Every month for years, I contributed to my retirement account, believing I was building a secure future.

What I discovered some years ago changed everything. I was actually buying weapons. Lots of them.

I didn’t understand that I was also funding the military-industrial complex that profits from endless suffering, including the weapons contributing to the devastation in Palestine today.

I’m not interested in going down a political rabbit hole.

So let me be clear, this is an article about following the money from retirement accounts to real-time human suffering and to show you a way out.

More importantly, we need to understand how our retirement contributions have been weaponized to drive American foreign policy itself.
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The top shareholders of major defense contractors aren't shadowy billionaires. They're the companies managing our retirement money.
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Here are the top owners of the following companies:

Lockheed Martin (missiles, fighter jets, F-35 program):

​Raytheon (guided missiles, defense electronics):

General Dynamics (combat systems, military vehicles):

When I calculated how much of my own retirement account was invested in weapons manufacturing, the number shocked me. Between my index funds, ETFs and individual holdings, I owned more firepower than most small countries.

Those institutional investors that were managing my retirement money enabled lobbying for policies that maximize weapons sales through continuous global instability.

Institutional investors that manage retirement accounts have fiduciary duty to maximize retirement returns.

Corporate executives also face fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder returns.

There's no wiggle room here. It's a legal obligation that can result in termination and lawsuits if violated.

For defense contractors, this creates a systematic incentive structure that makes peace literally unprofitable:
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According to researchers who analyzed 30 years of defense company stock data, "military conflicts tend to cause improvements in share price performance within the defense sector."

Let me show you how this played out recently:

According to a 2025 academic study examining the October 7th attacks and Israel's massive, excessive military response, defense stock prices showed "a clear increase visible" in the following days.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, financial researchers found it "caused strong comovement for all companies" in the defense sector globally.

The market literally celebrates human suffering because it's profitable for shareholders.

The executives aren't monsters. They're trapped in a system that mathematically rewards human suffering and punishes peace.
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American foreign policy serves the profit needs of defense contractors our retirement accounts own.

Most people think foreign policy is driven by national security concerns or democratic values. The data tells a different story.

Here's how defense contractors systematically captured our government:

Lobbying Dominance: According to OpenSecrets, defense contractors spent $142 million lobbying the federal government in 2023 alone, with $70 million focused just on the annual defense budget bill.

The Revolving Door: According to a 2024 report by Senator Warren, nearly 700 former Pentagon officials, congressional lawmakers and staffers now work for major military contractors, primarily as lobbyists.

According to the Project On Government Oversight, in 2021 alone, 36 officials left the Pentagon to join private defense firms. Those same firms received over $89 billion in Pentagon contracts that year.

Political Contributions: According to Fair Observer's analysis, major arms contractors have poured $83 million in campaign contributions over the past two election cycles, targeting members with the most power to help weapons producers.

The Pentagon Fellowship Program: According to a Quincy Institute investigation, the Department of Defense actually sends military officers to work directly for defense contractors using taxpayer money, then those officers report back to Pentagon leadership with "recommendations."

Here's what this systematic capture produces:

American foreign policy that serves the profit needs of defense contractors our retirement accounts own.

When there's a potential diplomatic solution to a conflict, defense contractors have spent $142 million ensuring Congress hears why military intervention is "necessary."

When peace negotiations might succeed, 700 former Pentagon officials turned lobbyists explain why we need more weapons "just in case."

Our retirement contributions don't just accidentally fund weapons. They fund the systematic capture of American foreign policy to ensure continuous demand for those weapons.

Acknowledging my own complicity was confronting a very hard truth for me.

But before you spiral into denial or despair, let me offer you the same compassion I had to give myself.

You didn't design this system. You were told that 401ks and index funds were the "responsible" way to invest. You trusted financial advisors who probably didn't know where your money really goes.

Most Americans have no idea their retirement accounts have captured their own government's foreign policy.

Consider this, what if the weight you feel right now is an awakening?

I believe it's your conscience is working. That you still have the capacity to choose differently.

We have a choice. We can spiral into shame ("I'm a terrible person") or denial ("This isn't really my fault").

Or we can choose a third path: radical self-compassion coupled with immediate action.

Yes, we've been unknowingly complicit. AND we can redirect our money starting today.
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Instead of drowning in despair, what if we chose empowerment?

Gratitude that we discovered this systematic corruption.

Gratitude that we live in an era with alternatives.

Gratitude that every dollar we redirect starves this system of the capital it needs.

Previous generations couldn't directly fund solutions. We can.

Through community funding and crowd investing, you can systematically redirect capital from:

$80 in Ovanova's solar microgrid at Liberty Hills Farm → 10% annualized return while building energy independence (the opposite of resource wars). When Hurricane Helene hit, Ovanova rushed to Marshall, NC and set up an emergency solar microgrid that powered a rural store for 47 days providing a lifeline to the community when the grid was down.

$240 in CNote's community development → 4% returns while funding affordable housing that prevents displacement and instability. Zero losses since 2017, helped create 5,961 affordable housing units and 9,693 jobs.

​$570 in SMBX small business loans → 15.63% cash flow return after 12 months while supporting entrepreneurs who create community resilience instead of community extraction. (Cash flow return = interest + dividends + return of principal)
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Understanding that retirement accounts fund weapons is just the beginning. The deeper realization is this:
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​The stock market itself is structurally designed to prioritize profits over long-term human welfare.

Every public company faces the same fiduciary duty trap to maximize shareholder returns, or executives get fired. This creates systematic pressure for:

ESG divestment funds still operate within the same profit structure, they don't solve the fundamental problem.

We can't reform a system designed for profit extraction. We can only starve it by redirecting capital to systems designed for creation.
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The stock market isn't just ethically compromised. It's structurally designed for profit extraction.

When you buy stocks, you're not funding anything productive. You're just trading ownership papers while companies chase profits through whatever means necessary, including war.

But community funding actually creates productive activity.

Stock Market = Speculation on extraction

Community Funding = Direct productive investing

Energy Independence Projects: Solar microgrids, clean tech, battery storage all of which reduces dependence on oil that drives resource wars

Regenerative Agriculture: Food systems that restore rather than extract which creates abundance instead of scarcity-driven conflict
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​Community Development: Local businesses, affordable housing, worker cooperatives, this builds resilience that prevents the desperation that breeds instability
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Here's how to start redirecting your money from war profiteering to peace building:​

Every dollar you move from traditional retirement accounts to community funding:

Take a moment and look past the part about changing your portfolio. Because this is really about healing the division that's tearing our country apart.

When we acknowledge responsibility without shame, when we transform complicity into action, when we choose empowerment over despair, we model a way forward that works across all political lines.

Because at the end of the day, none of us want our retirement security to depend on other people's suffering.

Community funding is systematic resistance to the financialization of human suffering.

The military-industrial complex needs your retirement money to capture foreign policy. But peace-building projects need your investment capital to create alternatives.

Your retirement account has been weaponized against human welfare.

But you have the power to redirect it toward human flourishing.

Where will your next dollar go?​

This article represents the personal views of Paul Lovejoy and is for educational purposes only. All investment strategies carry risk.

Investing carries risk of financial loss. Past performance does not guarantee future results. There is no guarantee of income, appreciation or return of principal from investing. Paul Lovejoy is a Licensed Investment Advisor and member of FINRA License # 7477274.