Stewardship: Lessons Learned from the Lost Culture of Wall Street

John C. Bogle · Charles D. Ellis · John G. Taft

Jul 2020 · Gildan Media · Narrated by Richard Fish

About this audiobook

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.

About the author

John Clifton Bogle was born in Montclair, New Jersey on May 8, 1929. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from Princeton University in 1951. After graduation, he was hired by the Wellington Fund, a Philadelphia-based fund management company. He was named president of Wellington in 1967. He founded the Vanguard Group of Investment Companies in 1974. In 1976, he founded the Vanguard Index Trust, the first index fund for individual investors. In 1977, he started selling mutual funds directly to investors rather than through brokers, thus eliminating the sales fees. He officially stepped down as chief executive of Vanguard in January 1996 and remained as chairman until the end of 1999. He wrote several books including Bogle on Mutual Funds, Common Sense on Mutual Funds, and The Clash of the Cultures: Investment vs. Speculation. He died from esophageal cancer on January 16, 2019 at the age of 89.