Stewardship

by John G. Taft, John C. Bogle, Richard Fish (Reading)

A compelling argument for why stewardship of wealth and service to others should be our highest financial priority.… Stewardship is the journey of financial insider John Taft toward understanding and affirming the importance of stewardship—which he has come to define as "serving others"—as a core principle for the financial services industry, the global financial system, and society at large. By defining the attributes of authentic stewardship, this book presents 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's core principles as the key to not only minimizing the scope and consequences of future failures, but also to addressing other societal challenges. From the man who made the decision to reimburse clients affected by the collapse of a money market mutual fund, comes a compelling look at why financial service companies should start doing what's right for their customers.

MP3 CD

First published February 7, 2012

Reviews

[Jackie Kashian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fascinating. I don't have any professional training in finance...know a bit but nothing as layered as this. It reveals the willful errors of the crash and the dedication of this guy to work, within the system, true, to fix it. It's a compelling and hopeful book.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a lot of hope for this book. I hoped that Mr. Taft would explain Stewardship as a core principle, how it relates to our society, and where we have gone wrong over the past several decades. Sadly this book turned out to be mostly fluff. The book starts out talking about/defining Stewardship which is a great start. He then dives into the Canadian banking system and the recent Dodd-Frank reforms that were made. After that he then jumps around for a bit while staying solely focused on the financial section and these events that happen that no one can predict until they happen. He ends it by talking a bit about the world at large and then end the book.

Positives:
Great idea
Starts well with a great concept
Gives a good standard evaluation of the financial crisis.

Negatives:
Seemed to point almost no fingers at specific executives and banks for their role. He preferred to tip toe around naming who were major culprits.
At one point towards the end he recounts a conversation he had with a friend regarding the book. The friend proceeded to say that because people no longer believe in God there are no absolutes, no good and evil, and everyone can do what they want. He included it in the book for a reason and didn't express he disagreed with it. It is a garbage argument for why the US culture is like that.
He cites/quotes from so many other books/studies that it made it feel more like a thesis rather than a book about his opinion/principle
Fell short on saying how we can change society, how we can be more responsible.


Overall it felt more like a book that said "He guys let's play it a little more safe next time" rather than actually caring about the large impact that happened and how to change the culture in the US.