Whetman, et al. v. IKON Office Solutions, Inc.
Analysis Group was retained by counsel for IKON to provide analytical support in the class action lawsuit brought by participants in IKON’s retirement savings plan (RSP). Plaintiffs alleged that IKON breached its fiduciary duty by encouraging IKON RSP participants to invest in the company stock fund, and that consequently, when IKON’s stock price declined, IKON was liable for participants’ losses.
Analysis Group Chairman Bruce Stangle submitted an expert report comparing IKON’s RSP with those of other large firms, along with a detailed analysis of plaintiffs’ expert report, which he found had substantially overstated the right of the class to any monetary relief.
Our firm’s involvement in the IKON matter began at an early stage in the litigation, which enabled us to carefully develop a methodology for estimating the monetary relief issues. We worked closely with IKON’s plan administrator to construct a data set of participant characteristics and transactions. This data set was used to analyze more than 15 million transactions of nearly 90,000 participants in the RSP.
Analysis Group’s evaluation of IKON’s RSP involved benchmarking various characteristics, such as its investment options and vesting schedule, against the characteristics of RSPs in general. These analyses showed that IKON’s RSP was not unlike plans offered by other companies.