News Release
February 15, 2006
Reporters may contact:
Tom Gariepy -- (617) 346-3467
tom.gariepy@bankofamerica.com
BOSTON – Columbia Management, the primary investment management arm of Bank of America, today announced creation of the Columbia Masters Portfolios, three funds that are designed to provide investors with a measure of diversification and access to products managed by highly experienced Columbia Management portfolio managers and their teams.
The three Masters Portfolios are the first Columbia funds to use a static asset allocation approach to invest in combinations of Columbia funds. The portfolios are overseen by portfolio manager Vikram Kuriyan.
- Columbia Masters Heritage Portfolio, investing equal portions of its assets in Columbia Strategic Investor Fund, Columbia Marsico 21st Century Fund (formerly Nations 21st Century Fund) and Columbia Strategic Income Fund (Nations Strategic Income Fund was merged into Columbia Strategic Income Fund on Sept. 23, 2005);
- Columbia Masters International Equity Portfolio, investing 80% of its assets in Columbia Multi-Advisor International Equity Fund and 20% in Columbia Acorn International Fund; and
- Columbia Masters Global Equity Portfolio, investing 40% of assets in Columbia Multi-Advisor International Equity Fund, 25% each in Columbia Strategic Investor Fund and Columbia Marsico 21st Century Fund and 10% in Columbia Acorn International Fund.
The portfolios are designed as static allocation funds of funds, maintaining a fixed allocation of assets among each underlying group of funds. The portfolios will be rebalanced to ensure that the actual allocations to the underlying funds do not exceed plus or minus 3% of the predetermined allocation percentage.
“The Masters Portfolios provide investors with the expertise of world-class managers and distinct investment philosophies,” said Columbia President Keith Banks. “They are designed to respond to what we believe to be significant investor interest. These products cover the investment spectrum with combinations of growth, value, fixed income, global and domestic investments.”
The funds are slated to be open to investors today. Information about them can be found at the Columbia website, www.columbiafunds.com.
Columbia Management, based in Boston, MA, is a part of the Global Wealth & Investment Management division at Bank of America. Columbia Management offers products in every major asset class and investment style to both individual and institutional investors. With $360.2 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2005, Columbia Management is focused on delivering strong investment performance and superior client service.
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving 33 million consumer relationships with more than 5,800 retail banking offices, more than 16,700 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 13 million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 150 countries and has relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 85 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. www.bankofamerica.com
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Please consider the objectives, risks, charges and expenses of any Columbia fund carefully before investing. Contact your financial advisor for a prospectus, which contains this and other important information about the fund. You should read it carefully before investing.
Investment risks include stock market fluctuations due to business and economic developments. Investments in small- to mid-cap companies may be subject to greater volatility and price fluctuations because they may be thinly traded and less liquid. Value stocks may also be subject to specific business risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor. International investing involves special risk, including foreign taxation, currency risk, risk associated with possible differences in financial standards, and other monetary and political risks. Bond investments are affected by interest rate changes and the creditworthiness of the issues held by the funds. When interest rates go up, bond prices typically drop, and vice versa. Lower quality debt securities involve greater risk of default or price volatility from changes in credit quality of individual issuers.
Columbia Management is the primary investment management division of Bank of America Corporation. Columbia Management entities furnish investment management services and advise institutional and mutual fund portfolios. Columbia Funds are distributed by Columbia Management Distributors, Inc, member FINRA, SIPC. Columbia Management Distributors, Inc., is part of Columbia Management and an affiliate of Bank of America Corporation.
NOT FDIC INSURED * May lose value * No bank guarantee