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RUSSELL INVESTMENT CO

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RUSSELL MULTI-STRATEGY ALTERNATIVE FUND

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The Fund seeks to achieve long term capital growth with low correlation to, and lower volatility than, global equity markets.

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

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The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Russell Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the Front-End Sales Charges section and the More About Deferred Sales Charges section beginning on pages 216 and 219, respectively, of the Prospectus, and the Purchase, Exchange and Redemption of Fund Shares section, beginning on page 30 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. Please see the Expense Notes section of the Fund’s Prospectus for further information regarding expenses of the Fund.

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

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Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 97% of the average value of its portfolio.

Expense Breakpoint Discounts [Text]

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You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Russell Funds.

Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text]

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“Other Expenses” and “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text]

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"Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses" and "Net Annual Fund Operating Expenses" have been restated to reflect the Fund's proportionate share of the operating expenses of any other fund, including the Subsidiary and the Russell U.S. Cash Management Fund, in which the Fund invests. The Fund's proportionate share of these operating expenses is reflected under "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses."

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

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               This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

               The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes your investment has a 5% return each year and that operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account the effect of any permanent fee waivers and/or reimbursements for all periods.

               Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, under these assumptions your costs would be:

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

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               The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by employing a multi-manager approach whereby portions of the Fund's assets are allocated to different money managers unaffiliated with Russell Investment Management Company ("RIMCo") that employ a diverse range of alternative investment strategies. The money managers will utilize Relative Value, Event Driven, Equity Hedge and Tactical Trading strategies, as described below. Pursuant to the money managers' various investment strategies, the Fund may invest in a broad range of instruments, markets and asset classes economically tied to U.S., foreign and emerging markets. Investments may include equity securities, fixed income securities and derivatives. The Fund may take both long and short positions in all of its investments. A long position is one with the expectation that the underlying asset will rise in value. A short position is one with the expectation that the underlying asset will decline in value. The Fund may also make investments for hedging purposes in order to address perceived misalignment between the Fund's investment exposures and current or anticipated market conditions. The Fund may or may not, at any one time, invest in all of the instruments or utilize all of the investment strategies discussed below.

               In selecting money managers, RIMCo seeks to identify money managers that, based on their investment strategies and historical performance have, among other things, the potential, in the opinion of RIMCo, to perform independently of each other and achieve low correlation to, and lower volatility than, global equity markets. When determining how to allocate the Fund's assets among money managers, RIMCo considers a variety of factors. These factors include a money manager's investment strategy, investment approach, investment sub-strategy and expected return potential, as well as various characteristics of the money manager's typical investment portfolio. RIMCo also considers the manner in which money managers' historical and expected investment returns correlate with one another.

                Fund assets not allocated to money managers are managed by RIMCo. Assets not allocated to money managers include the Fund's liquidity reserves and assets which may be managed directly by RIMCo to modify the Fund's overall portfolio characteristics as a means to manage the Fund's risk exposures.

               The Fund's money managers use the following alternative investment strategies: (1) Relative Value, (2) Event Driven, (3) Equity Hedge and (4) Tactical Trading. Each of these strategies may employ both relative value and directional trading strategies. Directional trading emphasizes market movements and movements in security prices (rather than seeking to identify price discrepancies or liquidity mismatches).

               Relative Value Strategy: An investment strategy that seeks to identify price discrepancies or liquidity mismatches among securities that share a common financial factor such as interest rates, an index or issuer to seek gains and mitigate risk. The strategy is not reliant upon market direction. A money manager may employ a variety of quantitative and qualitative techniques to identify securities it believes are mispriced or display liquidity discrepancies based upon historical, fundamental or technical factors.

                Event Driven Strategy: An investment strategy that seeks gains from market movements in the prices of financial instruments caused by specific events. Such events may include balance sheet restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, litigation, regulatory action or a change in perception of the riskiness of investments. Investments in an Event Driven strategy may include corporate fixed income securities, equity-related instruments, non-agency asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities. Certain of these investments may be illiquid.

