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Princeton Financial Systems of Princeton, N.J., has created a new service called PAMConnect that gives customers remote access to Princeton's PAM system. PAM is a Windows-based portfolio accounting and management system used by 300 mutual funds and other institutional investors. Through PAMConnect, clients can now connect to Princeton's data center through dial-up connections using frame relay, leased lines or the Internet. Before, Princeton Financial clients would have to install PAM software at their own site. PAMConnect permits clients to out-source their data center maintenance to Princeton Financial without clients being aware of it, said Gordon Gacek, a spokesperson for the firm.

Merrill Lynch of New York plans to offer a new growth fund run by a former Delaware Investments portfolio manager. George H. Burwell will run the Merrill Lynch Disciplined Growth Fund, according to a registration statement Merrill Lynch filed with the SEC April 20.

The Vanguard Group of Valley Forge, Pa., has posted its Y2K preparation filing with the SEC in a section of its website, www.vanguard.com, devoted to the Year 2000.

American Century Investments of Kansas City, Mo., is making a minority investment in W.R. Hambrecht + Co., an entrepreneurial investment bank in San Francisco. American Century made the investment in part because of the bank's capabilities to offer initial public offerings online, according to Harold Bradley, senior vice president of American Century.

On June 1, Vanguard will reopen its Windsor Fund, which currently has $16.97 billion of assets under management and seeks long-term growth of capital and income. The fund was initially launched in 1958 and has been closed since 1990 when Vanguard decided the fund's assets had grown to an unmanageable level, according to a Vanguard spokesperson. Wellington Management Company of Boston will continue as lead adviser.

Shareholders of the ASM Index 30 Fund are due to vote in the next few weeks on a permanent replacement for an adviser who was ousted because the fund's board believed the adviser could not pay expenses and was in danger of being sued for alleged misappropriation of funds.

The SEC wants to divide responsibility between mutual fund boards and custodians for oversight of the foreign companies which keep possession and records of the foreign stocks and bonds mutual funds own.

The SEC last week brought its first action against a mutual fund adviser regarding preparedness for computer problems arising from the turn of the century.

The Dessauer Global Equity Fund, which attracted considerable attention when it was introduced as a closed-end fund because of its commitment to open under certain conditions, has been re-introduced as an open-end fund.

Gabelli Asset Management of Rye, N.Y., is planning to launch a new fund, the Gabelli Blue Chip Value Fund, by early fall. The fund will seek long-term capital appreciation from value equity investments. Barbara Marcin, who has just joined Gabelli, will manage the fund. Marcin was previously head of value investments at Citibank Global Asset Management.

Putnam Investments of Boston has introduced a new fund for retail mutual fund investors called the Putnam Small-Cap Value Fund. The fund invests in small, undervalued companies that have the potential for stock appreciation of 10 percent to 15 percent a year. The fund is being jointly managed by Edward Shadek, chief investment officer for small-cap value equities, and Jeffrey Netols, senior vice president.

Unified Financial Services of Indianapolis in late April launched six index funds and an actively-managed Internet fund. All of the funds have expense ratios of only 0.35 percent.

Ivy Management, a mutual fund investment adviser in Boca Raton, Fla., introduced the Ivy European Opportunities Fund on April 30. Henderson Investors of London will sub-advise this fund. Stephen Peak, head of Continental European equities at Henderson, will serve as portfolio manager on the fund, which is growth oriented.

Automatic Data Processing of Roseland, N.J., has formed a new division to provide an array of retirement plan programs for mutual fund companies. The new division, ADP Retirement Services, will provide record-keeping and administration services to investment companies of all sizes, said Russ Fradin, president of ADP Employer Services for North America.

Fidelity Investments has developed a new 401(k) plan for small non-profit organizations. The new product, MaximumK, was created by Fidelity Investments Tax-Exempt Services Co. MaximumK is designed for companies with less than 1,000 employees and up to $10 million in assets. There are about 15,000 organizations in the U.S. that fit this profile, according to Fidelity. These groups include physician practices, research organizations, small church groups and labor unions, Fidelity said. Fidelity says it plans to keep costs low by eliminating customization usually provided to larger plans. Sponsors are given a choice of up to 25 Fidelity funds. MaximumK was offered to a limited group of organizations earlier in the year. It began selling the product generally May 5. A dedicated sales force is selling the plan.

Datalink.net of San Jose, Calif., has introduced end-of-day alerts on mutual fund values for 9,600 mutual funds. Datalink.net posts these values at the exact time Nasdaq issues its close-of-market reports, said Anthony LaPine, the company's chairman and CEO.

First Union Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., will pay approximately $1.1 billion in stock to purchase EVEREN Capital Corp. of Chicago, the companies announced last week. First Union said the merger will give it national retail distribution.

BOSTON - A federal court judge here appears likely to substantially reduce and perhaps dismiss a lawsuit which challenges the independence of Fidelity Investments' mutual fund directors.

TIAA-CREF of New York, the $255 billion money manager, is taking steps to expand its new mutual fund business.

Mutual fund companies have a new avenue for disseminating their educational materials to investors.