ComplianceMarch 1, 2010

Nokia Focus of 401(k) Investigation

Yet another employer has fallen prey to the one-two punch of a sharp drop in stock price—and the sting of a 401(k) stock-drop lawsuit.

Reported by Nevin E. Adams

The latest could be Nokia Corporation, whose conduct is being investigated by the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith. The law firm says that it is “investigating potential claims against Nokia Corporation concerning whether the Nokia Corporation 401(k) Plan imprudently invested in Nokia stock and whether the Plan’s administrators breached their fiduciary duties to the Plan’s participants in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).”

As for what set this in motion, the law firm cited a securities complaint filed February 5 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint claims that during 2008 Nokia and certain of its executive officers failed to disclose that the company was likely to experience production delays associated with its mid-price range cellular phones, including certain of the company’s smartphones.

The law firm said in a release that that complaint alleges these delays, among other things, “adversely affected operating margins in the Company’s highly profitable Devices and Services segment, causing the price of Nokia American Depositary Shares to plummet”—and then went on to note that its investigation concerns “whether Nokia and other administrators of the Plan failed to prudently and loyally manage the Plan’s investments in Nokia stock by continuing to offer Company stock when the stock was no longer a prudent investment for participants’ retirement savings.”

Having announced its intention to investigate, the law firm proceeds to reach out to any “current or former employee who participated in, or continues to participate in, the Nokia Corporation 401(k) Plan,” who either has information, “or would like to learn more about these claims.”