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A spring in the steps of UAE riders

Sheikha Latifa leads four-member squad against 26 countries at the World Equestrian Games as they seek to add to the medals won last week.

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The UAE jumping team will seek to add to the medals won last week by the endurance team when they compete in the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, Lexington this week.

The four-member team, led by Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum, are in the event for the first time and will compete against 136 riders from 27 countries at the Kentucky Horse Village.

Sheikha Latifa, who took part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is likely to partner her favourite, Kalaska de Semilly. The horse was her partner in Beijing and is in "fantastic shape", she said. "I have put in a lot of time and effort to prepare the horse for this competition and naturally I expect good results," Sheikha Latifa said. Also in the UAE squad is Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, who said he was satisfied with his horse, Muscaris D Ariel, which accompanied him in several competitions last year.

"This is the first time I am participating in such a big competition and I am proud to present the UAE in the international arena," he said. Sheikh Majid Al Qassimi will be representing the UAE for the first time. He performed well in the UAE President Cup in Abu Dhabi earlier this year to qualify for this event. Ahmed al Junaibi, riding Picobello Wodiena, completes the team. The event begins today with the speed test. All competitors compete in one round against the clock over a course of 12 to 14 obstacles up to 1.5 metres in height.

Scores will count towards the individual medals and as the first round of the team competition, with the lowest three scores going forward to the team score. In tomorrow's competition, the course is completed not against the clock but with a maximum time allowed, and the best three scores from each nation are added to the overall team score. The top 10 teams progress through to the final on Wednesday, when all competitors jump, not against the clock and with a maximum time allowed.

The final competition for individuals begins on Friday, when the top 30 competitors jump again. The four competitors with the lowest scores from all rounds go forward to the final competition on Saturday. In the final, each rider must jump the course with each of the four horses who qualified for the final. The rider with the lowest penalties over the four rounds will be declared the winner. This is the first time the World Equestrian Games have been held outside of Europe.

* Agency

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2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

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2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

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Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

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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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