Al Ahli’s attacking struggles will not entice champions to open their wallet

DUBAI // Cosmin Olaroiu, the Al Ahli coach, says Monday's frustrating 0-0 draw with Ajman will not force the club into the transfer market.

The UAE champions have endured an inconsistent start to the Arabian Gulf League season, with the stalemate at the Rashid Stadium meaning they have taken only one point from a possible six at home.

Ahli are considering adding to their squad before Thursday's transfer deadline, however, following an injury to Ciel in their opener against Sharjah. The Brazilian required surgery on a broken ankle and is expected to be unavailable for at least six months.

Olaroiu conceded that Ahli struggled to penetrate Ajman’s defence without Ciel.

“Ciel is a player who can break down a defence individually with his spirit, his power, his penetration,” Olaroiu said. “And in a game like this you miss it.

“But this is not the only reason for the result. We have other players and in a different way they should be able to do it. We have to win even if we don’t have Ciel. We don’t have to think about this anymore.”

With Ciel injured, Ahli have recalled Hugo Viana to the starting line-up, despite the Portuguese playmaker’s future at the club remaining uncertain.

Ahli are interested in recruiting a direct replacement for Ciel, but Olaroiu insists that he trusts in his current squad as they seek to retain the league title they secured last season with three rounds to spare.

"We have other players, very good players," he said. "Ciel's absence is not the main reason we failed to beat Ajman, it's one. We have Grafite, Luis [Jimenez] and Ahmed Khalil, players who can make a difference at any time, at any moment. They've done it before many times."

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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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Al Ahli’s attacking struggles will not entice champions to open their wallet

Olaroiu says Ciel's absence was not the main reason the champions failed to beat Ajman at home

GAC GS8 Specs

The specs: 2018 Jaguar E-Pace First Edition

UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023

UAE currency