Independent Auditors' Report on Internal Accounting Control
The Board of Trustees and Shareholders of
the Alleghany Funds:
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements of the
Alleghany/Montag & Caldwell Growth Fund, Alleghany/Chicago Trust
Growth & Income Fund, Alleghany/Chicago Trust Talon Fund,
Alleghany/Chicago Trust Small Cap Value Fund, Alleghany/Veredus
Aggressive Growth Fund, Alleghany/Veredus SciTech Fund,
Alleghany/Montag & Caldwell Balanced Fund, Alleghany/Chicago Trust
Balanced Fund, Alleghany/Chicago Trust Bond Fund, Alleghany/Chicago
Trust Municipal Bond Fund, Alleghany/Chicago Trust Money Market
Fund, Alleghany/Blairlogie Emerging Markets Fund and
Alleghany/Blairlogie International Developed Fund comprising the
Alleghany Funds (the Funds) for the period ended October 31, 2000, we
considered its 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 to comply with the
requirements of Form N-SAR, not to provide assurance on internal control.
The management of the Alleghany Funds 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 controls. Generally, controls that are relevant to an audit
pertain to the entity's objective of preparing financial statements 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 a material weakness under
standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants. A material weakness is a condition in which the design or
operation of one or more of the internal control components 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 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 controls for safeguarding securities that we consider to
be material weaknesses as defined above as of October 31, 2000.
This report is intended solely for the information and use of management,
the Board of Trustees of the Alleghany Funds, and the Securities and
Exchange Commission and is not intended to be and should not be used by
anyone other than those specified parties.
December 18, 2000
Chicago, Illinois
