There are many approaches institutional investors may choose from in deciding to end financial relationships with the companies involved in the nuclear weapons industry. This is a brief selection. 

1. Nuclear weapons are prohibited and controversial weapons

Nuclear weapons are indiscriminate weapons. They cannot be used without causing massive civilian harm. That's why the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons exists, because you cannot control the effects of a nuclear weapon within borders. Financial institutions can decide not to invest in products that are inhumane by design and prohibited under international law.

2. Nuclear weapons violate human rights

A general comment issued by the UN Human Rights Committee in 2018 finds the threat or use of nuclear weapons to be incompatible with respect for the right to life. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons adopted a year earlier is suffused with a humanitarian perspective, protects the rights of victims of testing and use of nuclear arms, and cites human rights law and the principles of humanity in its preamble. Nuclear weapons have the potential to take tens or hundreds of thousands of lives instantly, cannot distinguish between enemy combatants and civilians, and put countless other lives at risk years after their initial use as a consequence of radiation exposure. This makes nuclear weapons a tool for 'arbitrary deprivation' of life, as prohibited in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

3. There is a stigma attached to financing the bomb.

No one wants to be known as a nuclear weapons investor, just as financial institutions don’t want to be known as investing in prostitution. There are reputational risks that investors need to consider. 

3. Consumers are going green and want to focus on ESG and impact investing

Around the world consumers are seeking ways to eco-label their activities, whether by purchasing fair trade products or shifting their investments towards socially responsible funds.

5. Nuclear weapons producers are financially neutral. 

For the most part, the return on investment from nuclear weapons producers is not significantly more or less than other industries and markets. There is no significant financial benefit, or loss, from divesting from these producers. After the UN Nuclear Ban treaty was adopted, ABP announced it would divest and then commissioned a study to assess the impact on its portfolio. The result? Exiting these financing relationships had a positive impact on the bottom line.