Advisers or investors can access tools from Morningstar or advocacy groups like As You Sow to identify holdings in these gun companies. Typically, the exposure is very small, and avoiding these companies does not change the risk and return characteristics of a portfolio in a material way. Read More →
Read MoreAs You Sow, a nonprofit advocacy group, has created two searchable databases called Gun Free Funds and Weapon Free Funds. Just type in your funds’ name to see if there’s any exposure to gun or weapons companies. The 30-year old activist investing group also offers some alternative investment ideas for those who wish to divest. For those who are not yet invested, As You Sow posts ratings of funds’ exposure to guns for comparison. Read More →
Read MoreTools like Gun Free Funds or Weapons Free Funds are also simple ways of identifying funds that have exposure to guns or other types of weapons, and finding alternative ESG options. Both tools are managed by As You Sow, a 30-year-old nonprofit that encourages shareholder activism. “There’s 100 million people with 401k plans that are profiting from these gun manufacturers, and no one’s even aware of it,” said Andrew Behar CEO of As You Sow. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar runs As You Sow, a nonprofit that promotes corporate responsibility. “They’re included in mutual funds, and in people’s 401(k) plans, and most people are not even aware of that,” he said. Behar’s company runs a website called Weapon Free Funds that helps people look up whether they’re invested in the gun industry. “Which looks at both military weapons, but also civilian weapons. Including assault weapons and ammunition,” he said. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a non-profit that tracks how well companies live up to their environmental and social pledges, isn’t convinced that BlackRock will do anything differently this time. He charges that companies like BlackRock hide behind the “it’s in an index” excuse. Read More →
Read MoreTo quickly find out any fund’s gun exposure, you can consult a website called Gun Free Funds, maintained by As You Sow, a nonprofit shareholder advocacy group, and partially powered by Morningstar. Simply input a fund name and get the fund’s exposure to gun manufacturers and major gun retailers, along with replacement recommendations for those funds with exposure to guns. Read More →
Read More"It’s amazing how much power people have in their money, in their savings, in their 401(k) plans," says Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a nonprofit that promotes corporate social responsibility through shareholder advocacy. "It really just comes down to: Do you want to profit off of assault weapons, handguns, and ammunition? If you don’t, you need to know what you own." Read More →
Read MoreThere are now many E.S.G.-based alternatives to popular index funds that screen out gun-related stocks with minimal effects on performance or costs, Mr. Hale said. Online tools like Gun Free Funds, run by the nonprofit foundation As You Sow, give information about gun stocks in funds that appear in many investors’ portfolios and retirement accounts. Read More →
Read MoreAs You Sow, a non-profit focusing on corporate social responsibility, offers an online tool that compares where funds rank with regard to criteria such as deforestation, fossil fuels, gender equality, guns, weapons, tobacco and prisons. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar is the CEO of the nonprofit As You Sow, a watchdog and investor advocacy group that provides resources for those interested in more socially responsible investing. As You Sow's Invest Your Values tool helps investors rate and reference where their money is going, and covers a wide range of topics: environmentally-friendly investing, gender equality funds, prison-free funds, and gun and other weapon-free funds. Read More →
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