[Investing] Do You Own Gun Stocks In Your 401 (k) And Don’t Know It? Snoop Dogg Has Been Worried About This For Years And Shared His Concerns With Stacey Tisdale

Tens of Millions of Americans Invest Trillions in Gun Stocks through retirement and mutual fund accounts

By Stacey Tisdale

As the nation mourns The Texas Massacre, the second deadliest school shooting on record, the topic of gun control has returned to center stage.

While politicians argue and debate how big a role the stunningly wealthy gun lobby plays in U.S. gun laws, many people are unaware of the role they play in the power and wealth of gun companies.

By some estimates, mutual funds, 401(k)’s, and exchange-traded funds, (ETFs) pour trillions of investor dollars into gun companies, including gun manufacturers, American Outdoor Brands, parent of gunmaker Smith & Wesson, and Sturm, Ruger & Co. 

With polls showing that many Americans support gun control, some investors may not be happy to find out that they are fattening the profits of these firms, and ultimately the gun lobby.

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Snoop Dogg UnLoads

Several years ago, the legendary Snoop Dogg joined forces with an anti-gun violence campaign called #ImUnloading. It was part of a project called “Unload Your 401k,” done in partnership with “Campaign to Unload,” “States United to Prevent Gun Violence,” and “No Guns Allowed.”

“My goal is to encourage people to “Unload their 401(k)s to save lives and make our communities safer,” Snoop told me.

While the campaign no longer exists, Snoop's words echo strongly in these challenging times.

“I’m tired of seeing our communities and loved ones die from senseless gun violence. The “No Guns Allowed” campaign was inspired by an open letter written by the Executive Director of the League of Young Voters thanking me for my single “No Guns Allowed,” said Snoop.

“The song spoke about the issues of gun violence in our communities and emphasized how we need to come together to spread the peace. It’s important as entertainers to lift up our voices to create change.”

Snoop On Stocks

As a financial journalist (and Snoop fan), I was very interested in the icon’s emphasis on the importance that the communities most affected by gun violence be aware of the impact of their dollars.

“Gun violence isn’t just an issue that affects people with 401Ks. Even if you don’t have a 401K, it’s still important to know where your money is going. We all can do our part to help stop gun violence,” said Snoop.

“My advice is if you’re going to invest, you should check with your employer or financial adviser to see where your investments are going. You should also urge your employers to offer a “no guns allowed 401K option.”

Conscious Investing 

To avoid financial stress, our financial choices should reflect our highest goals and values.

Nerdwallet has a good guide to help you find ‘socially conscious’ investments and funds that best reflect what you care about.  Investing apps like Stash are making it easier than ever to invest in line with your conscience.

When it comes to exposure to gun stocks, the shareholder advocacy group, As You Sow has tools that allow you to check which investments are held in your funds in many areas such as gun and weapon-free funds, prison free funds, and funds that are focused on gender equality.

From The Great Resignation to the infamous Game Stop stock market swing, one thing we’ve learned over the past year is that collectively, ‘we the people’ have the power to make change through our choices and our dollars.

[Money] 3 Reasons Not to ‘Panic Sell’ in a Falling Stock Market

[Money] 3 Reasons Not to ‘Panic Sell’ in a Falling Stock Market

Keeping emotions in check and reaping the financial benefits of courage

By Stacey Tisdale

Fears that fast-moving Delta Variant of the coronavirus will put the brakes on a return to ‘social norms’ and economic recovery in the U.S. and abroad weigh is weighing heavily on stock prices.

A surge in new investors, courtesy of micro-investing apps like Robinhood, means many people are facing market turbulence and shrinking portfolios for the first time.

The Long Haul

It is important to remember that stocks are still the best game in town when approached as a long-term investment.  The average 10-year stock market return is 9.2%, according to Goldman Sachs

A good rule of thumb is to only invest money in the stock market that you will not need for the next 3 to 5 years.  That’s a lot easier said than done, however, when we see the size of ou

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Keeping Your Emotions In Check

That makes it imperative that we keep our emotions in check.  Keeping these 3 tips in mind may keep you from making a premature exit from stocks at the expense of future returns.

1. You haven’t lost a penny until you sell: It’s important to remember this when you see scary headlines or hear fearful ‘water cooler’ chatter about plummeting markets. Despite its ups and downs, The Dow Jones Industrial Average has had an average return of about 7.75% from 1921 to present. Ride out the storm, and give your stock investments time and space to do what they do best: Grow.

2. Don’t train your brain to make financial decisions based on fear: Fortunately for our physical safety, but unfortunately for just about everything else, the reptilian part of our brain is programmed to respond to fear in the ‘hear and now’ at the expense of logic. Money is so tied to our sense of survival that watching our portfolios plummet or our assets shrink on paper will literally throw our minds and bodies into a fight or flight response. Take a deep breath and reconnect with your long-term financial goals when you sense you’re letting fear run the show. Give your brain experiences that show it that you don’t have to give into panic.

3. Warren Buffett is right: Buffett is famous for saying It’s wise to be “fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” In other words, don’t follow the crowd over a cliff. Heed the billionaire’s advice, and see lower stock prices for what many of them are, great buying opportunities.

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Know Thyself – Master Your Fears

When it comes to investing, there are many things to consider. For example:

• Your tolerance for risk: You don’t want the markets keeping you up at night.

• Your time horizon: Many experts agree that money you will need in 3 years or less should be in less risky investments like bonds or cd’s.

• Your long-term goals: Today’s economic challenges make investing essential for many of us in order to create long-term financial security.

Our minds can’t tell the difference between real or imagined fear. It’s up to us to bring our powers of discrimination and reason into our decision making.