Mutual Funds and Gun Companies

gun manufacturers: The president is among millions of Americans investing in gun companies — often unwittingly — as mutual funds have increased such holdings to record levels, according to a Reuters analysis of institutional investment in firearms companies, according to The Japan Times. Since Obama was elected in 2009, mutual funds have raised their stakes in the nation two largest gun manufacturers with publicly traded shares — Smith & Wesson Corp. and Sturm, Ruger & Co. — from $30 million to about $510 million. Although Obama stake is minuscule, worth no more than $30, it reflects a much larger surge of investment. That means such stocks are now common in retirement and college savings plans. Beyond mutual funds, such investments also are held in the portfolios of hedge funds and public pension plans, which are harder to track. The influx has helped to boost both companies’ shares by more than 750 percent during the Obama presidency; each now has a market value of about $1 billion. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.