Kristian Stimson and his wife, Emma, set up their interior architecture design company in Dubai in May. Called Studio EM, Mr Stimson, from Ireland, says it was the death of his father-in-law that helped to give them the courage and inspiration to go it alone. Despite the hard work and cost of setting up their company, the couple see it as a way to ensure their financial future.
Describe your financial journey so far.
My financial journey began at a very young age. My dad helped to teach me early on in life that if I wanted something, I had to go out there and get it. This started off when I was nine and wanted a pair of goalkeeper gloves for football. My dad got me a job delivering newspapers on my bike to the neighbours for a whopping £7.50 (Dh43.57 at today's rate) a week. For me, though, this was mega money. Since then, my journey has been up and down more times than an Emirates Tower elevator.
Are you a spender or a saver?
Definitely a saver. Due to my background, I suffer strongly from "Irish Guilt". I reckon that in the past two years, I have queued up for an iPad at least 10 times and every time before getting to the till I have talked myself out of it by saying, "Do I really need this?"
What is your philosophy towards money?
Very simple: to save it! I don't believe in credit or credit cards, I don't believe in instalments or monthly payment plans or any of those financial traps. For me, it is very black and white. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it. If I can afford it, I have to need it. Some may say it is miserly, but since being married my philosophy has changed. What I save today, I can spend in the future on the things that really matter, such as (hopefully) education for my children, or health care for my wife and a flight home to see my brother and my dad if they need me or I need them.
What has been your most valuable financial lesson?
Recently, my father-in-law died from pancreatic cancer. The past year was a huge struggle. Terry worked his entire life; he came from an average home in Wigan, in the UK, in the 1970s and moved to Dubai. He never forgot where he was from or who he was when others around him did. He spent his entire life working to provide and to care for his family. He once told us that he could accept death and face it because he knows that when it came, he knew his family would be financially stable and taken care of. This was a huge lesson to me, to always think and plan for the future because you never know what will happen.
Why did you decide to set up your own business?
My father-in-law's death was the catalyst. We had always wanted to set up on our own, but circumstances encouraged us to do it a bit sooner than we thought. Emma, my wife, and I both quit our jobs to be with Terry during those last few weeks in April this year. I often spoke to Terry about having my own business and as an entrepreneur himself, he always encouraged us to follow suit. He believed in his daughter's skill and talents and probably thought I was an able sidekick. After the dust had settled following his death, we had to think about getting new jobs. We then thought: "Life is too short, why not work for ourselves, honour Terry and really go for it!" He was our inspiration and our biggest motivator.
Where did the idea for Studio EM come from?
The name itself is after Emma. She is the real talent and genius behind what we do. The EM in Studio EM is Emma. Emma has been working in interior architecture and design in Dubai for the past six years and I have been working in business development in the same industry. It's actually where we met. Emma became increasingly frustrated at having to reign in her creativity when working for another company and was tired of doing "copy and paste" design on projects. She wanted to have more creative control and to work with smaller retailers or restaurateurs or cinema clients to create inspiring and talked-about spaces rather than simply recreating the same concept for a 10-store roll-out. So we thought the best way to do that was to work for ourselves and to go out there and find new clients and start creating new and exciting spaces.
Have you experienced any financial difficulties along the way?
Our main difficulty has been sacrifice and planning for the future. Studio EM was set up to help secure our future. I look at my dad as inspiration. He plans everything up to a year in advance, be it holidays or new cars. I now do the same. So when we get money in, we have to sacrifice our desire to spend it on meals out or holidays and put it away for our kids for the future.
* Felicity Glover
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Ten10 Cricket League
Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17
Teams
Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad
Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider
Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider
Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah
Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE%20SWIMMERS
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars