Garry Murray is chief executive of Place Community Managers, a property owners association management company looking after real estate projects and assets in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. After working in HM Revenue & Customs in the UK, Scottish-born Mr Murray moved to Bahrain in 2008 and worked in facilities management for a mixed-use golf project. He moved in Dubai in 2011 to work as a community manager for Place. Mr Murray, 33, lives in Jumeirah Park with his wife Kerrie and daughters, aged five and 18 months.
I used to spend everything that came in; everybody does when they're younger. You're fearless.
How did your upbringing shape your attitude towards money?
I was brought up in East Kilbride [south of Glasgow] with my older sister. Both parents worked for Motorola; the whole town thrived off their semiconductor business. Dad was a technician, mum an HR training admin person until the factory shut down. They were always grafting. We never really wanted for anything but if you wanted something extra there would be a deal like, ‘if you can contribute this, then we’ll contribute that’ — you needed to earn the money. That’s an awesome lesson to learn. We got pocket money — about £10 (Dh47) a month — and I started a paper round, helped around the house, painted the garden fence. I left school at 16 to play football with lower division Scottish teams.
Was that your first job?
I had the option to go full-time to a club. I used to play at Scottish Premiership level when I was ‘youth’, but when I went full-time I dropped down divisions and they took me on a Youth Training Scheme, scholarship-type thing. Out of £62 a week I had to pay for transport and rent to my parents. There wasn’t much left, but enough to enjoy myself. I learnt early on to budget.
How did you go from football to taxation?
The playing football part was a minor aspect of what I thought I’d be doing, so I did that for a year and a half and went to work at the [UK government] tax office. People submitted their claims for tax credits and we would calculate whether it was right. Ten minutes from my house, flexible working hours, decent salary, it gave me discipline by getting up early for work and regular income that led to my first car, going out with friends, first holidays. I was there three years until I moved to Bahrain, when I was 21. I couldn’t work in that tax office any longer - I could see the next 50 years of my life disappearing in front of my eyes.
What brought you to Dubai?
I moved into facilities management and asset management real estate in Bahrain and loved it. By then it was the tail end of the economic crisis, but I got made redundant from a villa development project. I was maybe three days from going home. Bahrain didn’t have much work, I’d been trying for a year to find something that could sustain us. It was 2011, we’d sold our car, furniture, I was selling DVDs in the car park, anything just to make sure we could do what we had to — and then I got a phone call from Place.
Is your current business affected by lower rents and property prices?
Owners associations across the world are relatively recession-proof. When there’s a constant legal requirement for what you do, there should always be business. It doesn’t mean we’re not affected. You may need to adjust; maybe you can’t pay the salaries you used to, charge the fees you used to. It’s not directly connected, but if there’s less money in the economy, people shop around. Also, when we started there were 10 companies — now there’s something like 90. They come to market, make it leaner, charge lower fees. You adapt or die.
What is your philosophy about money?
I started to think as I entered my thirties and kids came along that money isn’t everything, but it helps; not the amount, but what it can maybe do. We might do something with the kids that costs only Dh50 and they have the best four hours of their life. Whereas maybe before we’d go to brunch, you’re Dh1,000 down, but what are you getting back from it? It’s about the value of what you’re doing with money.
Do you feel you have become wiser with money?
I have. When I was younger I was 'easy come, easy go'. When we moved here we were saving to be married. I’d just lost my job when we got engaged. It changed our mentality. When you move here at a certain age you can be keeping up with the Jones’s lifestyle. We did in Bahrain, but got ourselves back on track. Kids are a bit of a leveller too, and as you get older it gets easier saying ‘no’ to things.
Do you consider yourself a saver?
Now I’m a saver. I used to spend everything that came in; everybody does when they’re younger. You’re fearless. I’ve got other people to be responsible for now. The minute you hold your newborn everything changes. That mindset change also came when I took over the business, taking charge of 50 people at 30 years old.
How do you save?
Three years ago we bought property in Scotland — a one-bedroom flat for less than Dh200,000. There’s revenue coming in, about 9 per cent [yield]. We had an option to buy something here to live in or use the deposit to buy that flat outright. It’s a very adult thing to do and I’m aware not everybody my age can do that.
I’ve also started a savings plan, so when you have a bad month you’re able to cover it.
What has been your best investment?
Just before the kids I started investing in myself; reading more, taking courses, going to seminars — things that could improve my life, not just in business. Industry-specific certifications. It moved me up the career ladder quicker.
Is there anything you regret spending on?
Things that didn’t really matter, in my twenties — games, electronics, clothes. It took me forever to pay back the credit card. Now I’ve understood what interest is I realise that stuff probably cost double what it should have done. I don’t regret much in life, but I regret paying that interest.
Do you now prefer cash or credit card?
Credit card. I learnt my lesson and pay it off every month. I’m notorious for having zero cash on me. We like the card for reward points and discounts.
How do you plan for the future?
[I'm aiming for] financial freedom. Not millions in the bank, but a number coming in every month that lets me do whatever we want, not things we don’t. I started to learn about how to get other sources of income out of the salary. Multiple sources of income, spreading the risk. The next thing is to buy shares.
Property is a first love, though; the idea is to buy a couple more flats. And I want to be able to do some things with my wife and kids before I’m too old to enjoy them.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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.”
RESULTS
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner: Dirilis Ertugrul, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer)
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: Kidd Malibu, Sandro Paiva, Musabah Al Muhairi
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
Winner: Raakezz, Tadhg O’Shea, Nicholas Bachalard
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
Winner: Au Couer, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar
3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
Winner: Rayig, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
Winner: King’s Shadow, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
