Russell Peters to perform at Dubai's Coca-Cola Arena in March

Russell Peters is set to make his return to Dubai's Coca-Cola Arena. The Canadian stand-up comedian will be taking to the arena on March 8, almost three years after the last time he graced its stage.

A UAE regular, Peters was the first-ever performer at the Coca-Cola Arena in June 2019 and he last performed for the public here in Abu Dhabi in September last year.

Over the past year, he has been touring comedy clubs in North America and is coming back to Dubai with a show full of new material. He began his Act Your Age World Tour in January this year, a show he is taking to Saudi Arabia to perform on Friday.

Russell Peters is bringing his Act Your Age World Tour to Dubai in March. Photo: Russell Peters / Instagram

"We are delighted to welcome back Russell Peters, who opened Coca-Cola Arena in June 2019 to a packed house," said Coca-Cola Arena general manager Mark Jan Kar.

The Coca-Cola Arena has a packed calendar in the next two months. Singers Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu will be performing a Legends of Bollywood show on Saturday, February 26; British indie pop band The Kooks are coming on Sunday, February 27 and Dutch DJ Tiesto will be taking to the arena decks on Friday, March 4.

With a live cast of singers from London's West End, The Greatest Show is coming to Dubai on Saturday, March 5 for a matinee performance, followed by Queen by Candlelight on the same day.

Later in the month, Irish singer Ronan Keating is performing on Friday, March 18 and Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen will be taking to the stage on Friday, March 25.

Tickets for the Russell Peters Act Your Age World Tour are available to buy now and start at Dh195. More information is available at www.coca-cola-arena.com.

See highlights from Russell Peters's last Coca-Cola Arena performance here:

Russell Peters , stand-up comedian and actor performing at the new Coca Cola Arena, City Walk in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
People enjoying the Russell Peters show held at the new Coca Cola Arena, City Walk in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Russell Peters , stand-up comedian and actor performing at the new Coca Cola Arena, City Walk in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
People enjoying the Russell Peters show held at the new Coca Cola Arena, City Walk in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
People enjoying the Russell Peters show held at the new Coca Cola Arena, City Walk in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
People enjoying the Russell Peters show held at the new Coca Cola Arena, City Walk in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Russell Peters , stand-up comedian and actor performing at the new Coca Cola Arena, City Walk in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

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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.”

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