Why BlackRock’s Move to Disarm Some Funds Is Good Business
ByBlackRock may have found a simple solution to its gun dilemma. The fund manager, led by Laurence D. Fink, will offer new products allowing individuals and institutions to invest in market indexes without putting money into manufacturers and retailers of firearms. Coupled with a plan to engage public gunmakers and sellers directly, the decision moves Mr. Fink closer to fulfilling a promise that BlackRock’s business benefit society alongside the bottom line.
Because it has over $6 trillion of client money to invest, much of it in products that follow stock and bond market indexes, BlackRock is among the top owners of nearly every public company. That includes American Outdoor Brands, maker of the AR-15-style rifle used to murder 17 high school students and their teachers in Parkland, Fla., in February. And that put Mr. Fink, who has urged companies to serve a social purpose, in an uncomfortable position at a time of mass demonstrations and consumer boycotts over gun violence…
Why BlackRock’s Move to Disarm Some Funds Is Good Business
