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Columbia Acorn USA
Summary of the Fund
Investment Objective
Columbia Acorn USA® (the Fund) seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and members of your immediate family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in certain classes of shares of eligible funds distributed by Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc. (the Distributor). More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary, and can be found in the Choosing a Share Class section beginning on page 16 of the Fund’s prospectus and in Appendix S to the Statement of Additional Information (SAI) under Sales Charge Waivers beginning on page S-1.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees Columbia Acorn USA
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class I
Class R4
Class R5
Class Y
Class Z
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price) 5.75% none none none none none none none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) imposed on redemptions (as a % of the lower of the original purchase price or current net asset value) 1.00% [1] 5.00% [2] 1.00% [3] none none none none none
[1] This charge is imposed on certain investments of between $1 million and $50 million redeemed within 18 months of purchase, as follows: 1.00% if redeemed within 12 months of purchase, and 0.50% if redeemed more than 12, but less than 18, months after purchase, with certain limited exceptions.
[2] This charge decreases over time.
[3] This charge applies to redemptions within one year of purchase, with certain limited exceptions.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses Columbia Acorn USA
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class I
Class R4
Class R5
Class Y
Class Z
Management fees 0.86% 0.86% 0.86% 0.86% 0.86% 0.86% 0.86% 0.86%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees 0.25% 0.75% 1.00% none none none none none
Other expenses [1] 0.22% 0.55% 0.14% 0.07% 0.15% 0.12% 0.07% 0.21%
Total annual Fund operating expenses 1.33% 2.16% 2.00% 0.93% 1.01% 0.98% 0.93% 1.07%
[1] Other expenses for Class A, Class B, Class C, Class R4, Class R5 and Class Z shares have been restated to reflect contractual changes to certain fees paid by the Fund.
Example
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over the time periods indicated, and assumes that:
  • you invest $10,000 in the applicable class of Fund shares for the periods indicated,
  • your investment has a 5% return each year, and
  • the Fund’s total annual operating expenses remain the same as shown in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses table above.
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on the assumptions listed above, your costs would be:
Expense Example Columbia Acorn USA (USD $)
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Class A
703 972 1,262 2,084
Class B
719 976 1,359 2,282
Class C
303 627 1,078 2,327
Class I
95 296 515 1,143
Class R4
103 322 558 1,236
Class R5
100 312 542 1,201
Class Y
95 296 515 1,143
Class Z
109 340 590 1,306
Expense Example, No Redemption Columbia Acorn USA (USD $)
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Class A
703 972 1,262 2,084
Class B
219 676 1,159 2,282
Class C
203 627 1,078 2,327
Class I
95 296 515 1,143
Class R4
103 322 558 1,236
Class R5
100 312 542 1,201
Class Y
95 296 515 1,143
Class Z
109 340 590 1,306
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 17% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (including the amount any borrowings for investment purposes) in U.S. companies.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests a majority of its net assets in the common stock of small- and mid-sized companies with market capitalizations under $5 billion at the time of initial investment. However, if the Fund's investments in such companies represent less than a majority of its net assets, the Fund may continue to hold and to make additional investments in an existing company in its portfolio even if that company's capitalization has grown to exceed $5 billion. Under normal circumstances, the Fund may invest in companies with market capitalizations above $5 billion at the time of initial investment, provided that immediately after that investment a majority of its net assets would be invested in companies whose market capitalizations were under $5 billion at the time of initial investment.

Columbia Wanger Asset Management, LLC, the Fund's investment adviser (the Investment Manager), believes that stocks of companies with market capitalizations under $5 billion, which generally are not as well known by financial analysts as larger companies, may offer higher return potential than stocks of larger companies.

The Investment Manager typically seeks companies with:
  • A strong business franchise that offers growth potential.
  • Products and services in which the company has a competitive advantage.
  • A stock price the Investment Manager believes is reasonable relative to the assets and earning power of the company.
The Investment Manager may sell a portfolio holding if the security reaches the Investment Manager's price target, if the company has a deterioration of fundamentals, such as failing to meet key operating benchmarks, or if the Investment Manager believes other securities are more attractive. The Investment Manager also may sell a portfolio holding to fund redemptions.
Principal Risks
An investment in the Fund involves risk, including those described below. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective and you may lose money. The value of the Fund’s holdings may decline, and the Fund’s net asset value (NAV) and share price may go down.

