Perhaps you've recently wondered if your money is in gun stocks, and if you can or should take it out. Warning: The answer is complicated.

It's very possible that you are an investor in the major gunmakers.

An analysis by the nonprofit advocacy group Goodbye Gun Stocks found that 35 percent of U.S. stock mutual funds contain investments in a maker or retailer of guns and ammunition.

You can check to see if your investment fund is "gun-free," or how much of your money goes to guns, on their website. Vanguard also offers its investors a way to screen funds for specific holdings.

Concerned investors can also ask their financial advisor for a breakdown of exactly where their money is flowing.

Rick Rodgers, director at Innovest Portfolio Solutions, says investors often assume their financial advisors have screened investments for certain companies the investor might find problematic, when in fact they haven't. Better communication is needed, he said.

"Describe what you wish not to invest in," Rodgers said. "Have the advisor present evidence that they've done the screening."

Yet experts say divestment isn't necessarily the best route if, say, you would like to see more gun controls put in place.

Jamie Cox of Harris Financial Group, which manages $500 million for about 800 middle-class families, recommends what might seem a counter-intuitive approach: Don't sell your shares.

"You're better to band together and become a bigger fraction of ownership," Cox said.

He pointed to recent news that BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager and one of the biggest shareholders of gunmakers, announced on Thursday it will speak to gunmakers about society's expectations as mass shootings have become disturbingly common.

"If they're managing money on behalf of millions of Americans and they accumulate a large position in company X, they can influence decision making within the corporation," Cox said.

He added, "Just because you sell the stock doesn't mean the company doesn't continue to operate. The better way is to come up with rules."