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Investors, whether individuals or institutions, can withdraw their support from the nuclear weapons industry.
Institutions
If you work with a financial institution, please see our resources for the sector here.
If you are connected to an institutional investor (like a Church, religious order, endowment fund, foundation, pension or retirement fund, etc), you can encourage the creation or modification of a sustainable and responsible investment policy.
A good policy will exclude all investments in any company (regardless of where they are located) that is involved in the production of nuclear weapons. The policy will apply to all investments, and companies that are excluded should be informed as to why.
Policies can be elaborate, or they can be quite simple. A simple policy text could read:
"As the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons prohibits the development, testing, production, manufacture, acquisition, possession and stockpiling of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, [INVESTOR] will end all investment and financing relationships with any company that is involved in these prohibited activities, either directly or through a joint venture. [INVESTOR] will inform the company that because of their involvement with the production of nuclear weapons, they are no longer a valid prospect within our investment universe."
A policy can go further and also explain that nuclear weapons are nuclear explosive devices that have been weaponised, meaning that they are contained in and delivered by, for example, a missile, rocket or bomb.
Institutional investors can also join others in supporting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by signing onto this statement.
Individuals
Have a conversation with your investment advisor. Explain that you want to exclude companies from your portfolio linked to weapons of mass destruction, specifically nuclear weapons.
Keep in mind the following:
- There are a lot of 'off the shelf' products with high "Environmental, Social, Governance" ratings that still include nuclear weapon producers
- Research shows that divesting from companies associated with teh production of nuclear weapons does not mean less return on your investment. You can do good and do well.
- Your portfolio manager might not know where to find a list of companies to exclude, you can share the list below.
If you manage your own investments, visit www.weaponfreefunds.org to search their database of stock funds from over 100 fund families to determine which of your investments contain nuclear weapons manufacturers. Unfortunately, there's no similar tool at this time for bond funds, you can instead review the prospectus and ask questions to the institution managing the fund itself.
If you want to engage with your Bank or Pension fund, there are some simple steps:
- Check Don't Bank on the Bomb to see if your financial institution is listed with investments, or with a policy preventing investment.
- Get in touch with them to:
- Ask them to divest from nuclear weapon producing companies
- Establish a policy preventing future investment, naming the TPNW and the illegality and inhumanity of nuclear weapons as a reason.
- Tell others and keep the conversation going. Here's some handy FAQs to make the next steps easier.
Companies to exclude from your portfolio
Check our list of nuclear weapon producers to see who should be excluded from your portfolio- and why!