Royal Bank of Canada Trigger Step Securities

$• Securities Linked to the EURO STOXX 50^® Index due on or about January 25, 2027

*Rounded to two decimal places

See “Additional Information About Royal Bank of Canada and the Securities” in this free writing prospectus. The Securities will have the terms specified in the prospectus dated September 14, 2021, the prospectus supplement dated September 14, 2021, product prospectus supplement UBS-IND-1 dated September 14, 2021 and this free writing prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the Securities or passed upon the accuracy or the adequacy of this free writing prospectus or the accompanying prospectus, prospectus supplement and product prospectus supplement UBS-IND-1.  Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The initial estimated value of the Securities as of the Trade Date is expected to be between $9.33 and $9.83 per $10 in principal amount, and will be less than the price to public. The pricing supplement relating to the Securities will set forth our estimate of the initial value of the Securities as of the Trade Date. The actual value of the Securities at any time will reflect many factors, cannot be predicted with accuracy, and may be less than this amount.  We describe our determination of the initial estimated value under “Key Risks”, “Supplemental Plan of Distribution (Conflicts of Interest)” and “Structuring the Securities” below.

The Securities will not constitute deposits insured under the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act or by the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other Canadian or United States government agency or instrumentality.

♦	Product prospectus supplement UBS-IND-1 dated September 14, 2021:

♦	Prospectus supplement dated September 14, 2021:

♦	Prospectus dated September 14, 2021:

The suitability considerations identified above are not exhaustive. Whether or not the Securities are a suitable investment for you will depend on your individual circumstances, and you should reach an investment decision only after you and your investment, legal, tax, accounting, and other advisers have carefully considered the suitability of an investment in the Securities in light of your particular circumstances. You should also review carefully the “Key Risks” in this free writing prospectus and “Risk Factors” in the accompanying product prospectus supplement UBS-IND-1 for risks related to an investment in the Securities.  In addition, you should review carefully the section below, “Information About the Underlying” for more information about the Underlying.

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¹ Terms used in this free writing prospectus, but not defined herein, will have the meanings ascribed to them in the product prospectus supplement.

² If we make any change to the expected Trade Date and Settlement Date, the Final Valuation Date and Maturity Date will be changed to ensure that the stated term of the Securities remains approximately the same.

An investment in the Securities involves significant risks. Investing in the Securities is not equivalent to investing directly in any of the component securities of the Underlying. These risks are explained in more detail in the “Risk Factors” section of the accompanying product prospectus supplement UBS-IND-1. We also urge you to consult your investment, legal, tax, accounting and other advisors before investing in the Securities.

Risks Relating to the Terms and Structure of the Securities

Risks Relating to the Initial Estimated Value of the Securities

market value may be lower than the price you paid for them and the initial estimated value. This is due to, among other things, changes in the level of the Underlying, the borrowing rate we pay to issue securities of this kind, and the inclusion in the price to the public of our estimated profit and the costs relating to our hedging of the Securities. These factors, together with various credit, market and economic factors over the term of the Securities, are expected to reduce the price at which you may be able to sell the Securities in any secondary market and will affect the value of the Securities in complex and unpredictable ways. Assuming no change in market conditions or any other relevant factors, the price, if any, at which you may be able to sell your Securities prior to maturity may be less than the price to public, as any such sale price would not be expected to include our estimated profit or the costs relating to our hedging of the Securities. In addition, any price at which you may sell the Securities is likely to reflect customary bid-ask spreads for similar trades. In addition to bid-ask spreads, the value of the Securities determined for any secondary market price is expected to be based on a secondary market rate rather than the internal borrowing rate used to price the Securities and determine the initial estimated value. As a result, the secondary price will be less than if the internal borrowing rate was used. The Securities are not designed to be short-term trading instruments. Accordingly, you should be able and willing to hold your Securities to maturity.

The value of the Securities at any time after the Trade Date will vary based on many factors, including changes in market conditions, and cannot be predicted with accuracy. As a result, the actual value you would receive if you sold the Securities in any secondary market, if any, should be expected to differ materially from the initial estimated value of your Securities and the amount that may be paid at maturity.

Risks Relating to the Secondary Market for the Securities

Some or all of these factors will influence the terms of the Securities at issuance and the price you will receive if you choose to sell the Securities prior to maturity. The impact of any of the factors set forth above may enhance or offset some or all of any change resulting from another factor or factors. You may have to sell the Securities at a substantial discount from the principal amount if, for example, the level of the Underlying is at, below or not sufficiently above, the Initial Underlying Level.

