Some of Wall Street’s heaviest hitters are stepping into the national debate on guns as investment firms ask firearms makers what they are doing about gun violence.
The firms speak softly, but because they own trillions of dollars’ worth of stock, their voices travel far. And they’re now joining forces with some unusual allies, including smaller and untraditional investors. In this context, the investment fund BlackRock, which owns big stakes in three different gun makers, might end up working alongside a group of nuns.
FILE- This Feb. 15, 2006, file photo shows the BlackRock headquarters in New York. The investment fund BlackRock owns $6 trillion in assets, including big stakes in three different gun makers, but it might end up working alongside a group of nuns. Following the killing of over a dozen at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., funds like BlackRock started asking gun manufacturers what they are doing to reduce the risks of gun violence, and asking retailers how much they make from selling guns. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)Sister Judith Byron, the director and coordinator of the Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment, said her group and BlackRock appear to have similar ideas when it comes to gun manufacturers and retailers. Following the killing of 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., funds such as BlackRock started asking gun manufacturers what they are doing to reduce the risks of gun violence and asking retailers how much they make from selling guns.
Byron said her group, a coalition of religious communities and health care systems, invested in firearms makers a decade ago and has been working on gun safety issues for years. In the past few months the coalition introduced resolutions pushing American Outdoor Brands, Sturm Ruger and retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods to give reports to investors about the steps they are taking to reduce gun violence.
Some larger investors have similar views. The biggest public pension funds in the U.S., CalPERS, recently refused to sell its investments in companies that sell assault rifles. It said that by remaining an investor, it’s been able to get those companies to make positive changes.