The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is set for its earliest position on the Formula One calendar after an October 26 date yesterday was announced on the provisional F1 schedule for 2014.
This year's race, the fifth staging of the event at Yas Marina Circuit, takes place on November 3, but the 2014 race will be the first to be held before November.
A draft of the provisional calendar was circulated to teams in Monza yesterday by motorsport's ruling body, the FIA, as they prepared for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.
The schedule at present will make 2014 the longest in F1's history with 21 races planned, though some further adjustments are possible when the calendar is discussed and ratified at a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Dubrovnik, Croatia, later this month. Abu Dhabi will be the 18th event of the season, also its earliest position in terms of the line-up.
In 2009 and 2010 Abu Dhabi was the season finale, in 2011 it staged the penultimate race. In 2012 it hosted the third-to-last race.
For the second successive year, it appears there will be no grand prix in New Jersey despite recent claims to the contrary made by promoter Leo Hindery and despite it being a priority of F1 chief executive officer Bernie Ecclestone, to have two races in the United States on the calendar.
Instead, Mexico has a November 9 slot - the country's first race in 22 years - preceding the United States Grand Prix. The Brazil event is again closing the season on November 30.
Mexico's return, however, is dependent on the old Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez being given a major makeover to ensure it is race-ready.
Russia is also slated to make its debut on October 19, but again that is dependent on the track at Sochi being developed in time.
The return of Austria at the Red Bull Ring has been switched from July 6, a date now occupied by Silverstone, to June 22, two weeks earlier. The venue last hosted an F1 race in 2003.
The season will again begin at Melbourne's Albert Park on March 16, despite suggestions earlier this year that Bahrain would open the proceedings two weeks earlier.
Korea has been brought forward from October to an April date and will follow immediately after the race in China, although the Korean race is reliant on a new contract being signed. The event has struggled to make a profit and draw local interest since coming on the scene in 2010.
THE DATES
Provisional 2014 calendar
• March 16 Australia (Melbourne)
• March 23 – Malaysia (Sepang)
• April 6 – China (Shanghai)
• April 13 – Korea* (Korea International Circuit)
• April 27 – Bahrain (Sakhir)
• May 11 – Spain (Barcelona)
• May 25 – Monaco (Monaco)
• June 8 – Canada (Montreal)
• June 22 – Austria (Red Bull Ring)
• July 6 – Britain (Silverstone)
• July 20 – Germany (Hockenheim)
• July 27 – Hungary (Budapest)
• August 24 – Belgium (Spa)
• September 7 – Italy (Monza)
• September 21 – Singapore (Marina Bay)
• October 5 – Japan (Suzuka)
• October 19 – Russia* (Sochi)
• October 26 – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)
• November 9 – Mexico* (Mexico City)
• November 16 – USA (Circuit of the Americas)
• November 30 – Brazil (Interlagos)
* Subject to deals being reached
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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