Four by four headache

Let me begin with a common sense declaration: it is plainly irrational to detest 4x4s and all who travel in them. And if that is the case in the smarter areas of London and Paris, where there is no strict need for mums to use all-terrain vehicles on school runs devoid of a solitary hill or rugged track, it must also be true in the UAE. Here, the 4x4 is ubiquitous, enjoying comprehensive dominance of the roads. While it is still just about possible to drive the length of a European city street without coming across a Land Cruiser or Range Rover, you cannot say the same of Abu Dhabi or Dubai. Honda Civic drivers could be forgiven for yelling "Snap!" each time they spot another saloon car.

So I have come to realise that I must drop knee jerk assumptions that everyone behind the wheel of a 4x4 is by definition an arrogant, antisocial bully. You can hardly go around hating such a large chunk of the population on principle. After all, one of my best friends here - intelligent, charismatic and fun - drives a Hummer, which seems more juggernaut than car. A few colleagues, and people I meet socially, have 4x4s. None of them is to blame if their vehicles are called Avalanches, Gallopers, Xterras and Trailblazers.

More than once, I have heard the defence that with driving standards best described as variable, sitting in a high, robust vehicle gives some notion of security on Sheikh Zayed Road. "I never dreamt of having one back home," a Cherokee-driving fellow expat tells me. "In the UAE, it gives me a chance to get the most out of the country, though even here I am not sure how many ever leave made-up roads."

For all my good intentions, this determination to adopt a new spirit of tolerance has already faced stiff challenges. Twice the other day in Abu Dhabi, I came close to being an innocent victim of nasty crashes. First, a 4x4 cut across three lanes of the Corniche at the last moment, without hint of a signal, in order to turn left. Then another hurtled across my path when the traffic lights were not so much midway through his amber as deep into my green.

Fortunately, both incidents led to nothing worse that angry hooting of horns and shaking heads. But either might have ended in serious injury or worse. It goes without saying that I have persuaded myself that the damage suddenly visible on the front panel of my rented car was the work of someone clumsily extricating a 4x4 from a tight parking spot. Am I being irrational again? Probably. How can I honestly pretend that the culprit in each case could not as easily have been driving a car? But at least I now have my excuse. I will still keep my promise to start thinking a little less unkindly of these monsters of the road, but not just yet.

@Email:crandall@thenational.ae

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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.”

Expat life I have come to realise that I must drop knee jerk assumptions that everyone behind the wheel of a 4x4 is by definition an arrogant, antisocial bully.

The specs