Teacher Retirement System Invested In Gun Conglomerate

05:07

December 18, 2012

In this 2006 photo, a Bushmaster AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and ammunition is seen at the Seattle Police headquarters in Seattle. Authorities say the gunman in last week's school shooting in Newtown, Conn. also used a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle. (Ted S. Warren/AP)

In a statement on Tuesday, Cerberus Capital Management called the Newtown shooting a "watershed event" and announced it's getting out of the gun business.

Cerberus owns the gun and ammunition manufacturer Freedom Group Inc. that makes the Bushmaster rifle - used by the Newtown shooter, Adam Lanza, to kill 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School last week.

Martin Feinberg, father of the CEO of Cerberus, lives in Newtown, Conn. He told Bloomberg News that Friday's school shooting in Newtown, Conn. was "devastating."

H&N's full coverage of the Newtown shootings

The move by Cerberus comes after it came out that funds from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) were invested in Cerberus' gun conglomerate - apparently in violation of CalSTRS' investment policies.

Fortune magazine senior editor Dan Primack wonders whether a foreign gun maker will buy Freedom Group.

Fortune: The money behind the Newtown massacre
Fortune: Cerberus: We want out of gun biz
Bloomberg: Cerberus Founder Feinberg’s Father Is Resident of Newtown

Guest:

Dan Primack, senior editor at Fortune magazine. He tweets @danprimack.

This segment aired on December 18, 2012.

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