The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the 2021 Salute to Freedom gala, held on the eve of Veterans Day in the US and Armistice Day in the UK, and Prince Harry praised the "value" of service members and their families.
Prince Harry wore black tie, a classic tuxedo, his medals and the cross of the Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
It was Meghan Markle, however, who stood out on the red carpet, wearing a scarlet red gown with plunging neckline and fitted waist by Carolina Herrera, teamed with Giuseppe Zanotti satin shoes.
The couple both wore red poppy pins as a nod to the UK's Remembrance Day on November 11.
The event, also attended by other celebrities including Jon Bon Jovi, honours military veterans and took place at the Intrepid Museum.
Take a look through the gallery below to see more of Meghan Markle's style choices over the years:
'I'm grateful'
The duke presented Intrepid Valor Awards to five service members, veterans and military families, and he spoke of how his military experience shaped the person he is today.
My hope is for all of us to continue to support the well-being, and recognise the value of, our troops, veterans, and the entire military and service family
Prince Harry
He told the audience at the Intrepid Museum: "It's wonderful to be back on USS Intrepid a decade after my last visit – and a lot has changed since then. Just last week, I went for a ride on the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile – how's that for living the American dream.
"I've lived in the US for close to two years now. I have to say, witnessing your support for all those that put themselves in harm's way in defence of our freedoms and liberties – it's remarkable and hugely respected.
"It reminds me of the deep reverence us Brits have for our military as well. The armed forces communities in both our countries share a special bond, and I'm grateful to have served in support of our joint allyship for many years."
Remembrance Day in the UK
Harry served in the military for a decade and had two tours of Afghanistan, and has organised the Invictus Games for wounded and injured service members and veterans since 2014.
"As we honour and reflect on Remembrance Day in the UK, which shares a date tomorrow with Veterans Day here in the US, my hope is for all of us to continue to support the well-being, and recognise the value of, our troops, veterans, and the entire military and service family. We and they are better for it.
"I served 10 years in the military, including two tours of duty in Afghanistan – one as an FAC [Forward Air Controller] on the ground and in the dust with some of you, another as an Apache helicopter pilot in the air supporting and talking with you.
"Nothing was more valuable than the time I got to spend with my soldiers in a shell scrape, eating an MRE [Meal, Ready-to-Eat] in the back of a tank, thanks for the swaps, flying a mission overhead knowing those below were safer, or making each other laugh when it was needed the most.
"My experience in the military made me who I am today, and I will always be grateful for the people I got to serve with – wherever in the world we were."
– Additional reporting by The National
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Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
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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