It is so much more fun making New Year's resolutions as a couple than it is alone. All my life, the expectation that a new year will be a chance to make drastic changes that will miraculously improve my life has been the bane of my existence.
When every resolution I have vowed to abide by has inevitably been forgotten or broken by midday on January 2, the resulting guilt is too depressing. I spend the next four to five months trying to launch the Get My Life in Order plan. The diet will start tomorrow, really, I'll do it; binge-eat for one more evening and that's it. Or this is the last pair of shoes, really, at least for this month, that's it, no more mall runs, no more credit-card swipes. Or this is the last time I use butter in cooking, truly, definitely, I won't even walk down that aisle in the supermarket, and I really will crack open the healthier cooking cookbook.
And of course, that fortune I spent on the gym membership? It will be worth it, I'm sure, I am heading there tomorrow, right after I buy that pair of trainers that I definitely need in order to be safe on a treadmill.
Resolutions suck. They are just one more thing that some evil person created to make you feel bad about yourself, about your procrastinating nature, about your inability to stick to your decisions or to your plans, about your lack of willpower, about your easily distracted nature. Resolutions take all the fun out of the New Year and I vowed to forsake them years ago.
Then along came Mr T, who infuses excitement into even the little things, and making resolutions doesn't seem such a bad idea any more.
"This year, we're going to exercise together," he promised, with such conviction in his tone. "For every movie we watch, we'll match it with at least 45 minutes on the treadmill." The treadmill up on the top floor of our building, in a top-end gym that we have yet to grace with our presence? "Yes," he said.
"This year, we'll travel to all the seven emirates," he decided, in yet another scatterbrained plan to get us off our trusty couch. "We'll go on a desert safari, and snorkel in Fujairah, and barbecue on Jebel Hafeet." Why would I argue with such fun plans?
This is the year we'll get our lives in order and come up with some sort of a five-year plan, and get started on all those things we want to do, all those dreams we want to turn into a reality. "This is our year" was the resounding finale of his impassioned speech.
"Have you ever made resolutions before?" I asked.
"No, not really, but things are different now." He had no idea what was in store.
I went along with his lofty plans, secretly relieved that once every resolution was inevitably broken and shoved aside to fall into the gutter, the guilt would at least be shared this time around.
Plus, I now have someone to blame for all the resolutions gone awry. Truly, the advantages to this marriage thing just keep on revealing themselves.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
BOSH!'s pantry essentials
Nutritional yeast
This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.
Seeds
"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."
Umami flavours
"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".
Onions and garlic
"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."
Your grain of choice
Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
