Gunmakers and most gun retailers will now be excluded from BlackRock's broader socially responsible mutual and exchange traded funds. Such funds have historically excluded companies that make cluster bombs, nuclear reactors and cigarettes, while favouring companies that are rated socially responsible. BlackRock's institutional investors will be offered an even more targeted option: they can screen gun stocks out of their endowments and include gun-free index funds in their employees' pension plan choices without going the whole hog on ethical investing.