                Equity Hedge Strategy: An investment strategy that utilizes long and short positions primarily in equity and equity-related instruments. On the long side, money managers will seek gains from securities that they believe are undervalued, provide short term trading opportunities or offer growth opportunities. On the short side, money managers will (1) seek gains from securities that they believe are overvalued or provide short term trading opportunities, (2) seek to reduce overall market risk or (3) seek gains from an anticipated decline in the price of a company or index by using short sales or options on common stocks or indexes to hedge risk. This strategy may also use derivatives, including options, futures and options on futures.

               Tactical Trading Strategy: An investment strategy across global markets that seeks gains based on themes or trends in equity markets, interest rates, commodity markets, government securities, currencies or futures markets. These themes or trends can be price-based (i.e., asset price momentum or an asset price relative to another asset or set of assets) or based on economic theory (i.e., forecasts based on the analysis of interest rate trends, political changes, government policy, flow of funds, or other broad systemic factors). While Tactical Trading strategies often utilize directional long or short positions across global markets, they may also express views on the relative value of assets. Tactical Trading may use multi-durational investments, including short-term investments, to seek gains.

                The Fund invests in equity securities of issuers of any market capitalization which are economically tied to U.S., foreign and emerging markets. These securities may include preferred stocks, rights, warrants, convertible securities, securities issued in connection with initial public offerings and depositary receipts. The Fund may invest in securities of companies, known as real estate investment trusts ("REITs") that own and/or manage properties.

               The Fund also invests in fixed income securities of any credit quality and maturity, including fixed income securities that are rated below investment grade (commonly referred to as "high yield" or "junk bonds"). The Fund also invests in (1) U.S. and non-U.S. corporate fixed income securities, (2) Yankee Bonds (dollar-denominated obligations issued in the U.S. by non-U.S. banks and corporations), (3) fixed income securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government (including Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) and by non-U.S. governments, or by their respective agencies and instrumentalities, (4) emerging markets debt securities, (5) municipal debt obligations, (6) mortgage-backed securities and (7) asset-backed securities. The Fund may also invest in variable and floating rate securities. The Fund purchases loans and other direct indebtedness. The Fund may at times seek to protect its investments against adverse currency exchange rate changes by purchasing currency futures and options on futures, forward currency contracts and currency options. The Fund may also engage in currency transactions for speculative purposes. The Fund invests in derivative instruments, including swaps, futures, options and credit default swaps. The Fund may invest in credit linked notes and credit options.

                The Fund invests in derivative instruments and may take both long and short positions relative to the underlying asset, including futures, options, swaps, swaptions and credit derivatives.

                The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund (the "Subsidiary") organized as a company under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

                The Fund's or the Subsidiary's use of derivatives may cause the Fund's or Subsidiary's investment returns to be impacted by the performance of securities the Fund or the Subsidiary does not own and result in the Fund's or the Subsidiary's total investment exposure exceeding the value of its portfolio.

                The Fund may invest directly or indirectly through the Subsidiary, in commodity-linked derivative instruments (including futures and options contracts with respect to indexes or individual commodities, options on futures contracts, swap agreements and swaptions), exchange traded funds, exchange traded notes and commodity-linked securities that together are intended to provide exposure to the performance of the collateralized commodity futures market. The portion of the Fund's or the Subsidiary's assets exposed to any particular commodity or commodity sector will vary based on market conditions, but from time to time the portion could be substantial.

                The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its principal investment strategies.

               A portion of the Fund's net assets may be illiquid securities.

               The Fund, like any mutual fund, maintains cash reserves (i.e., cash awaiting investment or cash held to meet redemption requests or to pay expenses).

                From time to time, RIMCo may expose cash received from large subscriptions to the performance of appropriate markets on a short-term basis by purchasing equity securities, fixed income securities and/or derivatives, which typically include index futures contracts.

               The Fund is classified as a "non-diversified fund" under the Investment Company Act of 1940 which means that a relatively high percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in a limited number of issuers.

               Please refer to the "Investment Objective and Investment Strategies" section in the Fund's Prospectus for further information.

