WANGER ADVISORS TRUST
                              Wanger Twenty
                          Wanger Foreign Forty
                           Wanger US Small Cap
                     Wanger International Small Cap

       Supplement to Prospectuses and Statement of Additional Information

On June 4, 2001,  Liberty  Financial  Companies,  Inc. (Liberty  Financial),  an
intermediate  parent of Liberty Wanger Asset Management,  L.P. (Liberty Wanger),
each Fund's investment advisor, announced that Fleet National Bank has agreed to
acquire Liberty Financial's asset management business, including Liberty Wanger.
Fleet  National  Bank is an  indirect  wholly-owned  subsidiary  of  FleetBoston
Financial  Corporation,  a U.S.  financial  holding company.  The closing of the
proposed  transaction  is expected to take place  during the second half of 2001
and is subject to a number of conditions, including approval by the shareholders
of  Liberty  Financial.  In  addition,  under the rules for  mutual  funds,  the
proposed  transaction  may result in a change of control of Liberty  Wanger and,
therefore,  an assignment of their investment advisory contracts with the Funds.
The assignment of these contracts generally requires  shareholder approval under
the Investment Company Act of 1940. Consequently, it is anticipated that Liberty
Wanger will seek  approval of new  contracts  from the Trust's Board of Trustees
and from  shareholders  of the Funds prior to the  consummation  of the proposed
transaction. The new contracts will be identical to the current contracts in all
respects  except for their effective and  termination  dates.  The new contracts
will have no effect on the contractual advisory fee rates payable by the Funds.


G-36/384G-0601                                                      June 5, 2001