16. A Chance Encounter

While Morgan confronted strategic challenges, they were not readily apparent to me while I headed investments for Prudential Insurance’s global bond and currency unit from 1991 to 1994. International bond and currency markets were subject to massive swings then as European countries sought to pave the way for a single currency by 1999. The attack on the British pound and other high-yielding currencies in 1992 by hedge funds proved trying, but our business unit benefited when these currencies rebounded the following year. The environment in 1994 proved especially challenging for global portfolio managers when the US dollar weakened against key currencies even though the Fed raised interest rates markedly. Following a chance encounter in London with John Olds, who was about to become head of Morgan’s Private Bank, I accepted the opportunity to become global markets strategist for the Private Bank.