Conn. reviewing investments in wake of Newtown tragedy

The Connecticut Treasurer’s office is reviewing the state’s pension fund to evaluate any investment exposure to gun manufacturers and to retailers and other gun distributors, state Treasurer Denise L. Nappier said yesterday.

Nappier said in a Dec. 19 statement that Connecticut’s direct exposure to a weapons manufacturer is limited to an investment in Alliant Techsystems Inc., an aerospace and defense company based in Arlington, Va., that supplies ammunition and related supplies to law enforcement agencies and commercial clients.

The state’s pension system has investments in Alliant Techsystems totaling just under $900,000, including equities valued at $57,200 and corporate bonds valued at $830,500, Nappier said.

“My interest is in ensuring that any company in which Connecticut pension funds are invested conducts its business consistent with our standards for responsible corporate citizenship – which includes considerations of public safety and the well-being of our children,” Nappier said.

With the state’s investment in Alliant Techsystems, “the Newtown tragedy makes it abundantly clear that we must scrutinize our direct exposure, as well as our indirect exposure to companies throughout the supply chain,” she said.