Risks Relating to the Underlying

Risks Relating to Conflicts of Interest

Hypothetical terms only. Actual terms may vary. See the cover page for the actual offering terms.

Example 1 – On the Final Valuation Date, the Underlying closes 80% above the Initial Underlying Level. Because the Underlying Return is positive and the Underlying Return of 80% is greater than the Step Return of 64.15%, we will pay you a payment of $8.00 at maturity, calculated as follows:

$10 + ($10 x the greater of (i) 80% and (ii) 64.15%) = $10 + $8.00 = $18.00

Example 2 – On the Final Valuation Date, the Underlying closes 60% above the Initial Underlying Level. Because the Underlying Return is positive and the Underlying Return of 60% is less than the Step Return of 64.15%, we will pay you a payment of $16.415 at maturity, calculated as follows:

$10 + ($10 x the greater of (i) 60% and (ii) 64.15%) = $10 + $6.415 = $16.415

Example 3 – On the Final Valuation Date, the Underlying closes 10% below the Initial Underlying Level.  Because the Underlying Return is negative, but the Final Underlying Level is greater than the Downside Threshold, we will pay you at maturity the principal amount of $10 per $10 principal amount Security.

Example 4 – On the Final Valuation Date, the Underlying closes 40% below the Initial Underlying Level. Because the Underlying Return is negative and the Final Underlying Level is less than the Downside Threshold, we will pay you at maturity a cash payment of $6.00 per $10 principal amount Security (a 40% loss on the principal amount), calculated as follows:

$10 + ($10 x -40%) = $10 - $4.00 = $6.00

1 The Underlying Return excludes any cash dividend payments.

2 The “total return” is the number, expressed as a percentage, that results from comparing the payment at maturity per $10 principal amount Security to the purchase price of $10 per Security.

U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

Set forth below, together with the discussion of U.S. federal income tax in the accompanying product prospectus supplement, prospectus supplement, and prospectus, is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences relating to an investment in the Securities.  The following summary supplements, and to the extent inconsistent supersedes, the discussion under the section entitled “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” in the accompanying product prospectus supplement, the section entitled “Certain Income Tax Consequences” in the accompanying prospectus supplement, and the section entitled “Tax Consequences” in the accompanying prospectus, which you should carefully review prior to investing in the Securities.

In the opinion of our special U.S. tax counsel, Ashurst LLP, it would generally be reasonable to treat the Securities as pre-paid cash-settled derivative contracts in respect of the Underlying for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and the terms of the Securities require a holder (in the absence of a change in law or an administrative or judicial ruling to the contrary) to treat the Securities for all tax purposes in accordance with such characterization. If the Securities are so treated, a U.S. holder should generally recognize capital gain or loss upon the sale or maturity of the Securities in an amount equal to the difference between the amount a holder receives at such time and the holder’s tax basis in the Securities. Capital gain recognized by an individual U.S. holder is generally taxed at preferential rates where the property is held for more than one year and is generally taxed at ordinary income rates where the property is held for one year or less. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.

Alternative tax treatments are also possible and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) might assert that a treatment other than that described above is more appropriate. In addition, the IRS has released a notice that may affect the taxation of holders of the Securities. According to the notice, the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department are actively considering whether the holder of an instrument such as the Securities should be required to accrue ordinary income on a current basis. It is not possible to determine what guidance will ultimately be issued, if any. It is possible, however, that under such guidance, holders of the Securities will ultimately be required to accrue income currently and this could be applied on a retroactive basis. The IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department are also considering other relevant issues, including whether additional gain or loss from such instruments should be treated as ordinary or capital and whether the special “constructive ownership rules” of Section 1260 of the Code might be applied to such instruments. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors concerning the significance, and the potential impact, of the above considerations.

Under Section 871(m) of the Code, a “dividend equivalent” payment is treated as a dividend from sources within the United States. Such payments generally would be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax if paid to a non-U.S. holder. Under U.S. Treasury Department regulations, payments (including deemed payments) with respect to equity-linked instruments (“ELIs”) that are “specified ELIs” may be treated as dividend equivalents if such specified ELIs reference, directly or indirectly, an interest in an “underlying security,” which is generally any interest in an entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes if a payment with respect to such interest could give rise to a U.S. source dividend. However, the IRS has issued guidance that states that the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the effective dates of the U.S. Treasury Department regulations to provide that withholding on dividend equivalent payments will not apply to specified ELIs that are not delta-one instruments and that are issued before January 1, 2023. Based on our determination that the Securities are not delta-one instruments, non-U.S. holders should not be subject to withholding on dividend equivalent payments, if any, under the Securities. However, it is possible that the Securities could be treated as deemed reissued for U.S. federal income tax purposes upon the occurrence of certain events affecting the Underlying or the Securities (for example, upon an Underlying rebalancing), and following such occurrence the Securities could be treated as subject to withholding on dividend equivalent payments. Non-U.S. holders that enter, or have entered, into other transactions in respect of the Underlying or the Securities should consult their tax advisors as to the application of the dividend equivalent withholding tax in the context of the Securities and their other transactions. If any payments are treated as dividend equivalents subject to withholding, we (or the applicable withholding agent) would be entitled to withhold taxes without being required to pay any additional amounts with respect to amounts so withheld.