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

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An investment in the Fund, like any investment, has risks. The value of the Fund fluctuates and you could lose money. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are those associated with:

Active Management. Despite strategies designed to achieve the Fund's investment objective, the value of investments will change with market conditions, and so will the value of any investment in the Fund and you could lose money. The securities selected for the portfolio may not perform as RIMCo or the Fund's money managers expect. Additionally, securities selected may cause a Fund to underperform relative to other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. There is no guarantee that RIMCo will effectively assess a Fund's characteristics or exposures and it is possible that its judgments regarding a Fund's risk/return profile may prove incorrect. In addition, actions taken to modify overall portfolio characteristics, including risk, may be ineffective and/or cause the Fund to underperform.

Multi-Manager Approach. While the investment strategies employed by the money managers are intended to be complementary, they may not in fact be complementary. A multi-manager approach could result in more exposure to certain types of securities and higher portfolio turnover.

Equity Securities. The value of equity securities will rise and fall in response to the activities of the company that issued them, general market conditions and/or economic conditions. Investments in small and medium capitalization companies may involve greater risks because these companies generally have narrower markets, more limited managerial and financial resources and a less diversified product offering than larger, more established companies. Small and some medium capitalization stocks may also be thinly traded, and thus, difficult to buy and sell in the market. Investments in preferred stocks are subject to the risks of common stocks, as well as the risk that interest rates will rise and make the fixed dividend feature, if any, less appealing to investors resulting in a decline in price.

Fixed Income Securities. Prices of fixed income securities generally rise and fall in response to, among other things, interest rate changes. The Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income security or other issuer of credit support is unable or unwilling to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or to otherwise honor its obligations. In addition, fixed income securities may be downgraded in credit rating or go into default.

Non-Investment Grade Debt Securities ("High Yield" or "Junk Bonds"). Non-investment grade debt securities involve higher volatility and higher risk of default than investment grade bonds.

U.S. and Non-U.S. Corporate Debt Securities Risk. Investments in U.S. and non-U.S. corporate debt securities are subject to interest rate risk and market risk, and are affected by perceptions of the creditworthiness and business prospects of individual issuers. Non-U.S. corporate debt securities may expose the Fund to greater risk than investments in U.S. corporate debt securities.

Government Issued or Guaranteed Securities, U.S. Government Securities. Bonds issued or guaranteed by a government are subject to inflation risk, price depreciation risk and default risk.

Municipal Obligations. Municipal obligations are subject to interest rate, credit and illiquidity risk and are affected by economic, business or political developments and may be subject to provisions of litigation, bankruptcy and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors.

Variable and Floating Rate Securities Risk. Variable and floating rate securities generally are less sensitive to interest rate changes but may decline in value if their interest rates do not rise as much, or as quickly, as interest rates in general.

Mortgage-Backed Securities. Mortgage-backed securities may be affected by, among other things, changes or perceived changes in interest rates, factors concerning the interests in and structure of the issuer or the originator of the mortgage, or the quality of the underlying assets. The underlying assets may default or decline in quality or value.

Asset-Backed Securities. Payment of principal and interest on asset-backed securities may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and asset-backed securities may not have the benefit of any security interest in the related assets.

Loans and Other Direct Indebtedness. Loans and other direct indebtedness involve the risk that payment of principal, interest and other amounts due in connection with these investments may not be received.

Non-U.S. and Emerging Markets Securities. Non-U.S. securities have risks relating to political, economic and regulatory conditions in foreign countries. The risks associated with non-U.S. securities may be amplified for emerging markets securities.

Yankee Bonds and Yankee CDs. Issuers of Yankee Bonds and Yankee CDs are not necessarily subject to the same regulatory requirements that apply to U.S. corporations and banks.

Currency Risk. Non-U.S. securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, non-U.S. currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar or, in the case of hedging positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency being hedged. As a result, investments in non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities and currencies may reduce the returns of the Fund.

Derivatives. Investments in a derivative instrument could lose more than the principal amount invested. Compared to conventional securities, derivatives can be more sensitive to changes in interest rates or to sudden fluctuations in market prices and thus the Fund's losses may be greater if it invests in derivatives than if it invests only in conventional securities. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in equity or fixed income securities, currencies or other investments. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks such as liquidity risk, market risk, credit risk, default risk, counterparty risk (the risk that the other party in an agreement will fail to perform its obligations) and management risk. They also involve the risk of mispricing or improper valuation and the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate exactly with the change in the value of the underlying asset, rate or index.

