Sport

Al Raihe is humbled by success

The Emirati trainer saddled Al Shemali to a shock victory in the US$5million (Dh18.3m) Group-One Dubai Duty Free for his biggest career victory.

Amith Passela
Amith Passela

March 29, 2010

  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // Ali Rashid al Raihe is still soaking on the success he had on the Dubai World Cup night. The Emirati trainer saddled Al Shemali to a shock victory in the US$5million (Dh18.3m) Group-One Dubai Duty Free for his biggest career victory. "I am re-living those joyous moments," he said yesterday. "Those replays of Al Shemali's victory and the celebrations thereafter keep on replaying in my mind. It is truly the greatest moment in my training career.

"I don't have many top-rated horses but Al Shemali is one of few I do have. I must also thank all those owners who had have had faith on me. I wouldn't have achieved what I achieved if not for their continued support. And also my team, without whom I wouldn't have made it this far." Al Shemali, a six-year-old chestnut son of Medicean, was trained by Sir Michael Stoute and the Godolphin trainer, Saeed bin Suroor, before moving to al Raihe's Grandstand Stables in Dubai to run in the silks of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the Dubai Crown Prince.

Al Shemali's victory capped al Raihe's season with 32 winners and a maiden UAE trainer's crown, two more than the three-time champion, Doug Watson. He said: "I have saddled more and more winners every passing season for the past five years. This is my best. "When I look back from where I started in the formative years in the UAE's racing folklore, it has been a remarkable step forward for me as a trainer. It has transformed my whole life."

Al Raihe's former assistant, Mahmoud al Zarooni, also had a most memorable night with a win from his first runner as Godolphin's second trainer, when Calming Influence under the Emirati jockey Ahmed Ajtebi landed the Godolphin Mile. "Indeed it is a dream start as not many get this kind of opportunities," he said. @Email:apassela@thenational.ae

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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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