Lionel Messi will lead Argentina into what is expected to be his final World Cup at Qatar 2022 after coach Lionel Scaloni named on Friday his 26-man squad, which includes injured forward Paulo Dybala.
Dybala has not played for his club Roma since early October but has been named in the squad as Argentina hope he regains his fitness before their World Cup campaign begins on November 22 against Group C opponents Saudi Arabia.
Messi, 35, will be playing in his fifth World Cup and will be accompanied by fellow veterans Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi along with fresh faces who helped Argentina win the Copa America title last year.
"They are proud to be called up and wear this jersey, let's hope that you as fans are too. All together," coach Scaloni said in an Instagram video.
Argentina will be without services of Giovani Lo Celso, however, after the midfielder picked up a hamstring injury last month while playing for Villarreal, with Scaloni saying he was "irreplaceable".
Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo De Paul will be crucial in midfield while the defence will be led by centre back Otamendi, who is usually partnered with Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez or Tottenham Hotspur's Cristian Romero.
"There are no words to describe how it feels to hear my name on the final list. Dreams do come true, let's go Argentina," Paredes, who did not make the final cut for the 2018 World Cup, said on Instagram.
Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez, 22, was named in the squad after a stellar year where he scored 18 goals while on loan at Argentine club River Plate before netting seven times in all competitions for City.
Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez, who scored 25 goals last season and has begun this campaign with eight in all competitions, is expected to lead the line.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, one of Argentina's heroes at the Copa America last year, will also be making his World Cup debut this year.
Argentina also play Mexico and Poland in Group C.
Argentina squad for 2022 World Cup
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez, Franco Armani, Geronimo Rulli
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, German Pezzella, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Juan Foyth, Nicolas Tagliafico, Marcos Acuna
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Alejandro Gomez, Alexis Mac Allister
Forwards: Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Nicolas Gonzalez, Joaquin Correa, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
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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