Stewardship

Summary

This book is about the author's journey towards understanding and affirming the importance of Stewardship as a core principle for him, personally; for the financial services industry; for the global financial system; and for society at large. The book defines stewardship and describes the attributes of authentic stewardship. It suggests a path forward by analyzing the success of Canadian banks in weathering the financial crisis; evaluates the effectiveness of global financial reform efforts in making the financial system safer, sounder and more secure; offers wealth management prescriptions for individual investors; evaluates the potential of ESG (environmental, social and governance) investment processes as a way to instill stewardship behaviors among corporate CEOs (particularly at financial services firms) and, ultimately, calls for a return to stewardship core principles as the key to not only minimize the scope and consequences of future financial system failures, but also to addressing other societal challenges.