Press Release - April 8, 2005

Media Contact:
Anne Hebard
Boston Financial Data Services
Phone: 617-483-3158
Fax: 617-483-5952
Email: ahebard@bostonfinancial.com

Boston Financial Plans Hiring Binge To Handle Nations Funds

April 8, 2005 - Boston Financial will hire scores of people in its Boston operations center in the wake of winning the transfer agency business of Nations Funds. "We will be hiring 50-60 new associates for a variety of operations positions, predominately clerical, some line and supervisory," said Terry Metzger, chief operating officer at Boston Financial. The hired hands will support 400,000-410,000 shareholder accounts, with transfer agency performed by Boston Financial. The firm deploys the DST TA 2000, a technology platform from DST Systems, said Bob Tritt, group v.p at DST. Nations Funds had relied on PFPC for technology and transfer agency. Jeanette Harrison-Sullivan, spokeswoman at PFPC, declined to comment.

Nations Funds is the last unit of Columbia Management, a division of Bank of America, to switch to Boston Financial, which has claimed Columbia, Acorn and Galaxy funds and their 2.5 million shareholders as clients for years. In the wake of the move, Columbia Management will lower expenses and provide more services for shareholders and a consolidated back office, noted Christopher Wilson, head of mutual funds and managing director.

The decision to migrate to Boston Financial comes as a result of last year’s acquisition of Fleet Boston Financial by Bank of America, which led to the consolidation of several funds under the Columbia Management umbrella. The migration is scheduled for completion this summer. Boston Financial will provide mail receipts, process checks, pay dividends, track capital gains, perform tax reporting, establish new accounts, maintain and process purchases, redemptions and transactions as well as pay commissions. Boston Financial is a joint venture between State Street and DST Systems. Columbia Management has around $224 billion of assets under management in mutual fund and other managed accounts.