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SIGNATURE FREDERICK GREEN
TITLE PRESIDENT
WARNING: THE EDGAR SYSTEM ENCOUNTERED ERROR(S) WHILE PROCESSING THIS SCHEDULE.
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000701804
<NAME> THE MERGER FUND
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 12-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> SEP-30-1999
<PERIOD-START> OCT-01-1998
<PERIOD-END> SEP-30-1999
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 712,648,097
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 705,585,099
<RECEIVABLES> 298,066,435
<ASSETS-OTHER> 47,243,117
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
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</TABLE>
To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees of
The Merger Fund
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements and
financial highlights of The Merger Fund (hereafter referred to as the
"Fund") for the year ended September 30, 1999, we considered the Fund's
internal control, including control activities for safeguarding
securities, in order to determine our auditing procedures for the purpose
of expressing our opinion on the financial statements and financial
highlights and to comply with the requirements of Form N-SAR, not to
provide assurance on internal control.
The management of the Fund is responsible for establishing and
maintaining internal control. In fulfilling this responsibility,
estimates and judgments by management are required to assess the expected
benefits and related costs of control activities. Generally, control
activities that are relevant to an audit pertain to the entity's
objective of preparing financial statements and financial highlights for
external purposes that are fairly presented in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles. Those controls include the safeguarding
of assets against unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition.
Because of inherent limitations in internal control, error or fraud may
occur and not be detected. Also, projection of any evaluation of internal
control to future periods is subject to the risk that it may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the effectiveness of
the design and operation may deteriorate.
Our consideration of internal control would not necessarily disclose all
matters in internal control that might be material weaknesses under
standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants. A material weakness is a condition in which the design or
operation of any specific internal control component does not reduce to a
relatively low level the risk that misstatements caused by error or fraud
in amounts that would be material in relation to the financial statements
and financial highlights being audited may occur and not be detected
within a timely period by employees in the normal course of performing
their assigned functions. However, we noted no matters involving internal
control and its operation, including control activities for safeguarding
securities, that we consider to be material weaknesses as defined above
as of September 30, 1999.
This report is intended solely for the information and use of management
and the Board of Trustees of The Merger Fund and the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
November 12, 1999
