After 13 years in the British army, Patrick Johns decided to try his hand at asset management in 1984. ?I had been medically downgraded in the army so I though that I had two choices. I was either going to sit behind a desk at the Ministry of Defence for the rest of my life or I could go and sit behind a desk somewhere else and maybe make a better fist of it,? he says.
His first asset management position was at Fleming Asset Management. In the mid-1980s Johns was based in Tokyo at Jardine Fleming. ?This was a fantastic time to be in Tokyo, with the stock market getting away with itself,? he says.
After a decade with the firm, he joined Prudential Portfolio Managers in 1995. ?[Prudential] was looking to build its third-party business,? he says. ?I had responsibility for business acquisition and client management.?
When Johns moved from Prudential to F&C in February 2000 his new company was known as Foreign & Colonial, had £25 billion ($48.5 billion) in assets under management, was 90% owned by HypoVereinsbank and reported in sterling.