Vanguard, BlackRock pressured over firearms investments Ignites, a Financial Times publication, provides news about the mutual fund industry in the US. http://www.ignites.com/ Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel has called on fund managers including Vanguard and BlackRock to divest from gun manufacturers opposing "commonsense gun reforms." In letters sent last week to six fund industry chief executive officers, Mr Emanuel said the industry needs to exert its influence with companies blocking reforms including required background checks and an assault weapons ban. "The time is now for everyone to do anything they can to stop these military-style guns and magazines from ending up on the street and putting families, children and police officers at risk," said Mr Emanuel, who was chief of staff to President Obama before becoming mayor in 2011. This has to be about doing what is morally right and not what is financially beneficial to their bottom lines. The companies receiving the letters all have funds owning shares of gun manufacturers "actively lobbying against safety reforms," according to a statement from the mayor's office. The two holdings Mr Emanuel focuses on are Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger. According to the letters, Vanguard owns $46.1m in Smith & Wesson and $66.6m in Sturm Ruger, while BlackRock owns $39.4m in Smith & Wesson and $43.7m in Sturm Ruger. Other fund managers receiving letters are Allianz, Capital World Investors and James Investment Research, which are said to hold stakes ranging from $40.4m to $67.9m in Sturm Ruger, and Dimensional Fund Advisors, said to own $17.3m in Smith & Wesson shares. "The mayor is asking the mutual funds to divest from these companies until they support these reforms," the statement said. Last month, Mr Emanuel ordered a portfolio analysis from the five pension and retirement funds for Chicago employees to determine if fund managers held underlying debt or equity positions in companies that manufacture or sell assault weapons as the first step toward removing them from the investment plans. Last week, the Chicago Municipal Employees Annuity and Benefit Fund board voted to divest more than $1m from three companies making assault weapons: Freedom Group, Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger.