California teachers pension fund tied to gun maker by investment
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An investment made by the California teachers pension fund is coming under scrutiny because of its link to the manufacturer of the assault rifle used in the Connecticut elementary school massacre.
The fund pledged to invest $500 million in the private equity firm Cerberus, owner of the gun-making conglomerate known as the Freedom Group.
One of the group’s manufacturers is Bushmaster, which produced the rifle officials say was used to kill 20 schoolchildren and six adults in a Newtown, Conn., school Friday.
The investment was highlighted by Fortune on Monday, and a spokesman for the pension fund told Reuters that it was reviewing the decision.
‘At this point our investment branch is examining the Cerberus investment to determine how best to move forward given the tragic events of last Friday in Newtown, Connecticut,’ said the spokesman, Ricardo Duran.
He confirmed the review to the Los Angeles Times.
The California Teachers Assn., the state’s largest teachers union, declined to comment on Monday.
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