Credit Default Swaps. Credit default swap agreements may involve greater risks than if the Fund had invested in the reference obligation directly since, in addition to risks relating to the reference obligation, credit default swaps are subject to illiquidity risk and counterparty risk.

Currency Trading Risk. Currency trading strategies may involve instruments that have volatile prices, are illiquid or create economic leverage. Forward currency contracts are subject to the risk that should forward prices increase, a loss will be incurred to the extent that the price of the currency agreed to be purchased exceeds the price of the currency agreed to be sold.

Leveraging Risk. As a result of the Fund's use of derivatives, the Fund may be subject to leveraging risk. Leverage tends to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of a security, which exposes the Fund to a heightened risk of loss.

Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the other party or parties to an agreement or a participant to a transaction, such as a broker, might default on a contract or fail to perform by failing to pay amounts due or failing to fulfill the obligations of the contract or transaction.

Short Sales Risk. A short sale will result in a loss if the price of the security sold short increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the borrowed security must be returned. Short sales may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage tends to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of portfolio securities. Short sales have the potential for unlimited loss.

Commodity Risk. Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities, particularly if the investments involve leverage. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates or sectors affecting a particular industry or commodity and international economic, political and regulatory developments. The use of leveraged commodity-linked derivatives creates an opportunity for increased return, but also creates the possibility for a greater loss.

Tax Risk. The tax treatment of the Fund's investments may be adversely affected by future legislation, Treasury Regulations and/or guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service (" IRS") that could affect whether income derived from such investments is "qualifying income" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code, or otherwise alter the character, timing and/or amount of the Fund's taxable income or any gains and distributions made by the Fund.

Subsidiary Risk. By investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund will be indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary's investments, which are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the Fund. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and is generally not subject to all of the provisions of the 1940 Act.

REITs. REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying properties owned by the REITs and by the quality of tenants' credit.

Depositary Receipts. Depositary receipts, which are securities traded on a local stock exchange that represent securities issued by a foreign publicly-listed company, are subject to the risks associated with the underlying international securities.

Illiquid Securities. An illiquid security may be difficult to sell quickly and at a fair price, which could cause the Fund to realize a loss on the security if it was sold at a lower price than that at which it had been valued.

Liquidity Risk. The market for certain investments may become illiquid under adverse or volatile market or economic conditions, making those investments difficult to sell. The market price of certain investments may fall dramatically if there is no liquid trading market.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund will likely engage in active and frequent trading, which may result in higher portfolio turnover rates, higher transaction costs and realization of short-term capital gains that will generally be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.

Non-Diversification Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a relatively high percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or group of issuers, the Fund's performance will be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of that single issuer or group of issuers, and more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence.

Large Redemptions. The Fund is expected to be used as an investment by certain funds of funds and in asset allocation programs and may have a large percentage of its Shares owned by such funds or held in such programs. Large redemption activity could result in the Fund incurring additional costs and being forced to sell portfolio securities at a loss to meet redemptions.

Global Financial Markets Risk. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected and conditions (including recent volatility and instability) and events (including natural disasters) in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. In addition, governmental and quasi-governmental organizations have taken a number of unprecedented actions designed to support the markets. Such events and conditions may adversely affect the value of the Fund's securities, result in greater market or liquidity risk or cause difficulty valuing the Fund' s portfolio instruments or achieving the Fund's objective.

Please refer to the "Risks" section in the Fund's Prospectus for further information.

An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Risk Nondiversified Status [Text]

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Non-Diversification Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a relatively high percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or group of issuers, the Fund's performance will be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of that single issuer or group of issuers, and more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

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Performance

Performance One Year or Less [Text]

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Because the Fund is new, performance history and average annual returns for the Fund are not included in this Prospectus. Performance history and average annual returns for the Fund will be included in the Prospectus after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year.

Risk/Return:

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Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)

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1.00%

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Advisory Fee

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1.50%

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Other Expenses

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