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President Joe Biden on Thursday said he would ensure a smooth transition of power to president-elect Donald Trump, something that did not happen when Mr Trump lost the 2020 election.
In his first public comments since Vice President Kamala Harris lost her bid for the White House, Mr Biden said he hoped Tuesday's election showed that the voting system, which Mr Trump undermines unless he is winning, is “fair” and “transparent”.
“'You can't love your country only when you win,” he said. “The American experiment endures. We're going to be OK, but we need to stay engaged.”
He praised Ms Harris for her campaign efforts, saying she gave her “whole heart”.
After Mr Biden beat Mr Trump in 2020, the Republican refused to concede and, to this day, still claims he won that vote. He was on course to contest this year's election result, too, and had an army of lawyers on standby. He began to claim there was widespread cheating in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, but he dropped his bogus claim when it became clear he was winning.
Mr Biden said he had assured Mr Trump that “my entire administration [would] work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition”, a routine and functional courtesy that before the Trump era would not even have to be stated.
During the transitional period after Mr Trump's defeat in 2020, his administration smashed norms by failing to co-operate with incoming Biden officials in many instances.
During his address from the Rose Garden on Tuesday, Mr Biden also sought to define his presidency, which included a massive infrastructure spending bill, moves to reduce student loan debt and foreign policy debacles such as the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He told supporters and staff that his term was “historic … not because I'm President, but because of what we've done, what you've done, a presidency for all Americans,” he said. “Much of the work we've done is already being felt by the American people.”
The President, who is now 82, entered the White House in 2021 and promised to close the door on Trumpism. Instead, four years later, he has ushered in a new and emboldened Trump era that has the backing of millions more voters than in 2016.
The Democratic fallout out from Tuesday's humiliating defeat is forming around Mr Biden perhaps more than Ms Harris. When he was elected, Mr Biden promised to be a transitional President who would make way for a younger candidate.
Instead, he clung on and insisted that he alone could beat Mr Trump, only stepping aside in July after his struggles with mental acuity were laid bare during a debate.
Underscoring Mr Biden's desire for a smooth transitional period, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told troops in a memo released on Thursday that the Pentagon was committed to an orderly transition, and that the military would not get involved in politics and was ready to carry out "all lawful orders".
"The US military will also continue to stand apart from the political arena; to stand guard over our republic with principle and professionalism; and to stand together with the valued allies and partners who deepen our security," Mr Austin's memo states.
During his campaign, Mr Trump talked about facing an "enemy from within" and suggested the US military could be used to deal with them.
When asked what it says about the state of America that the Department of Defence needed to assure that it would ensure a smooth transition, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said it was "something that we felt the need to reiterate".
"I think you've seen in the past, there have been transitions that haven't been seamless, that haven't gone, you know, as peacefully," Ms Singh told reporters.
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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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The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
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2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
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2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
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