File No. 2-99207
Under Rule 497(e) of Regulation C
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Columbia
COLUMBIA FUNDS
Supplement to the
Columbia Special Fund Prospectus
dated February 24, 1997
COVER PAGE. The following legend is added to the cover page of the Prospectus:
"Shares of the Fund are not bank deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed
or endorsed by Fleet Financial Group, Inc. or any of its affiliates, the
Advisor, or any Fleet Bank. Shares of the Fund are not Federally insured
by, guaranteed by, obligations of or otherwise supported by the U.S.
Government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve
Board or any other governmental agency. Investment in the Fund involves
investment risk, including the possible loss of principal."
INVESTMENT ADVISOR. The section of the Prospectus entitled "INVESTMENT ADVISOR,"
appearing on page 7, is amended by replacing the first two paragraphs of that
section with the following:
"The Fund has contracted with Columbia Funds Management Company (the
"Advisor") to provide investment advisory services. The Advisor, subject to
general oversight responsibility of the Fund's Board of Directors, is
responsible for the overall management of the Fund's business affairs. The
Advisor has acted in this capacity since 1982 and also provides investment
management services to each of the following Columbia Funds: Columbia
Common Stock Fund, Columbia International Stock Fund, Columbia Balanced
Fund, Columbia Small Cap Fund, Columbia Real Estate Equity Fund, Columbia
Growth Fund, Columbia Daily Income Company, Columbia U.S. Government
Securities Fund, Columbia Municipal Bond Fund, Columbia Fixed Income
Securities Fund, and Columbia High Yield Fund. The Advisor is an indirect
wholly owned subsidiary of Fleet Financial Group, Inc. ("Fleet"), a
publicly owned multibank holding company registered under the Bank Holding
Company Act of 1956 with total assets of approximately $85 billion at
December 31, 1996. The address of the Advisor is 1300 S.W. Sixth Avenue,
P.O. Box 1350, Portland, Oregon 97201-1350.
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Under the investment advisory contact with each Fund, the Advisor provides
research, advice, and supervision with respect to investment matters and
determines what securities to purchase or sell and what portion of the
Fund's assets to invest. The Advisor provides office space and pays all
executive salaries and expenses and ordinary expenses of the Fund (other
than the expense of clerical services relating to the administration of the
Fund)."
OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS. The section of the Prospectus entitled "Other Service
Providers," appearing on page 8, is amended by replacing the first two
paragraphs of that section with the following:
"Transfer Agent. Columbia Trust Company acts as transfer agent and dividend
paying agent for the Fund. Its address is 1301 S.W. Fifth Avenue, P.O. Box
1350 Portland, Oregon 97207-1350. The transfer agent is an indirect wholly
owned subsidiary of Fleet.
Distributor. Provident Distributor, Inc. ("PDI") is the principal
underwriter of the Fund's shares. PDI's address is Four Falls Corporate
Center, 6th Floor, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2961. Columbia Financial
Center Incorporated ("Columbia Financial"), an indirect wholly-owned
subsidiary of Fleet, has entered into a Broker-Dealer Agreement to sell
shares of the Fund. You may invest or redeem your investment in the Fund
through Columbia Financial. Its address is 1301 S.W. Fifth Avenue, P.O. Box
1350, Portland, Oregon 97207-1350. PDI and Columbia Financial do not charge
any fees or commissions to investors or the Fund for the sale of shares of
the Fund."
December 10, 1997
2
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Columbia
COLUMBIA FUNDS
Supplement to the
Columbia Special Fund's Statement
of Additional Information
dated February 24, 1997
MANAGEMENT. The section of the Statement of Additional Information entitled
"MANAGEMENT," appearing on page 2, is amended by replacing all but the last two
paragraphs of the section with the following:
"The directors and officers of the Fund are listed below, together
with their principal business occupations. All principal business
occupations have been held for more than five years, except that positions
with the Columbia High Yield Fund, Inc., the Columbia Real Estate Equity
Fund, Inc., and the Columbia Small Cap Fund, Inc., have been held since
July 1993, January 1994, and August 1996, respectively, and except as
otherwise indicated. The term "Columbia Funds" refers to Columbia Common
Stock Fund, Inc., Columbia Growth Fund, Inc., Columbia Real Estate Equity
Fund, Inc., Columbia International Stock Fund, Inc., Columbia High Yield
Fund, Inc., Columbia Balanced Fund, Inc., Columbia Daily Income Company,
Columbia Municipal Bond Fund, Inc., Columbia U.S. Government Securities
Fund, Inc., Columbia Small Cap Fund, Inc., and Columbia Fixed Income
Securities Fund, Inc.
J. JERRY INSKEEP, JR.,*+ Chairman, President, Secretary, and Director of
the Fund and each of the Columbia Funds; Chairman, President, Secretary,
and Trustee of CMC Fund Trust ("CMC Trust"); Consultant for Fleet Financial
Group, Inc. (since December 1997); formerly Chairman and a Director of
Columbia Funds Management Company (the "Advisor"), Columbia Management Co.,
Columbia Trust Company (the "Trust Company"); formerly a Director of
Columbia Financial Center Incorporated ("Columbia Financial"). Mr.
Inskeep's address is 1300 S.W. Sixth Avenue, P.O. Box 1350, Portland,
Oregon 97207.
JAMES C. GEORGE, Director of the Fund and each of the Columbia Funds (since
June 1994); Trustee of CMC Trust (since December 1997). Mr. George, the
former Investment Manager of the Oregon State Treasury (1966-1992), is an
investment consultant. Mr. George's business address is 1001 S.W. Fifth
Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204.
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THOMAS R. MACKENZIE, Director of the Fund and each of the Columbia Funds;
Trustee of CMC Trust (since December 1997); Director of Group Mackenzie
(architecture, planning, interior design, engineering). Mr. Mackenzie's
business address is 0690 S.W. Bancroft Street, Portland, Oregon 97201.
RICHARD L. WOOLWORTH,+ Director of the Fund and each of the Columbia Funds;
Trustee of CMC Trust; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of Oregon; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the
Regence Group, health insurers. Mr. Woolworth's business address is 100
S.W. Market Street, Portland, Oregon 97201.
*Mr. Inskeep is an "interested person" as defined by the Investment
Company Act of 1940 and receives no directors fees or salaries from the
Fund.
+Members of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee has all
powers of the Board of Directors when the Board is not in session, except
as limited by law.
Provident Distributors, Inc. ("PDI"), a registered securities broker
and a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., is
authorized under a distribution agreement with the Fund to sell shares of
the Fund. Columbia Financial has entered into a Broker Dealer agreement
with PDI to distribute the Fund's shares. PDI and Columbia Financial do not
charge any fees or commissions to investors or the Fund for the sale of
shares of the Fund."
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER FEES PAID TO AFFILIATES. The section of the
Statement of Additional Information entitled "INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER FEES
PAID TO AFFILIATES," appearing on page 3 is amended by replacing the third
paragraph with the following:
"The Trust Company, which is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Fleet
Financial Group, Inc., acts as custodian of certain Individual Retirement
Accounts (IRAs) and sponsor of Prototype Money Purchase Pension and Profit
Sharing Plans that invest in the Fund. The Trust Company charges account
holders an annual fee of $25 per IRA account (fee is waived for accounts
over $25,000) and a retirement plan setup fee of $100 and an annual fee of
$50."
December 10, 1997
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