SEC Eyes BISYS Fund Distribution Arrangements

By Staff Writer

April 19, 2005 at 08:00 PM

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NU Online News Service, April 19, 2005, 4:57 p.m. EDT

The BISYS Group Inc. is giving more details about efforts by federal regulators to review its business operations.[@@]

BISYS, New York, is a company that sells support services to insurers, banks and mutual fund companies.

In the past, BISYS has reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been looking into its mutual fund services business.

BISYS now says it "believes that the SEC's investigation relates to the structure and accounting for certain arrangements pursuant to which the company agreed with the advisors of certain U.S. mutual funds to use a portion of the fees paid to the company by the mutual fund to pay for, among other things, expenses relating to the marketing and distribution of the fund shares, to make payments to certain advisors, and to pay for certain other expenses."

The company has given the SEC a list of such arrangements, and all the arrangements started before December 2003, BISYS says.

BISYS either has terminated or is terminating all of the arrangements, the company says.

"The company is continuing to cooperate in the SEC's investigation, including by providing information and documents and making employees available for interviews and/or testimony," BISYS says.

BISYS notes that it and its audit committee have hired 3 firms to help deal with the investigation.

But BISYS says the investigation could force it to postpone the release of its financial statements and could possibly have a material effect on its finances.

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