Columbia Management Group to Offer 529 College Savings Plan to Individuals Through Financial Advisors; Joins with Upromise Loyalty Service.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2003

Columbia Management Group, Inc., the asset management arm of FleetBoston Financial (NYSE: FBF), today announced plans to offer the Columbia 529 Plan to individual investors through financial advisors.

Using the company's strong distribution network, Columbia Management expects the Plan to be made broadly available through independent advisors and the nation's largest brokerage firms. Investors in the Columbia 529 Plan will be able to enjoy additional savings opportunities available through the Upromise loyalty service. This service allows investors to earn rebates on their purchases at tens of thousands of retail locations, more than 15,000 grocery and drug stores, 130 online merchants and 8,500 restaurants. These rebates can be transferred automatically into Columbia 529 accounts. This week, Liberty Funds Distributor, Inc., the sales organization for Columbia Management Group, will begin contacting major brokerage firms regarding placement of the Columbia 529 Plan on their approved product list, in preparation for the anticipated sales launch in May.

Bringing together some of the nation's best-known fund families, the Columbia 529 Plan will offer investors a broad range of quality investment choices. A majority of the underlying funds will be Liberty and Columbia products, and Columbia Management intends to include outside managed funds from OppenheimerFunds, Inc. and Marsico Capital as underlying funds in the Plan's portfolios. Within the Columbia 529 Plan, investors will have the flexibility to choose from three investment approaches - age-based, asset allocation and customized investment portfolios. The age-based portfolios will invest in pre-designed sub-portfolios based on the beneficiary's time horizon - the time until the beneficiary enters college. As the beneficiary ages, the assets will be automatically reallocated to more conservative portfolios. A second approach, using asset allocation models, will be based on investment style and risk tolerance. Assets in these portfolios will be reallocated only at the request of the investor, rather than automatically, as in the age-based option. The third approach will provide custom portfolios through which an investor or advisor can select any combination of the available underlying funds.

Investors will benefit not only from the Plan's flexible investment options and multi-manager structure, but the Columbia 529 Plan will also allow investors to link with the Upromise loyalty service. This service generates additional savings through rebates earned from everyday purchases, and accumulated savings can be automatically transferred to the investor's Columbia 529 Plan account. The Upromise loyalty service is free and enrolling takes just minutes.

The Columbia 529 Plan is sponsored by the State of Nevada through a program administered by the Board of Trustees of the College Savings Plans of Nevada, which is chaired by Brian K. Krolicki, Nevada State Treasurer.

"The Columbia 529 Plan will have three distinct advantages over competing plans," said Jim Tambone, Co-President, Liberty Funds Distributor, Inc. "We will offer highly flexible investment options, a multi-manager product offering featuring an attractive range of world-class funds, and the rewards from the Upromise affiliation. This couldn't come at a better time for investors served by advisors. Last year, tuition costs grew by 9.6 percent at public, four-year universities(1) -- the largest increase in a decade. Add to that the desire to accumulate savings for college in an account that offers the opportunity for tax-free growth, and it's clear why we've seen a sharp increase in the number of people seeking investment guidance from advisors to plan their savings for college. The attractive features of the Columbia 529 Plan, coupled with the advantages of obtaining the advice of a financial professional, can significantly enhance an investor's ability to meet college costs."

"The Columbia 529 Plan will provide financial advisors with a very attractive value proposition for their clients," said Doug Stotz, Managing Director of Strategy at Columbia Management Group. "Some three million households in the United States own shares of Liberty or Columbia products, and in addition more than three million households have enrolled in the Upromise loyalty service over the past two years. We believe that our 529 plan will offer valuable features, backed by recognized brand support, that will be well received by the individual investors and the more than 20,000 financial advisors who sell our products."

"Upromise is committed to helping families save for college. Our arrangement with Columbia Management brings our service to financial advisors, to whom many more people are turning for investment and college planning advice," said George Bell, Chief Executive Officer, Upromise, Inc.

About the Columbia 529 Plan:

The Columbia 529 Plan, distributed by Liberty Funds Distributor, Inc., will provide participants with a tax-advantaged way to save for college. It will offer three flexible investment approaches: age-based portfolios, asset allocation models and fully customizable portfolios utilizing the Plan's suite of investment options:

Age-Based Portfolios       Contributions are invested in the Asset
                            Allocation Portfolio with the risk profile
                            tailored to the Beneficiary's age.
                            Investments in this option will
                            automatically be shifted from more
                            aggressive Asset Allocation Portfolios to
                            more conservative Asset Allocation
                            Portfolios as the beneficiary ages.

Asset Allocation Models    Investors can choose from among several
                            Portfolios (which are based on investment
                            style and tolerance for risk).
                            Reallocation from one Asset Allocation
                            Portfolio to another Asset Allocation
                            Portfolio occurs only at the investor's
                            instruction.

Customized Portfolios      Investors may select from among multiple
                            Single Fund Portfolios, each of which
                            invests all or substantially all of its
                            assets in a single underlying mutual fund.
                             This option can be used to target one or
                            more asset classes or to build a custom
                            asset allocation model.

The Columbia 529 Plan will feature an automated dollar cost averaging program. Investors will be able to make a lump-sum contribution to a money market Portfolio within the Plan, from which a minimum amount will be transferred monthly to the Portfolios selected by the investor at the time that he/she enrolls in this program option.

Upromise Investments, Inc., a wholly owned broker dealer subsidiary (member NASD/SIPC) of Upromise, Inc, will provide certain administrative and record-keeping services to the Columbia 529 Plan.

About Upromise

Upromise is a free service that helps America's leading companies give families money back for college. Upromise's contributing companies include America Online, AT&T, Citi(R), ExxonMobil, General Motors, McDonald's, iDine, Century 21(R), Coldwell Banker(R), Countrywide Home Loans, ERA(R), Staples, New York Life, Circuit City, American Airlines, Starwood Hotels and Avis(R). Members can also save when they shop at participating grocery and drug store chains and purchase thousands of grocery items from leading brands, including Coca-Cola(R), Kellogg's(R), Huggies(R), Tide(R), GLAD(R) and Tylenol(R). Launched in April 2001, Upromise has more than three million members.

About Columbia Management Group:

Columbia Management Group has $140 billion in investment assets under management (as of January 31, 2003), ranking it among the world's 30 largest investment managers. This includes approximately $50 billion in mutual fund assets under management, ranking the Columbia Management Group among the top 20 U.S. mutual fund managers. Columbia's investment portfolio is diversified by asset classes, with approximately 50 percent in equity, 30 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 $190 billion diversified financial-services company, it offers a comprehensive array of innovative financial solutions to 20 million customers.

The Plan interests will be offered only through the Program Description and the Participation Agreement, and will be distributed by Liberty Funds Distributor, Inc., a member of Columbia Management Group, Inc.

NOT FDIC INSURED -- May lose value -- No bank guarantee

(1) Source: The College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2002