Active Management Risk. The Investment Manager’s active management of the Fund could cause the Fund to underperform its benchmark index and/or other funds with similar investment objectives. The Fund may fail to achieve its investment objective and you may lose money.

Market Risk. Market risk refers to the possibility that the market values of securities or other investments that the Fund holds will fall, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, or fail to rise. An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or long periods. Although equity securities generally tend to have greater price volatility than debt securities, under certain market conditions debt securities may have comparable or greater price volatility.

Small- and Mid-Cap Company Securities Risk. Investments in small- and mid-capitalization companies (small- and mid-cap companies) often involve greater risks than investments in larger, more established companies (larger companies) because small- and mid-cap companies tend to have less predictable earnings and may lack the management experience, financial resources, product diversification and competitive strengths of larger companies. Securities of small- and mid-cap companies may be less liquid and more volatile than the securities of larger companies.

Issuer Risk. An issuer in which the Fund invests may perform poorly, and the value of its securities may therefore decline, which would negatively affect the Fund’s performance. Poor performance may be caused by poor management decisions, competitive pressures, breakthroughs in technology, reliance on suppliers, labor problems or shortages, corporate restructurings, fraudulent disclosures, natural disasters or other events, conditions or factors.

Sector Risk. At times, the Fund may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a related group of industries within an economic sector. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic, regulatory, political or market events or conditions, which may make the Fund more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. The more a fund diversifies its investments, the more it spreads risk and potentially reduces the risks of loss and volatility.
Performance Information
The following bar chart and table show you how the Fund has performed in the past, and can help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s Class Z share performance has varied for each full calendar year shown. The table below the bar chart compares the Fund’s returns for the periods shown with the Russell 2000 Index. This index measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index, which represents approximately 10% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000 Index.

The performance of one or more share classes shown in the Average Annual Total Returns table below includes the Fund’s Class Z share returns (adjusted to reflect the higher class-related operating expenses of such classes, where applicable) for periods prior to the indicated inception date of such share classes. Except for differences in fees and expenses, all share classes of the Fund would have substantially similar annual returns because all share classes of the Fund invest in the same portfolio of securities.

The after-tax returns shown in the Average Annual Total Returns table below are calculated using the highest historical individual U.S. federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your personal tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. In addition, the after-tax returns shown in the table do not apply to shares held in tax-deferred accounts such as 401(k) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).

The after-tax returns are shown only for Class Z shares and will vary for other share classes.

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is no guarantee of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information can be obtained by calling toll-free 800.345.6611 or visiting columbiamanagement.com.
Year by Year Total Return (%)
as of December 31 Each Year
Bar Chart
[1] Year to Date return as of March 31, 2014: 0.64%
Best and Worst Quarterly Returns
During the Period Shown in the Bar Chart


Best                            3rd Quarter 2009                            23.55%

Worst                         4th Quarter 2008                            -27.96%
Average Annual Total Returns After Applicable Sales Charges (for periods ended December 31, 2013)
Average Annual Total Returns Columbia Acorn USA
Share Class Inception Date
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Class Z
Sep. 04, 1996 32.72% 21.20% 9.27%
Class Z returns after taxes on distributions
  30.14% 20.40% 8.63%
Class Z returns after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares
  20.44% 17.44% 7.66%
Class A
Oct. 16, 2000 24.74% 19.44% 8.31%
Class B
Oct. 16, 2000 26.28% 19.86% 8.23%
Class C
Oct. 16, 2000 30.47% 19.97% 8.13%
Class I
Sep. 27, 2010 32.93% 21.28% 9.31%
Class R4
Nov. 08, 2012 32.80% 21.21% 9.28%
Class R5
Nov. 08, 2012 32.83% 21.22% 9.28%
Class Y
Nov. 08, 2012 32.89% 21.23% 9.28%
Russell 2000 Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)
  38.82% 20.08% 9.07%