MFS, which neither admits nor denies the allegations, has cooperated fully with the SEC. As described in the SEC order, MFS voluntarily discontinued the use of the materials in question in late 2015 (prior to the SEC's investigation), consistently labeled them 'hypothetical,' restricted their use to institutional audiences, and generally provided them along with actual standardized returns of its blended research products."
Importantly, the SEC made no finding of any intentional wrongdoing or financial loss to our clients. Indeed, the SEC made no findings questioning the construction or performance of our blended research strategies. MFS retained a third-party compliance consultant to assist MFS in enhancing our compliance program to help ensure we continue to market all of our strategies appropriately."
As of May 31, MFS had about $21 billion in assets under management invested in its blended research strategies, the SEC said. MFS has about $378 billion under management, including about $362 billion in mutual funds and other pooled investment vehicles and $16 billion in separately managed accounts for institutional clients, according to the SEC.