Nonprofit As You Sow runs several databases geared toward helping everyday investors with an interest in ESG analyze mutual funds and ETFs using Morningstar data. One is Weapon Free Funds, which flags shares of arms makers in funds. 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 MoreIt’s likewise complicated for E.S.G. funds that screen out defense contractors. I spoke with Andrew Montes, the director of digital strategies for As You Sow, a nonprofit based in Berkeley, Calif., that focuses on corporate accountability. He said: “We unequivocally condemn the invasion, and the Ukrainians have a right to defend themselves. But it’s a separate question if defense stocks belong in the portfolio.” Read More →
Read MoreIt certainly does to Andrew Behar, the chief executive of As You Sow, an advocacy and research group that frequently files shareholder proxy proposals on E.S.G. issues.
“We don’t think that you should have any weapons systems in an E.S.G. fund,” he said. The group provides an online tool on the web site Weapon Free Funds that enables investors to screen mutual funds and exchange-traded funds on this issue. 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 MoreA series of deadly mass shootings in August have led to advocates and some voters yet again demanding action from lawmakers to help curb gun violence.
Read MoreRecent mass shootings have prompted major retailers like Walmart to reconsider their stance on ammunition sales and open carry policies.
Read MoreCalifornians frustrated by Congress’s failure to pass climate and gun control legislation have a potentially potent tool to produce the change they want: divestment.
Read MoreSeveral large mutual fund companies like BlackRock and State Street have espoused a commitment to investments that benefit all stakeholders –shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which they operate.
Read MoreMass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas have sent the country reeling.
Read MoreMass shootings and the growing wave of socially responsible investing doesn't seem to be influencing behavior at one of the nation's largest mutual fund companies.
Read MoreThe merchants of war who have shaped U.S. foreign policy since the end of WWII have a foothold so strong, the act of extracting ourselves from the war economy has become incredibly complex.
Weapon Free Funds breaks down the individual offerings from investment companies. The Equity Index 500 fund from T. Rowe Price, for instance, has 18 weapons stocks; its New Horizons fund has just three. The Health Sciences, Emerging Markets, and Global Technology funds have no weapons companies. Users can also pick their battles, as it were–filtering on all types of weapons makers or on just military weapons or just civilian firearms.
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