Yee and Potter win Abu Dhabi World Triathlon Championship events

Alex Yee and Beth Potter completed a double for Britain by the men's and women's events in the season-opening World Triathlon Championship Series at Yas Marina Circuit on Friday.

Yee broke clear in the last stages of the 5-kilometre run after closely contested swim and bike rounds to win the men’s race in a time of 52 minutes, 53 seconds.

Vasco Vilaca of Portugal was six seconds behind in second, and the Brazilian Manoel Messias was a further 13 seconds down in third. The world champion, Leo Bergere, (53:15) of France finished in sixth.

“I just wanted to see how the last four weeks [training] in Australia had gone and see the fruits of our labour, and I guess it worked out quite well,” Yee, the silver medallist at the Tokyo Olympics said.

“I think I swam pretty solid, not amazing, but pretty good. I’ll take it and hopefully build on it.”

Potter claimed her maiden gold in the world championship series and led a one-two finish for Britain in the women’s race.

She raced prominently in the lead group in the cycling leg and drew clear on her own in the 5km running stage to cross the finishing line in 57:56.

Compatriot Sophie Caldwell (58:14) and the American Taylor Spivey (58:27) stayed on strongly behind her to take second and third respectively.

“It’s fantastic to win,” Potter said. “I worked hard on the swim to stay in contention and then try and get a bit of a gap for the rest of the race. The bike was good for me and I felt I was technically good, although it was hard.

“The hot weather made the race more challenging but given it’s only a sprint race; I kept going until the end. This will give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season and I will keep training hard when I go back to Leeds.”

Results:

Elite women:

1. Beth Potter (GBR) 57min 56sec

2. Sophie Caldwell (GBR) 58:14

3. Taylor Spivey (USA) 58:27

Elite men:

1. Alex Yee (GBR) 52:53

2. Vasco Vilaca (POR) 52:59

3. Manoel Messias (BRA) 53:06

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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.”

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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