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SCHEDULE 14A
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INFORMATION REQUIRED IN
PROXY STATEMENT SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
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ACORN INVESTMENT TRUST
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From the Desk of Ralph Wanger
Dear Shareholder:
You should have received proxy materials in the mail recently asking you to
vote on a new investment advisory agreement between Acorn and Liberty
Wanger Asset Management in connection with the sale of Wanger Asset
Management (WAM) to Liberty Financial Companies, Inc. (LFC). I want to
assure you personally that I believe the sale will be positive for our
shareholders and the company.
A question that has come up regarding our decision to sell is whether or
not I intend to retire. Considering my golf scores and my skiing abilities,
I think it is best that I keep working. All of our portfolio managers,
myself included, have signed agreements to stay with the firm for at least
the next five years.
So why are we selling? While I am not planning to retire any time soon, we
recognized the need to address succession issues that would arise upon my
eventual retirement. We have also found that our growth in recent years has
increased the administrative responsibilities of our principals. Our
partnership with LFC should allow us to shift administrative tasks to
Liberty so that we can focus on what we do best: managing money.
We feel confident that this decision will benefit shareholders in a number
of ways. First, we believe our association with a large organization
provides stability and clarifies the long-term status of WAM. This should
enable us to attract new talent to the firm. This merger will also allow us
to offer shareholders a broader range of investment products. Liberty's
subsidiaries manage more than 90 mutual funds. Additionally, by utilizing
Liberty's distribution and administrative resources, we believe we can
enhance our shareholder services.
I would like to stress that shareholders of record prior to the close of
the merger will maintain their no-load status after the sale. You will also
be able to invest without a load in many funds managed by Liberty's
affiliates (these funds may be subject to a 12b-1 fee). With this in mind,
if you know of friends who have been thinking about investing with us, you
may want to encourage them to obtain a prospectus and purchase shares now
so they can lock in their no-load status by becoming shareholders prior to
the close of the sale.
Your confidence in our products has made us successful. I thank you for
your support over the years and look forward to our future together. I
welcome the opportunity to meet you at our upcoming shareholder meeting on
September 26 in Chicago (see back cover for more details).
Sincerely,
/s/ Ralph Wanger
Ralph Wanger
Chief Investment Officer, Wanger Asset Management
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Following are answers to some of the questions you may have regarding our plans
to sell Wanger Asset Management (WAM) to Liberty Financial Companies.
Q: Who is Liberty Financial?
A: Boston-based Liberty Financial was founded in 1985 by Liberty Mutual
Insurance Company. Liberty Financial has more than $67 billion in financial
assets under management. Liberty Financial is a publicly traded company (NYSE:
L) and is 71% owned by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Other Liberty Financial
subsidiaries include Stein Roe & Farnham, Colonial Management Associates,
Newport Pacific Management, Crabbe Huson, Keyport, Independent Financial, and
Progress Investment Management Company. If the merger is approved, we will be
associated with a large group of highly professional asset managers.
Q: Why did WAM select Liberty Financial?
A: We wanted a partner to provide substantial strategic benefits such as:
. Knowledge of the mutual fund industry
. Strong distribution
. Solid management
. Product line fit
With $67 billion in assets under management, a sales force of more than 200
professionals, and 95 mutual fund products, Liberty Financial met our
requirements.
Q: What changes will I see as a shareholder?
A: The fund names will adopt the Liberty prefix (Liberty Acorn Fund, for
example) after the sale so be sure to look under "L", instead of "A", for daily
price listings in the newspaper. Wanger Asset Management will operate under the
name Liberty Wanger Asset Management after the closing.
Following the sale, the funds will be offered through financial advisors with a
sales charge applied. However, as a shareholder of record prior to the close,
you will maintain your no-load status after the close. You will be able to
continue to make additional investments into your account(s), as well as invest
in certain funds distributed by Liberty Financial, without paying a sales charge
(some of the funds offered through Liberty carry 12b-1 fees, however). Immediate
family members of current shareholders will also enjoy no-load status should
they choose to invest with us.
September 26 is the deadline for voting your proxy.
Turn to the back cover for information on our upcoming shareholder meeting.
