There's a lot we can learn from the late Terry Fox, who raised millions with his 1980 Marathon of Hope and inspired the world's largest annual one-day fundraiser for cancer research. As thousands of runners and walkers prepare for the 18th Annual Abu Dhabi Terry Fox Run on Friday, aiming to beat last year's fundraising haul of more than Dh267,000, here are six enduring lessons from the life of the Canadian hero.
Stick to your guns
Fox was a competitive guy, but when the founder and chief executive of the Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts, Isadore Sharp, approached him with the idea of an annual fundraising run in his name, he insisted that it be inclusive - with no winners or losers. After Fox succumbed to cancer in 1981 before finishing his goal of crossing Canada, Sharp had to insist on sticking to the original vision of the run even as the Canadian Cancer Society suggested the event would take money and attention away from its other campaigns, and other charities worried it would leave less money for them. It's a good thing he did - the non-competitive nature of the Terry Fox run is one of the reasons it's so successful today.
Ignore the haters
Even Fox had haters, doubters and naysayers following him on his cross-country run. As Marathon of Hope started to gain media attention, responses ranged from the concerned to the cruel. A broadcaster called him "a three-legged horse who should be stopped". A newspaper ran an editorial with the headline "Give it up Terry". But the one that got under Fox's skin was an article in The Globe and Mail, Canada's newspaper of record, that claimed he verbally abused his brother and was motivated by a grudge against a doctor who had misdiagnosed him. Fox didn't waste time worrying about it - he called the allegations "trash" then kept running.
You don't need fancy gear
For most of his run, Fox wore a basic "Marathon of Hope" T-shirt - at the beginning they verged on homemade-looking - paired with grey sweat shorts and trainers. He would have been forgiven for donning a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses upon hitting a spot of rare Canadian sunshine, but he didn't. Since he refused all endorsements, and it was decades ago, he managed to run the equivalent of a marathon a day without any of the expensive, high-tech, sweat-wicking gear that casual exercisers - and big sportswear companies - deem essential.
Celebrity is not important
Today, Fox is a household name and he certainly got his share of attention during his run, but he took care to avoid making it all about him. He refused endorsement offers and wouldn't accept any donations with strings attached. He even banned romance from his life after a newspaper reported on a date he had gone on, which he thought was unnecessary and a violation of the woman's privacy. In the days before the internet, Fox got his message across without a Twitter account, selling merchandise with his name on it or starring in a reality show.
Put road rage in perspective
The next time you are tempted to honk at a car that takes a while to get going once the light turns green, think of Fox. At one point during his marathon, he started running on the shoulder of a motorway because he felt safer there than he did on the side roads, where cars kept coming close to clipping him. Whatever the other driver did to enrage you, it can't be as bad as running an amputee cancer survivor off the road.
He just did it
When Fox started his run, conditions were far from perfect. He started training shortly after the cancer surgery that removed his leg, suffering bone bruises, blisters, the loss of three toenails and cysts on his stump. Plus he was diagnosed with an enlarged heart before starting out. Yet, he didn't wait for the perfect moment - he simply got the Cancer Society on board, convinced companies to donate a van and some running shoes and hit the road.
Registration for Friday's run begins at 7am, the event starts at 10am, beginning and ending at 30th street (Khaleej Al Arabi) on the Abu Dhabi Corniche. For more information visit www.terryfox.org/InternationalRun or www.facebook.com/AbuDhabiTerryFoxRun. Runs are also scheduled for Fujairah (March 9) and Dubai (March 15)
Judith Fox, Terry Fox's sister, will be in Abu Dhabi tomorrow evening speaking to the Canadian Business Council at the Beach Rotana Hotel garden. It costs Dh100 for non-CBC members. For registration, which is required to attend, email events@cbcabudhabi.com or call 02 446 7223
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.”
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
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