ABU DHABI // The big guns take centre stage in the seventh Abu Dhabi World Professional Championships at Zayed Sports City’s IPIC Arena starting on Thursday, with Brazilians likely to feature prominently when the medals are handed out over the next three days.
Brazil has dominated the championships since its inception in 2009, and top the entry charts for this year’s edition with 337 players including Marcus Almeida and Gabriella Garcia, the reigning champions in the men’s and women’s absolute classes.
Next best represented is the UAE; Emiratis number 191, followed by Colombia (136), the United States (88), Russia (77) and Angola (59).
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The African nation won three gold medals, three silvers, and two bronze in the Children’s Cup that preceded the World Pro. They want to make an even bigger impression on the biggest stage these next three days.
“Jiu-jitsu is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and the numbers that have travelled to Abu Dhabi doesn’t surprise me,” said Sebastien Garneir, a coach and competitor in the brown-belt 85-kilogram-weight division. “All those who travelled from Angola have come well prepared.
“They have taken part in competitions in Los Angeles, South Africa, Brazil and Europe. So they have good experience.”
Garneir has competed in four World Championships in Los Angeles but this will be his first appearance at the World Pro in Abu Dhabi.
Another Angolan, Ruben Lemos, made a second-round exit in his first appearance in Abu Dhabi last year but says he’s “ready for the challenge” in the 85kg purple-belt category.
“Everyone here have come with the same intentions of winning and so are we,” said Katharina Araujo, a white-belt bronze medallist last year. She meets Amanda Silva of Brazil in her first fight in the 75kg blue belt.
The Brazilians have dominated the Abu Dhabi event in both the men and women’s divisions but the gap may be narrowing.
“It has never been easy anyway,” said Rodolfo Vieira, winner of his weight division for five years and the absolute class for two years before he lost the latter title to his Brazilian compatriot Almeida in 2013 and 2015.
“The Brazilians have had the edge over the others because they still are the best in the martial art.
“And like any other top-notch championships the Abu Dhabi event attracts the best from around the world.
“I have competed in Abu Dhabi from its inception in 2009 and I know how hard it has become to win over the years, and needless to say why the bar is raised every year. It is a world championship!”
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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.”
