WHILE it is not uncommon to see prominent businessmen going to work on mopeds in Hamilton, it must raise more than a few eyebrows in London. This unlikely solution to London’s traffic woes is, of course, the idea of a Bermudian. James Thomson has already lived, by any standard, an enviable life. At 31, he is a graduate of the prestigious Cornell University in New York, a successful investor at one of London’s leading management firms and is responsible for one of the top-performing mutual funds in the UK.

Yet, this is not entirely the life Mr. Thomson had planned for.

“I was born and raised in Bermuda,” he said, when he spoke to the Mid-Ocean News<$> from his west London office this week.

“I went to Saltus until I was about 15 and then went to boarding school in the US. After that I went to Cornell where I studied French.

“The plan after I graduated was to work in the US, but I was unable to get a work permit. The immigration procedure in the US is draconian, to say the least.

“I spent a frustrating year trying to work, but then realised it wasn’t going to be easy. So I came back to Bermuda briefly, and then moved to London.”

Mr. Thomson recalled arriving in London seven years ago without a job and having only arranged accommodation the week before. Then, with the help of a small network of friends and family, he found a job at Rathbones — a London-based investment company.

Since then his fortunes — as well as his clients’ — have been decidedly in the ascendancy.

“I started off as a fund manager in 2000 . . . by 2003, I was managing my own mutual fund, which I’m still managing today.

“It’s called Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund . . . the remit of the fund is looking for the best, undiscovered companies in the world. Performance of the fund has been quite good, it’s up 140 per cent in last seven years and 30 per cent in the last year.”

Last year, Mr. Thomson was elected to the Board of Directors of Rathbone Unit Trust Management Limited, a subsidiary that manages more than $4 billion worth of investments.

Yet, if Mr. Thomson’s talent and success are prodigious, so too is his modesty.

Asked what advice he would give young Bermudians considering a similar career, Mr. Thomson reflected on his own experiences:

“I would say when you’re at university not to fret about what degrees you choose . . . it’s not at the top of the list in importance.

“I do a lot of interviews now, so I have some insight into this. Employers are looking for intelligence, integrity, ambition and people who are reliable.

“My degree was in French. I’ve only had one opportunity to use it. We’re looking for keen, reliable people with a good deal of common sense.”

Like many Bermudians living abroad, he retains fond memories of the island and a resolve to return home one day.

“In the back of my mind, it’s a long-term plan . . . I would like to come back to Bermuda. I already visit at least twice a year to see my family. Because the kind of mutual fund I manage, I don’t think that it will happen within the next five years.

“There’s a fairly established road show that investors go on and London’s one of the top sites. There really isn’t the breadth of opportunities in Bermuda.”

Even if he remains in London, Mr. Thomson still has one thing to remind him of Bermuda.

“First two years I put up with horrors of London Underground, but then I had something of an epiphany. I don’t know why it took me so long. I just realised a moped would be so much easier.”

When asked if he had taken to wearing Bermuda shorts and knee socks to work, Mr. Thomson laughed heartily.

“Last year, for the first time in its history, my company allowed us to take off our ties in the office. This was a big step but I think we have a while to go before they allow us to wear shorts!”

Bike’s a capital idea says Bermudian James