John Bolton's Investment Fund Bet on Socially Maligned Industries
The venture was meant to be a conservative alternative to socially responsible funds, putting money into guns, oil, and coal.
LACHLAN MARKAY
SAM STEIN
03.16.18 5:16 AM ET
In his time outside of public service, former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton has worn many hats. He served as a senior fellow at a top conservative D.C. think tank, a lawyer at a prestigious law firm, a ubiquitous talking head on Fox News and an adviser to politicians, including the current president, who has been strongly considering Bolton as his next national security adviser.
Bolton also dabbled a bit in the private sector. And while most of his ventures have been utterly conventional, at least one was a controversial flop.
Back in 2015, Bolton joined Freedom Capital Investment Management, an upstart investment firm with a novel and somewhat grisly money-making philosophy. Whereas society looked down on businesses like guns, oil and coal, Freedom Capital saw financial opportunities.
The firm was the brainchild of conservative financier Jeff McClure, who envisioned a “socially responsible” fund created for like-minded investors. A number of investment vehicles earmark portions of their portfolios for socially driven ventures. But McClure reasoned that most of those ventures were inherently progressive—green-energy companies and the like—and that a tremendous market opening was there for a fund catering to values-based investments for conservatives.
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