Frank

New York-headquartered Newmark Knight Frank and London-based partner Knight Frank operate from over 140 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents. Last year, transactions were valued at over $41 billion with annual revenues of over $545 million. With a combined staff of 4,500, this major force in real estate is meeting the local and global needs of owners, tenants, investors and developers worldwide. For further information, visit www.newmarkkf.com.

About REXX Index, LLC

Based in Greenwich, CT, Rexx Index was founded by Paul Frischer and is based on the development of the Frischer Kranz ∆ Rent Model. Frischer has worked most recently in the financial services sector. He holds an EMBA, NYU Stern School of Business and BSAD, Bucknell University. visit www.rexxindex.com

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