Anelka hits treble to save the Blues

Chelsea's assistant coach Ray Wilkins hailed his side's spirit as a Nicolas Anelka hat-trick rescued them from a shock FA Cup exit at Watford. The Hornets substitute Tamas Priskin put the struggling Championship side in front in the 69th minute but Anelka hit a superb treble, including two goals inside three minutes, to put the Blues into the last eight of the competition. Wilkins, in charge for the game before the new manager Guus Hiddink takes control on Monday, changed to a 4-4-2 formation after Watford went ahead and the Blues never looked back as Anelka took his tally for the season to 20. "Yes, we had a scare but overall I think our performance merited a victory and we got it," said Wilkins. "It is never easy when you go a goal down to a team in a lower division, it is extremely difficult. "But we showed a tremendous amount of character to come back and it culminated in a lovely hat-trick by Nic. "People keep saying it has been a difficult season for us. But we are now through to the next round of the FA Cup, we are still in the hunt for the Premier League and we are still in the Champions League. I don't think you have seen the best of us yet.

"That is still to come. When we get lady luck on our side I think you will see us start giving a few teams a good hiding. "Guus has been in the dressing room to congratulate the boys. He is delighted and thrilled and knows he has got a wonderful group of players to work with. He also came in the dressing room before the game to wish the guys the best of luck. "I told Guus what the team would be and he just said get on with it." Wilkins brought Didier Drogba back into the starting line-up after taking the Ivorian aside for a heart-to-heart chat during the week. "I had a talk with Didier, a little one-to-one. As soon as the board said I would be taking this game, I had a gut feeling about Didier. "It's been a difficult season for him, he's been in and out. It has been tough for him but he is the type of guy who I thought would work better from the start than coming off the bench. "He did respond and it was nice to see the big man back. He is a delight to have in the dressing room because he is extremely vocal." The beaten Watford coach Brendan Rodgers, Chelsea's former reserve team boss, was extremely proud of the way his players fought against one of the top teams in the country. Rodgers said: "I thought we were outstanding in relation to the world class squad we were playing against. "Right up to the end it could have been two-each but instead that little bit of quality came through and Nicolas got his third. "I am very proud of the players and the supporters. The players are improving all the time. With 20 minutes to go I was thinking 'here we go' but then I should have known better because I have worked with these guys and they are top players." *PA Sport

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.”

Profile of MoneyFellows

Founder: Ahmed Wadi

Launched: 2016

Employees: 76

Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)

Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund