Modern School: CalSTRS Forces Sale of Bushmaster Investment—Retains Other Death Holdings

Modern School: CalSTRS Forces Sale of Bushmaster Investment—Retains Other Death Holdings:

CalSTRS Forces Sale of Bushmaster Investment—Retains Other Death Holdings

by Michael Dunn

Image by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Less than one day after the California teachers’ pension fund, CalSTRS, threatened to cut ties with the private equity firm  Cerberus Capital Management, the company sold off its stake in Freedom Group (see Edsource), which includes Bushmaster, manufacturer of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle used by Adam Lanza to massacre 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

Cerberus is owned by the billionaire financier Stephen A. Feinberg, who is a gun enthusiast. His father, Martin Feinberg, lives in Newtown, CT. Despite this connection to the tragedy, the firm’s decision to jettison Freedom Group probably has much more to do with profits than either ethics or pressure from CalSTRS. Weapons stocks have been on the decline since the