On the 3-month anniversary of the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio challenged corporate investors and hedge funds that bought up gun stocks in the tragedy’s immediate aftermath. During the quarter ending on December 31, 2012, nine firms with New York City offices bought a combined 5.1 million new shares in gun manufacturers that sell military-grade weapons and ammunition to civilians. Those new holdings are valued at $79 million. De Blasio slammed the investors for perpetuating the gun industry’s status quo and helping fuel the National Rifle Association’s efforts to stall new gun control legislation. To help reverse this trend, de Blasio announced a new online hub where investment firms can pledge to divest their gun holdings.

“For the rest of the country, Newtown changed everything. But for these financial firms, Newtown was just another opportunity to profit—and our communities are paying the price,” said New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. “We won’t let business-as-usual prevail. We will force the issue through a national divestment campaign that changes the gun industry’s dangerous practices for good.”

In January, de Blasio launched a list of the “Dirty Dozen” biggest private investors in the gun industry. Today’s announcement expands the total number of major investors to 20 hedge funds and 18 money managers. Each of the firms listed by de Blasio on his website holds shares in at least one of three publicly traded gun manufacturers—Smith & Wesson Holding Company; Sturm, Ruger & Co; and Olin Corporation, according to the most recent SEC filings. Each of those manufacturers has produced weapons or ammunition linked to recent mass shootings.

Through an online hub, de Blasio will push firms to divest, and help private investors identify firms that do not invest in gun manufacturers that sell military-grade weapons and ammunition to civilians.

Visit the website at: wallstreetforchange.com

During the 4th quarter of 2012 (ending December 31,2012), three hedge funds with NYC offices purchased gun holdings for the first time, acquiring more than 2.7 million new shares of Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger, valued at over $50 million:

Impala Asset Management LLC

Purchased 893,938 new shares of Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger, valued at $27.8 million

Owl Creek Asset Management, L.P.

Purchased 1.6 million new shares of Smith & Wesson, valued at $13.6 million

Highside Capital Management

Purchased 251,807 new shares of Sturm Ruger, valued at $11.4 million

Half of the firms on the Public Advocate’s original “Dirty Dozen” list also scaled up their gun investments at the end of 2012, increasing their holdings in the tragedy’s aftermath. In total, these six firms purchased over 2.5 million new shares of Smith & Wesson, Sturm Ruger and Olin, valued at more than $29 million:

Black Rock, Inc.

Purchased 1.6 million new shares of Smith & Wesson, valued at $13.7 million

Allianz Asset Management AG

Purchased 418,121 new shares of Olin, valued at $9 million

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation

Purchased 307,195 new shares of Smith & Wesson, Sturm Ruger and Olin, valued at $3.95 million

Northern Trust Corporation

Purchased 72,094 new shares of Smith & Wesson, Sturm Ruger and Olin, valued at $1.4 million

Ameriprise Financial

Purchased 47,989 new shares of Smith & Wesson and Olin, valued at $722,674

State Street

Purchased 11,737 new shares of Olin, valued at $253,408

(YWN Desk – NYC)