Please see the discussion under the section entitled “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” in the accompanying product prospectus supplement for a further discussion of the U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in the Securities.

CANADIAN FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

For a discussion of the material Canadian federal income tax consequences relating to an investment in the Securities, please see the section entitled “Tax Consequences—Canadian Taxation” in the accompanying prospectus, which you should carefully review prior to investing in the Securities.

All disclosures contained in this document regarding the Underlying, including, without limitation, its make-up, method of calculation, and changes in its components, have been derived from publicly available sources. The information reflects the policies of, and is subject to change by, STOXX Limited, as the sponsor of the Underlying (“STOXX”). STOXX, which owns the copyright and all other rights to the Underlying, has no obligation to continue to publish, and may discontinue publication of, the Underlying. Neither we nor RBCCM accepts any responsibility for the calculation, maintenance or publication of the Underlying or any successor index.

The Underlying was created by STOXX Limited, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse AG. Publication of the Underlying began in February 1998, based on an initial index level of 1,000 at December 31, 1991. Additional Information about the Underlying, including its calculation methodology, may be found on the STOXX Limited website: www.stoxx.com. Information contained in that website is not incorporated by reference in, and should not be considered a part of, this document.

Composition and Maintenance

The SX5E is composed of 50 component stocks of market sector leaders from within the 20 EURO STOXX^® Supersector indices, which represent the Eurozone portion of the STOXX Europe 600^® Supersector indices.

The composition of the SX5E is reviewed annually, based on the closing stock data on the last trading day in August. The component stocks are announced on the first trading day in September. Changes to the component stocks are implemented on the third Friday in September and are effective the following trading day. Changes in the composition of the SX5E are made to ensure that the SX5E includes the 50 market sector leaders from within the Eurozone.

The free float factors for each component stock used to calculate the SX5E, as described below, are reviewed, calculated, and implemented on a quarterly basis and are fixed until the next quarterly review.

The SX5E is also reviewed on an ongoing basis.  Corporate actions (including initial public offerings, mergers and takeovers, spin-offs, delistings, and bankruptcy) that affect the SX5E composition are immediately reviewed.  Any changes are announced, implemented, and effective in line with the type of corporate action and the magnitude of the effect.

Calculation of the SX5E

The SX5E is calculated with the “Laspeyres formula,” which measures the aggregate price changes in the component stocks against a fixed base quantity weight. The formula for calculating the SX5E value can be expressed as follows:

The “free float market capitalization of the SX5E” is equal to the sum of the products of the price, the number of shares, the free float factor and the weighting cap factor for each component stock as of the time the SX5E is being calculated.

The SX5E is also subject to a divisor, which is adjusted to maintain the continuity of the SX5E values across changes due to corporate actions, such as the deletion and addition of stocks, the substitution of stocks, stock dividends, and stock splits.

License Agreement

We have entered into a non-exclusive license agreement with STOXX providing for the license to us and certain of our affiliated or subsidiary companies, in exchange for a fee, of the right to use indices owned and published by STOXX (including the SX5E) in connection with certain securities, including the Securities offered hereby.

The license agreement between us and STOXX requires that the following language be stated in this document:

STOXX has no relationship to us, other than the licensing of the SX5E and the related trademarks for use in connection with the Securities. STOXX does not:

STOXX will not have any liability in connection with the Securities. Specifically:

The licensing agreement between us and STOXX is solely for their benefit and our benefit, and not for the benefit of the holders of the Securities or any other third parties.

Historical Information

The following graph sets forth historical closing levels of the Underlying for the period from January 20, 2012 to January 20, 2022, as reported by Bloomberg Financial Markets. The historical performance of the Underlying should not be taken as an indication of its future performance. We cannot give you assurance that the performance of the Underlying will result in the return of any of your initial investment.

HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE IS NOT AN INDICATION OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE.

Source: Bloomberg L.P.  We have not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the information obtained from Bloomberg Financial Markets.

We have agreed to indemnify UBS and RBCCM against liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or to contribute payments that UBS and RBCCM may be required to make relating to these liabilities as described in the prospectus supplement and the prospectus.

All sales of the Securities will be made to certain fee-based advisory accounts for which UBS is an investment advisor and UBS will act as placement agent. The purchase price will be $10.00 per Security, and UBS will forgo any commissions related to these sales, Investors that purchase and hold the Securities in fee-based advisory accounts will pay advisory fees to UBS based on the amount of assets held in those accounts.

We expect to deliver the Securities on a date that is greater than two business days following the Trade Date. Under Rule 15c6-1 of the Exchange Act, trades in the secondary market generally are required to settle in two business days, unless the parties to any such trade expressly agree otherwise. Accordingly, purchasers who wish to trade the Securities more than two business days prior to the original issue date will be required to specify alternative settlement arrangements to prevent a failed settlement.

Subject to regulatory constraints and market conditions, RBCCM intends to offer to purchase the Securities in the secondary market, but it is not required to do so.

We or our affiliates may enter into swap agreements or related hedge transactions with one of our other affiliates or unaffiliated counterparties in connection with the sale of the Securities and RBCCM and/or an affiliate may earn additional income as a result of payments pursuant to the swap or related hedge transactions. See “Use of Proceeds and Hedging” in the accompanying product prospectus supplement UBS-IND-1.

The value of the Securities shown on your account statement may be based on RBCCM’s estimate of the value of the Securities if RBCCM or another of our affiliates were to make a market in the Securities (which it is not obligated to do). That estimate will be based upon the price that RBCCM may pay for the Securities in light of then prevailing market conditions, our creditworthiness and transaction costs. For a period of approximately 1 month after the issue date of the Securities, the value of the Securities that may be shown on your account statement may be higher than RBCCM’s estimated value of the Securities at that time. This is because the estimated value of the Securities will not include our hedging costs and profits; however, the value of the Securities shown on your account statement during that period may be a higher amount, potentially reflecting the addition of our estimated costs and profits from hedging the Securities. Any such excess is expected to decrease over time until the end of this period. After this period, if RBCCM repurchases your Securities, it expects to do so at prices that reflect their estimated value. This period may be reduced at RBCCM’s discretion based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, the amount of the Securities that we repurchase and our negotiated arrangements from time to time with UBS.

For additional information as to the relationship between us and RBCCM, please see the section “Plan of Distribution—Conflicts of Interest” in the prospectus dated September 14, 2021.

The Securities are our debt securities, the return on which is linked to the performance of the Underlying.  As is the case for all of our debt securities, including our structured notes, the economic terms of the Securities reflect our actual or perceived creditworthiness at the time of pricing.  In addition, because structured notes result in increased operational, funding and liability management costs to us, we typically borrow the funds under these Securities at a rate that is more favorable to us than the rate that we might pay for a conventional fixed or floating rate debt security of comparable maturity.  Using this relatively lower implied borrowing rate rather than the secondary market rate is a factor that is likely to result in a higher initial estimated value of the Securities at the time their terms are set than if the secondary market rate was used. Unlike the estimated value that will be included on the cover page of the final pricing supplement relating to the Securities, any value of the Securities determined for purposes of a secondary market transaction may be based on a different borrowing rate, which may result in a lower value for the Securities than if our initial internal borrowing rate were used.

In order to satisfy our payment obligations under the Securities, we may choose to enter into certain hedging arrangements (which may include call options, put options or other derivatives) on the issue date with RBCCM or one of our other subsidiaries.  The terms of these hedging arrangements take into account a number of factors, including our creditworthiness, interest rate movements, the volatility of the Underlying, and the tenor of the Securities.  The economic terms of the Securities and their initial estimated value depend in part on the terms of these hedging arrangements.

The lower implied borrowing rate is a factor that reduces the economic terms of the Securities to you.  The initial offering price of the Securities also reflects our estimated hedging costs.  These factors result in the initial estimated value for the Securities on the Trade Date being less than their public offering price.  See “Key Risks—The Initial Estimated Value of the Securities Will Be Less than the Price to the Public” above.

The terms appearing above under the caption “Indicative Terms of the Securities” and the provisions in the accompanying product prospectus supplement UBS-IND-1 dated September 14, 2021 under the caption “General Terms of the Securities,” are incorporated into the master note issued to DTC, the registered holder of the Securities.