New report highlights financing of nuclear weapons

A new report from Don’t Bank on the Bomb has shed light on how the companies behind the financing of companies behind the manufacturing of nuclear weapons. Companies involved include the UK based HSBC, Barclays, Aviva and Prudential. Although the report shows a fall in the number of investments in these companies, the amount of money invested has increased.

Many nuclear-armed states, including the UK, are currently upgrading their systems, leading to billions of pounds of contracts being available for investors who might assume a short-term gain.

The report has concluded that nearly 100 financial institutions who had a relationship with the nuclear weapons industry in 2017 no longer have one. However, other institutions have started to finance companies that contribute key components for nuclear weapons.

Don’t Bank on the Bomb has found nearly $748 billion (around £590 billion) invested in nuclear weapons since 2017 in the top 18 companies contributing towards nuclear weapons manufacturing. More than $900 billion (£700 billion) is invested in total.

In the United Kingdom the report found that 27 financial institutions have these investments, an increase of one from the previous report. The minimum total value of those investments is £31.5 billion, a decrease of 7% since 2017.

The full list of UK based investors named in the report is: Aviva, Barclays, CL King & Associates, Fidelity International, HSBC, Intrinsic Value Investors, Invesco, Janus Henderson, Jupiter Fund Management, Lazard, Legal & General, Lloyds Banking Group, Majedie Asset Management, Marathon Asset Management (UK), Marshall Wace, Odey Asset Management, Old Mutual, Opus Corporate Finance LLP, Orbis Group, Prudential (UK), Royal Bank of Scotland, RWC Partners, Schroders, Serco Group Employee Benefit Trust, Silchester International Investors, Standard Chartered, Standard Life Aberdeen and White Mountains Insurance.

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