News Release
January 24, 2006
Reporters may contact:
Tom Gariepy -- (617) 346-3467
tom.gariepy@bankofamerica.com
BOSTON – Columbia Management, the primary asset management arm of Bank of America, today announced that it is offering R Shares on 13 of its mutual funds, effective January 23, 2006.
It is the first time that Columbia Management has offered shares targeted directly at the needs of small to mid-size retirement plans. The R Shares will be available only to retirement plans. Individual shareholders in these R Shares will be able to exchange without charges into other Columbia funds that carry R Shares and that are offered by their plans. Columbia Management may offer R Shares of other Columbia mutual funds in the future.
“With the introduction of a retirement share class, we are able to provide additional choices by offering advisors a menu of pricing options based on retirement plan size,” said Columbia President Keith Banks. “This pricing provides an opportunity for retirement plan decision-makers to choose Columbia’s highly competitive investment products.”
The Columbia Funds offering R Shares are Columbia Marsico Growth Fund (formerly Nations Marsico Growth Fund); Columbia Small Cap Value Fund II (formerly Nations Small Cap Value Fund); Columbia Mid Cap Value Fund (Columbia MidCap Value Fund merged into Nations Mid Cap Value Fund on Sept. 23, 2005 and was renamed Columbia Mid CapValue Fund); Columbia Mid Cap Growth Fund; Columbia Intermediate Bond Fund (Columbia Intermediate Government Income Fund merged into Nations Intermediate Bond Fund on October 7, 2005 and was renamed Columbia Intermediate Bond Fund); Columbia Marsico 21st Century Fund (formerly Nations Marsico 21st Century Fund); Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core Fund; Columbia Large Cap Value Fund (formerly Nations Large Cap Value Fund); Columbia Marsico International Opportunities Fund (formerly Nations Marsico International Opportunities Fund); Columbia Multi-Advisor International Equity Fund; Columbia LifeGoalTM Growth Portfolio (formerly Nations LifeGoalTM Growth Portfolio); Columbia LifeGoalTM Balanced Growth Portfolio (formerly Nations LifeGoalTM Balanced Growth Portfolio; and Columbia LifeGoalTM Income & Growth Portfolio (formerly Nations LifeGoalTM Income & Growth Portfolio).
Columbia Management, based in Boston, MA, is a part of the Global Wealth & Investment Management division at Bank of America. With $332.4 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30, 2005, Columbia Management offers products in every major asset class and investment style to both individual and institutional investors. 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 more than 38 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 5,800 retail banking offices, more than 16,700 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 14 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 97 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 79 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. www.bankofamerica.com
Please consider the objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the 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.
The foregoing is not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, shares of any investment company, nor is it a solicitation of any proxy. For more information regarding the surviving fund of each merger, or to receive a free copy of a prospectus/proxy statement relating to a proposed merger (containing important information about objectives, fees, expenses and risk considerations) once a registration statement relating to the proposed merger has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and become effective, please call 800-345-6611 or visit www.columbiafunds.com. The prospectus/proxy statement will also be available for free on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (http://www.sec.gov). Please read the prospectus/proxy statement carefully before making any investment decisions.
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
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