While I was growing up in Oman, my brother moved to London. I later moved to India for a few years, before settling in the UAE, the country I now call home. For more than a decade, I have grown accustomed to the fact my parents live in Oman, my brother in UK and myself in the UAE.
It may sound strange, especially to tight-knit families, but it has been my normal. That's not to say that my family isn’t close, though. My brother would pop over to Dubai, and has visited Oman and India since he moved. My parents have flown to London numerous times, with my mother staying there for extended periods. I visit my brother, on an average, every two years, and when I'm not able to go to the UK, we travel to another country together.
Catching little glimpses of your family and how much they’ve changed during short vacations is not ideal, but it’s also not a bad life.
In fact, there hasn’t been a single year when I haven’t been able to see every member of my family – until now.
When the pandemic struck, everything that was familiar was suddenly thrown into chaos, in more ways than one. Faced with the inevitable – that we would not be meeting each other throughout 2020 – we started doing what everyone else in the world seemed to discover at the same time: Zoom calls.
The idea seems alien; I was unaccustomed to speaking to them at a fixed day and time. In the past, weekly conversations were sporadic, if at all, and based mostly on necessity.
But with everyone being homebound together – and yet not together – we decided to give it a go.
Led by my brother, we tentatively started having weekly Saturday sessions – a day when all of us were off work – to catch up and keep in touch.
Right off the bat, it wasn't easy. My parents are not the most technologically advanced and there was a lot of "Can you hear me?" and "I can't see you". A lot of metaphorical blood and sweat, and real tears, went into setting up the technical side of things. Thankfully, no one has managed to turn themselves into a fluffy cat. Yet.
But over the past year, my parents have become Zoom experts. Occasions – from Christmas to birthdays – are spent over video calls, with everyone well-dressed, showing off their home decorations, culinary creations, pets or gardens.
We started having weekly virtual quiz nights, too, with extended family joining in, and the loser being asked to host the next game. This in turn led to other virtual games: Scrabble Go became a staple in the household, with the family leisurely playing throughout the day, and the parents competing for points.
My parents’ wedding anniversary is on Valentine’s Day, and this year, the entire family got on Zoom to play a game of “Who knows who better?” to hilarious effect. I will probably always remember my parents' bewildered faces when they were asked what they wore on their first date, and my dad’s desperate yells to “disqualify mum” as he was losing.
Here's to remembering that there's always a way to make the most of a difficult situation
Did I ever imagine I would be spending Valentine's Day with my family? No. Did I ever dream that the same event would be held online? Definitely not. And yet, ironically, it's probably something that would never have happened had we still been vacationing together in the first place.
I know that 2020 wasn’t the best year, and while 2021 still has to prove it will be better, here’s to remembering that there’s always a way to make the most of a difficult situation. And that’s easier if you have your loved ones on the other side of the screen.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company%20profile
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Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
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.”
