Presbyterians to Stop Buying ‘Military’ Stock
NEW YORK — An investment unit of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has decided to stop buying stock in several companies, including what were described as the “top 10 military corporations.”
The action was taken by the church’s Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment, which guides stock holdings from $2.4 billion in funds held by the Presbyterian Foundation and Board of Pensions.
For years, “we’ve pressed for peace from our pulpits,” said the Rev. Daniel Thomas of Princeton Theological Seminary, chairman of the investment committee. “Now we’re prepared to commit our portfolio to peace as well.”
The companies make up what the committee called the “top 10 military corporations” and some of the “top 100 defense contractors, which depend on the Pentagon for over 25% of their business.”
They included Boeing, Du Pont, General Electric, General Dynamics, Grumman Aerospace, Litton, Martin Marietta, McDonnell-Douglas, Monsanto, Raytheon, Rockwell International, Singer and Textron. Corporations excluded for military dependency included Singer, Textron and Litton.
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