• Visitors view fish from a wooden bridge at Azraq Wetland Reserve in Jordan. The site is about 110 kilometres east of the capital Amman. AFP
    Visitors view fish from a wooden bridge at Azraq Wetland Reserve in Jordan. The site is about 110 kilometres east of the capital Amman. AFP
  • Visitors pass through the reserve in eastern Jordan. AFP
    Visitors pass through the reserve in eastern Jordan. AFP
  • The Azraq killifish is only found in the reserve, after conservationists intervened to save the species about 20 years ago. AFP
    The Azraq killifish is only found in the reserve, after conservationists intervened to save the species about 20 years ago. AFP
  • The fish, also known as the 'Aphanuis Sirhani', is about 6 centimetres long. Males have black stripes, while females are spotted. AFP
    The fish, also known as the 'Aphanuis Sirhani', is about 6 centimetres long. Males have black stripes, while females are spotted. AFP
  • The Azraq reserve is the only home of the endangered Azraq killifish, which was saved from extinction about two decades ago. AFP
    The Azraq reserve is the only home of the endangered Azraq killifish, which was saved from extinction about two decades ago. AFP
  • Hazem Hrisha, director of the Azraq reserve. AFP
    Hazem Hrisha, director of the Azraq reserve. AFP
  • Dead Sea toothcarp, also known as 'Aphanius dispar richardsoni', at the Fifa Nature Reserve, about 140 kilometres south-west of Amman. Jordan faces a race against time to save the tiny fish from extinction. AFP
    Dead Sea toothcarp, also known as 'Aphanius dispar richardsoni', at the Fifa Nature Reserve, about 140 kilometres south-west of Amman. Jordan faces a race against time to save the tiny fish from extinction. AFP
  • Abdullah Oshoush, an environmental researcher at the Fifa Nature Reserve and a member of the Royal Jordanian Society for the Conservation of Nature. The Dead Sea toothcarp is under threat from climate change. AFP
    Abdullah Oshoush, an environmental researcher at the Fifa Nature Reserve and a member of the Royal Jordanian Society for the Conservation of Nature. The Dead Sea toothcarp is under threat from climate change. AFP
  • Ibrahim Mahasneh, director of the Fifa Nature Reserve, discusses the toothcarp, which has been on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2014. AFP
    Ibrahim Mahasneh, director of the Fifa Nature Reserve, discusses the toothcarp, which has been on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2014. AFP

MENA

Azraq Wetland Reserve: Rare fish at risk of extinction in Jordan - in pictures

The Dead Sea toothcarp and Azraq killifish are under threat in the wild but can be found in the nature reserve 110 kilometres east of Amman

The National

June 20, 2021

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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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