Chuck McQuaid Promoted to Lead Manager of Liberty Acorn Fund and Chief Investment Officer of Liberty Wanger Asset Management.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2003

Ralph Wanger and Leah Zell Remain Active as Advisors to the Firm

Renowned small-cap investor Ralph Wanger, 68, founder of Liberty Wanger Asset Management, L.P., and lead portfolio manager of Liberty Acorn Fund, today announced plans to cede his day-to-day portfolio manager responsibilities and management of the firm to long-time co-manager Chuck McQuaid.

Wanger remains affiliated with the firm as an advisor but intends to reduce his workload, effective September 30, 2003.

Liberty Acorn Fund

McQuaid, 49, will assume leadership of the firm in the role of chief investment officer and becomes lead manager of Liberty Acorn Fund, effective September 30, 2003. In that capacity, he will oversee and manage the firm's domestic and international teams managing approximately $9 billion in assets. He has 25 years of experience with Liberty Acorn Fund and has been the Fund's co-manager since 1995 and the firm's director of research since 1992.

Assisting McQuaid as co-managers on Liberty Acorn Fund, effective May 1, 2003, are portfolio managers Rob Mohn of Liberty Acorn USA and John Park of Liberty Acorn Twenty. Both Mohn and Park are Liberty Wanger veteran investors who have posted solid returns on their respective funds as the lead managers.

"I have been running the Liberty Acorn Fund for 33 years with Chuck McQuaid as co-manager for eight of those years. We have assembled what I believe to be a splendid team of analysts and portfolio managers who will thrive under Chuck McQuaid's leadership," said Wanger. "The team is dedicated to continuing to serve our shareholders with no change to our long-standing investment philosophy."

Liberty Acorn International Fund

Leah Zell, 53, lead portfolio manager of Liberty Acorn International and head of the firm's international investment team, also will relinquish her portfolio manager responsibilities effective September 30, 2003. Zell broadened the investment horizon of the Liberty Acorn Fund to include markets outside of the United States, at a time when cross border research in small caps was uncommon. She has the longest tenure of any mutual fund manager in the international small-cap category. Zell is Wanger's wife and business partner.

Zachary Egan and Louis Mendes become co-managers of Liberty Acorn International Fund effective May 1, 2003. Egan joined Liberty Wanger Asset Management in 1999 as a European equity specialist after serving as a research fellow with the Robert Bosch Foundation in Stuttgart, Germany. He is a CFA charter holder, and earned his Masters degree from the University of Chicago and his Bachelors degree from Middlebury College. Mendes joined the firm in 2001 from Merrill Lynch Investment Managers where he served for nine years as an analyst and portfolio manager specializing in Asian equity markets. Mendes, a CFA charter holder, earned his Masters degree in International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management in Phoenix and Bachelors degree from Columbia University. Egan and Mendes will report to Chuck McQuaid as of September 30, 2003.

"In my view, our international research team has never been stronger," said Zell. "I believe that Zach and Louis and their colleagues will do an excellent job on behalf of the Fund's shareholders."

Wanger and Zell remain active as advisors

Wanger and Zell remain affiliated with the firm as advisors. Wanger will continue to represent the interests of shareholders as a fund trustee and write his popular "Squirrel Chatter" column. He also will help market the Liberty Acorn Funds, including Columbia Thermostat Fund, where he retains his role as a member of the supervisory committee. Zell will act as an advisor to Wanger's international investment activities and remain actively involved with Wanger's European offshore products. Both Wanger and Zell will maintain their offices in Chicago at Liberty Wanger Asset Management.

"We believe that one of the greatest strengths of the Liberty Wanger organization is its experienced investment team, a group of dedicated professionals who remain firmly in place. The team is deeply committed to the firm's continued success under Chuck's leadership and to the Funds' shareholders," said Keith Banks, chief executive officer of Columbia Management Group. "To Ralph, Leah and Chuck's credit, they built a firm that never was dependent on any one individual effort. The Liberty Acorn team consists of 20 investment experts who share the common goal of continuing to deliver solid results."

Columbia Management Group, of which Liberty Wanger is a wholly owned subsidiary, has about $140 billion in investment assets under management, ranking it among the world's 30 largest asset management organizations. This includes approximately $40 billion in long-term mutual fund assets under management, ranking Columbia Management Group among the top 25 U.S. mutual fund managers. Columbia Management's investment portfolio is diversified by asset classes, with approximately 40 percent in equity, 40 percent in fixed income, and 20 percent in money market funds.

Fleet Boston Financial (NYSE: FBF), of which Columbia Management Group is the asset management arm, is the seventh-largest financial holding company in the United States. A $200 billion diversified financial-services company, it offers a comprehensive array of innovative financial solutions to 20 million customers.

Liberty Acorn Funds are offered by prospectus only. Prospectuses contain more complete information on risks, distribution charges, and other expenses and should be read carefully before you invest. Prospectuses can be obtained directly from Liberty Funds Distributor, One Financial Center, Boston, MA, 02111-2621, 800-426-3750. Past performance cannot be used to predict future returns. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that investor's shares, depending on the share class they are invested in, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original costs. Other share classes are available for investment.

Liberty Acorn Fund invests in the stocks of small and mid-sized companies that may be more volatile or less liquid than the stocks of larger companies. Liberty Acorn International invests in the stocks of small companies that may be more volatile than the stocks of larger companies. While during some periods, the stocks of small companies have performed better than the stocks of large companies, during other periods large cap stocks have outperformed small cap stocks. Small companies may have a shorter history of operations than large companies, may not have the ability to raise capital as easily as large companies, and may have a less diversified product line, making them more susceptible to market pressure.

Liberty Acorn Fund and Liberty Acorn International invest in foreign securities, which involve risks including currency fluctuation; different regulation, accounting standards, trading practices and levels of available information; generally higher transaction costs; and political risks.

Please see the prospectus for a discussion of the risks relating to Liberty Acorn USA, Liberty Acorn Twenty and Columbia Thermostat funds.

This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security, nor shall any such security be offered or sold to any person, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, purchase, or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. In accordance with SEC regulations, overseas investors may contact Liberty Wanger Asset Management, L.P. for more information about the products and services available to them. Wanger Investment Company PLC's offshore products are only available to investors outside the United States.

Member NASD. Date of first use: May 1, 2003

Liberty Funds Distributor, Inc. A member of Columbia Management Group.