Stockpickr: How to Buy Like an Insider

Part of the philosophy behind Stockpickr is to follow in the footsteps of smart people.

Sometimes that means buying the same names that a great investor like Warren Buffett or George Soros is buying. Other times it means buying what the CEOs, employees and directors of a company are buying.

These are people who know the intimate details of their company far better than you or I. If they are buying shares, either directly on the open market or through a shareholder buyback, then it bears consideration.

Each week the folks at Stockpickr sort through all of the regulatory filings that detail the latest insider buying and share buybacks. We select the 10 situations that are most interesting for various reasons we describe -- every case is different. Each Thursday we will list those picks on Stockpickr's Top Insider Purchases and Share Buybacks.

Let's first take a look at Bisys Group(BSG Quote), a company that offers a direct play on the increasing institutionalization of hedge funds, not to mention the general growth of mutual funds, financial planning firms and every aspect of the financial services industry. Basically, Bisys provides the back-office and administrative work for the hedge fund industry, financial services firms and even a large segment of the insurance industry.

Ahmet Okumus, founder of Okumus Capital, owns more than 10% of the company and has pretty much taken an activist role there. So far this month he's bought another 150,500 shares, or $1.7 million worth of the company, to add to the 13 million shares he already owns. In addition, he's insisting on a board seat.