President and ChairRBC Wealth Management Financial Services Inc.
“Each day is a new opportunity to share my passion and educate our teams, colleagues and clients about the value of insurance offerings. Focusing on sound estate planning and implementing appropriate solutions allows families and businesses to protect their assets today and for future generations.”
John W. Hamilton is president and chair of RBC Wealth Management Financial Services.
In his role, John leads the strategy and overall management of the business, promoting the vision that every client-facing professional in Canada will value the crucial role insurance advice plays in their clients’ wealth management plan. A strong believer in collaboration and challenging the status quo, John encourages his team to think critically and creatively to deliver strategic solutions that include life and living benefits insurance as well as retirement income wealth solutions.
An industry veteran with more than four decades of experience, John became the leader of RBC Wealth Management Financial Services in October 2002.
He began his financial services career in the Group Sales division at London Life Insurance Company in 1980. He then joined Royal Trust in 1987, where he gained custodial, securities and plan-recordkeeping expertise through progressive sales, relationship management and operations roles. Following RBC’s acquisition of Royal Trust in 1993, he led a business unit that provided services to insurance and mutual fund organizations. From 1996 to 2002, John held senior business development, distribution and operational roles at RBC Insurance and its legal entity subsidiaries, eventually being appointed vice president.
John is an active member of Advocis, where he currently serves as the chair of the board of The Institute™ for Advanced Financial Education (IAFE)—the leading designation body in Canada for financial services practitioners in the specialty areas of advanced estate, wealth transfer and living benefits. He has been an IAFE board member since 2011 and is a member of The Financial Advisors Association of Canada (TFAAC) and an associate member of the Conference of Advanced Life Underwriting (CALU). He previously chaired the IIROC Insurance subcommittee of the Retail Sales Committee of the Investment Industry Association of Canada.
Along with his industry designations, including the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA), John holds bachelor’s degrees from the University of Western Ontario and Laurentian University. He completed the executive program at the Western University Business School and is a graduate of the Family Business Centre at the UBC Sauder School of Business.
John has been involved in various charitable endeavors, including as a past co-chair of the RBC Charity Trust initiative. He and his family reside in Burlington, Ontario.