News Release

How Enlightened Finance Can Restore Faith in Capitalism  

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (March 17, 2015) John G. Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management - U.S., is on a mission to mend the rift between the financial industry and the public. Though it’s been six years since the 2008 crisis, the world is still mystified by some of the reckless behavior that brought the global economy to its knees. And for all the good intentions of Dodd-Frank and other reforms, Taft contends, we need a deeper rapprochement, to ensure that the finance of the future is truly driven by a sense of moral and societal responsibility.

In A FORCE FOR GOOD: How Enlightened Finance Can Restore Faith in Capitalism [Palgrave Macmillan/ PUB DATE: March 17th, 2015/ Hardcover/ 1-137-27972-9] Taft gathers some of the greatest financial minds and thought leaders of our time to explore how Wall Street can use its might for the public good, restore its reputation, and promote economic security for all.

Taft’s stellar list of contributors tackles everything from big-bank culture to Social Security to the power of impact investing. Highlights include:

• Robert Shiller explores what finance looks like when it’s in support of a “good society”
• Sheila Bair explores the ten most significant structural weaknesses that still exist in the U.S. financial regulatory structure, and how they can potentially be reformed
• Charles Ellis presents a cautionary tale of “mission drift” which illustrates how easy it is for even the most diligent firms to lose touch with the needs of their clients
• Jack Bogle’s recommended cure for what ails finance – a broad application and strict observance of the fiduciary duty of care
• Judd Gregg discusses the need to return to more sustainable fiscal policy
• Barbara Novick’s take on the retirement savings gap, which lays out a series of policy options and recommendations that can bring about concrete improvements to the personal retirement solutions that are currently available
• David Blood on our shift from financial capitalism to sustainable capitalism, including what this new form of capitalism looks like and how the financial system needs to evolve to support it

Over the last five years, we’ve heard so much about how the finance industry failed us. A FORCE FOR GOOD moves beyond rehashing the mistakes of the past and offers a path for how the sector can truly become an agent of positive social change, instead of a symbol of greed and disparity.

John G. Taft is CEO of RBC Wealth Management U.S., one of the largest full-service investment, advisory and wealth management firms in the country. John is a former chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the leading securities industry trade group, and he has served a wide range of not-for-profit and public service organizations. He is the author of Stewardship: Lessons Learned from the Lost Culture of Wall Street, and the great-grandson of President William Howard Taft. Prior to his finance career, John was assistant to the mayor of the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, and a journalist.

About RBC Wealth Management – U.S.
In the United States, RBC Wealth Management operates as a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC. Founded in 1909, RBC Capital Markets, LLC. is a member of the New York Stock Exchange, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, and other major securities exchanges. RBC Wealth Management has $270 billion in total client assets with 1,900 financial advisors operating in 200 locations in 41 states.

Media Contact:
Jonell Lundquist, RBC Wealth Management:
612-371-2239 or jonell.lundquist@rbc.com

Important disclosure information about Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and RBC Capital Markets, LLC