5 things to do: Watch women’s bowling championships or attend the Christmas Jazz Concert

Watch the World Bowling Championships for Women at the Khalifa International Bowling Centre. More than 200 competitors from 35 countries are in the capital for the sport's largest women's event. Competitions include singles, doubles, trios, five-person team and the All Events categories, after which the masters will take place, with the top 16 bowlers in the tournament competing to be crowned the overall champion. From 9am to 9pm, free to attend, Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi, www.2015wwc.worldbowling.org.

Find great deals at the Shop My Closet Fashion Soirée event on preloved wardrobe items from the closets of fashion stylists, image consultants, magazine stylists and other fashion-forward people from across the country. Get styling advice and fashion tips, plus enjoy a welcome drink, raffle prizes, pampering and goodie bags and plenty of delicious treats. From 7pm to 9pm, Le Méridien, Tourist Club Area, Abu Dhabi, www.facebook.com/StyleFashionGlamour.

Attend the Christmas Jazz Concert. Vocal ensembles from Abu Dhabi will perform, including Desert Roses, Smart Haleks, Sand of Music, The Sweet M's, Abu Dhabi Carolers, Voices of Harmony and the Christmas Jazz Band. At 8pm, Dh50, Abu Dhabi Theatre, Breakwater, Abu Dhabi, www.facebook.com/AbuDhabiCarolers.

Discover a true French market experience at the Dubai Ladies Bazaar, where 40 artisans will sell their creations. Writer Kyra Dupont and illustrator Céline Maslard will attend to sign their book My Fantastic Life in Dubai, The Oh-So True Story of Jumeirah Jane (The Ultimate Expat). At 8pm, auditorium, Alliance Française Dubai, Oud Metha, Dubai, 04 335 8712, www.afdubai.org.

Register your children between the ages of 3 and 12 for Spontaneous Creativity and Learning Art with Salwa Zeidan, where they can take part in art and creativity classes with the artist. Wednesdays and Saturdays, two-hour classes, Dh600 for two classes per child, Salwa Zeidan Gallery, Space 22, The Collection, St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, 02 666 9656, www.salwazeidangallery.com.

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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.”

UAE v IRELAND

All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi

1st ODI, Friday, January 8

2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10

3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12

4th ODI, Thursday, January 14

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Name: Dukkantek

Started: January 2021

Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani

Based: UAE

Number of employees: 140

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)

Investment: $5.2 million

Funding stage: Seed round

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office

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Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

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5 things to do: Watch women’s bowling championships or attend the Christmas Jazz Concert

UAE v IRELAND

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COMPANY%20PROFILE

Company profile