Making Capital Markets Work for Society - again | Tomás Carruthers | TEDxLiverpool

Go back close on two hundred years and capital markets genuinely served society. Yes there were profits to be had but the spoils were shared far more equitably than we see today. Rampant growth and innovation - driven largely by fear and greed - has over the last 30 years fundamentally changed the face of capitalism. But there is now a growing tide of investors who want to look beyond just the financial return and consider what their capital actually achieves. These so-called impact investors are driving a game-changing, financial revolution. Tomás Carruthers, who for years has been at the forefront of democratising access to capital markets for retail investors and is now Chief Executive of the Social Stock Exchange, explains what’s driving this fundamental shift in attitudes. The collapse of the global financial system inspired Tomás to find a way of bringing impact investing into the mainstream. Tomás grew up in Northumberland where the local Stock Exchange, his father's place of work was a very famiilar sight. As London grew to become the financial epicentre investment transparency decreased along with stakeholder responsibility. Regional Stock Exchanges eventually died in the 70's. Today Tomás is Chief Executive Officer of the Social Stock Exchange (SSX) and committed to delivering great returns for investors whilst increasing stakeholder accountability of business impact. After two successful decades building and growing retail financial services companies - including ESI, which became E*Trade UK and Interactive Investor International plc - Tomás believes this innovative regional approach to finance provides the answer for our future. The first regional social stock exchange will be be open for business in Liverpool in June 2016. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx