Bisys Fund Settles with SEC

Bisys Fund Services, for its role in assisting 27 mutual fund advisors in the execution of practices that served to defraud investors, will pay $21.4 million in a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Wednesday. The settlement comes at the end of a lengthy investigation of Bisys operating procedures by the SEC, the federal agency charged with regulating the financial sector.

A unit of the Roseland, N.J.-based Bisys Group, Inc, Bisys Fund Services allegedly enabled the wrongful use of investors' assets to pay for marketing expenses. Under the terms of the announced settlement, Bisys neither admitted to nor denied the results of the SEC investigation and the alleged illegal practices.

The action against Bisys, according to Merrill Lynch analyst Gregory Smith, ". . . is part of the wider investigation into practices in the mutual fund industry that began (in) early 2004." Smith, in his analysis of the effects of the SEC settlement on the future of Bisys Fund, maintained his rating of "neutral" on Bisys shares saying the company's major businesses are not a good fit.

In issuing his assessment of the decision, Baird analyst David J. Koning, pointed to limited potential for end-market expansion and an overall "choppy" execution on the part of Bisys.

"The company has since terminated [the arrangements that led to the SEC probe] in addition to implementing new compliance policies and procedures," wrote Smith, taking the settlement announcement as an indicator that Bisys can now return to focusing on signing up new clients. This was not enough, however, to move his rating of the fund away from the neutral position.

Koning said the decision "removes overhang" for Bisys but still found the firm not all that attractive to a potential buyer. He said fiscal year 2008 should see Bisys beginning the process of re-establishing growth.