Buy 10,000 shares, achieve emerald level status? Perhaps this could be the new channel of distribution that everyone dreams of -- multilevel marketing companies. Talk about a captive audience! In order to deal with need for increased sales support, Bisys is now providing fund backoffice services to the Activa Funds, founded by the Amway founders' families.

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Michigan-based Activa Asset Management is owned by the founding families of Amway Corporation. The company appears to be ready to use the built in audience of Amway users to leverage the recent launch of Quixtar, an Internet sister company to Amway, to assist the distribution of the five Activa Mutual Funds.

Amway has had one mutual fund for years, simply named the Amway Mutual Fund, according to Geoff Bobroff, independent mutual fund consultant, that used several different sub-advisors over the years. The company initially used shares of the fund as a means of incenting its members. But the potential broadening of distribution with a larger product line-up and the new Quixtar website could change the company's strategy completely.

The fund was recently renamed the Activa Value fund, and on September 1 four other funds were added to the family, said Allan Engel, vice president of Activa. The funds will be available to all of Amway's "Independent Business Owners" on the new Quixtar site as well as to the general public but Engels says that, at least initially, the funds will not be heavily marketed to the general public.

"We've seen a number of companies develop products for their employees' use that eventually became available to the rest of the world," said Bobroff, who noted the large number of potential shareholders already involved with Amway both domestically and abroad, but also noted the glut of mutual fund products. "So much will depend on (Activa's) ability to gather assets in an increasingly diversified marketplace. Certainly a unique channel of distribution is an advantage."

BISYS will perform all transfer agent, fund accounting, and web-related for the $513 million fund family.

"We look forward to working with BISYS. Having both fund accounting and transfer agency services 'under one roof' makes good business sense, and we're certain this partnership will be a success," said Engel.  

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