Class Action Filed Against American International Group, Inc. by the Law Firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP on Behalf of Purchasers of Columbia Mutual Funds

RADNOR, Pa., May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:

Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of all those who purchased Columbia mutual funds from the AIG Advisor Group (Parent company is defendant American International Group, Inc. , hereinafter "AIG" or the "Company") from June 30, 2000 through June 8, 2005, inclusive (the "Class Period").

During the Class Period, the AIG Advisor Group consisted of the following broker-dealers: Royal Alliance, Inc., SunAmerica Securities, Inc., FSC Securities Corp., Sentra Securities Corporation, Spelman & Co., Inc., and Advantage Capital Corp.

The Columbia mutual funds and their respective symbols are as follows: Columbia Acorn Columbia Acorn International Columbia Acorn International Select Columbia Acorn Select Columbia Acorn USA Columbia Asset Allocation Columbia Asset Allocation II Columbia Balanced Columbia CA Intermediate Muni Bond Columbia CA Tax-Exempt Columbia Common Stock Columbia Conservative High Yield Columbia Convertible Securities Columbia Core Bond Columbia CT Intermediate Muni Bd Columbia CT Tax-Exempt Columbia Disciplined Value Columbia Dividend Income Columbia Federal Securities Columbia FL Intermediate Muni Bond Columbia GA Interm Muni Bond Columbia Global Value Columbia Greater China Columbia Growth Stock Columbia High Income Columbia High Yield Municipal Columbia High Yield Opportunity Columbia Income Columbia Intermediate Bond Columbia Intermediate Core Bond Columbia Intermediate Municipal Bond Columbia International Stock Columbia International Value Columbia Large Cap Core Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core Columbia Large Cap Growth Columbia Large Cap Index Columbia Large Cap Value Columbia Liberty Columbia LifeGoal Balanced Grth Columbia LifeGoal Growth Columbia LifeGoal Income & Grth Columbia LifeGoal Income Columbia MA Intermediate Muni Bd Columbia MA Tax-Exempt Columbia Marsico 21st Century Columbia Marsico Focused Eq Columbia Marsico Grth Columbia Marsico Intl Opp Columbia Marsico Mid Cap Growth Columbia Masters Global Equity Columbia Masters Heritage Columbia Masters International Equity Columbia MD Interm Muni Bond Columbia Mid Cap Growth Columbia Mid Cap Index Columbia Mid Cap Value Columbia Multi-Advisor Intl Equity Columbia Municipal Income Columbia NC Interm Muni Bond Columbia NJ Intermediate Muni Bd Columbia NY Intermediate Muni Bd Columbia NY Tax-Exempt Columbia OR Intermediate Muni Bond Columbia Real Estate Equity Columbia RI Intermediate Muni Bd Columbia SC Interm Muni Bond Columbia Short Term Bond Columbia Short Term Muni Bond Columbia Small Cap Core Columbia Small Cap Growth I Columbia Small Cap Growth II Columbia Small Cap Index Columbia Small Cap Value I Columbia Small Company Equity Columbia Strategic Income Columbia Strategic Investor Columbia Tax-Exempt Columbia Tax-Exempt Insured Columbia Tax-Managed Growth I Columbia Technology Columbia Thermostat Columbia Total Return Bond Columbia TX Interm Muni Bond Columbia U.S. Treasury Index Columbia Utilities Columbia VA Interm Muni Bond Columbia World Equity Columbia Young Investor

On June 8, 2005, the NASD announced that it had fined AIG in connection with the receipt of directed brokerage in exchange for preferential treatment for certain mutual fund companies and certain mutual fund families (the "Shelf-Space Funds").

The Shelf-Space Funds included the following mutual fund families: AIG SunAmerica, AIM, AllianceBernstein, American Funds, American Skandia, Columbia, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Hartford, John Hancock, MFS, NationsFunds, Pacific Life, Pioneer, Putnam, Oppenheimer, Scudder, Van Kampen, and WM Funds Distributor, Inc.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Darren J. Check, Esq. or Richard A. Maniskas, Esq.) toll-free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.

The Complaint charges AIG and certain of its affiliated entities with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the defendants, in clear contravention of their disclosure obligations and fiduciary responsibilities, failed to properly disclose that they had been aggressively pushing sales personnel to sell the Shelf-Space Funds that provided financial incentives and rewards to AIG and its personnel based on sales. Instead of offering fair, honest and unbiased recommendations to investors, the AIG Financial Advisors gave pre-determined recommendations, pushing clients into a pre-selected limited number of mutual funds so that the Financial Advisors could reap millions of dollars in kickbacks from the Shelf-Space Funds, with which they had struck secret, highly lucrative deals to profit at shareholders' expense. The defendants' sales practices created a material insurmountable conflict of interest between the defendants and their clients by providing substantial monetary incentives to sell Shelf-Space Funds, sales of which increased the defendants' overall profits, but diminished investors' returns in the process. While Shelf-Space Funds were aggressively sold to investors, the defendants failed to disclose any of these financial incentives for selling such funds. The conflict of interest created by the defendants' failure to disclose the incentives is a clear violation of federal securities laws.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of institutional and individual investors from the United States and around the world. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/.

If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than June 6, 2006, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Schiffrin & Barroway, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

CONTACT: Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP Darren J. Check, Esq. Richard A. Maniskas, Esq. 280 King of Prussia Road Radnor, PA 19087 1-888-299-7706 (toll-free) or 1-610-667-7706 Or by e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com