Australia on course for a consolation win



SYDNEY // South Africa will enter the final day of the third Test against Australia needing a further 314 runs to pull off an improbable win. Set an imposing victory target of 376 from a minimum 116 overs, the Proteas were 62-1 at stumps. The stand-in skipper Neil McKenzie (25) and Hashim Amla (30) will resume the fight for a history-making last-day win - and a series clean sweep - with at least 90 overs to be bowled and the captain Graeme Smith unlikely to play with a fractured hand. Past run chases at the SCG suggest victory will elude the Proteas on a wearing wicket. Australia's fourth-innings total of 288-2 in the 2005/06 season against South Africa is the highest winning total in a Sydney Test. After Australia declared their seconds innings at 257-4, Doug Bollinger made the early breakthrough, picking up his first Test wicket after makeshift opener Morne Morkel (0) chipped a catch to Mitchell Johnson at mid on. Amla survived a close call on five, edging Peter Siddle past a diving Brad Haddin. Ricky Ponting closed his side's innings after Michael Clarke (41) was caught in the deep going after quick runs. Michael Hussey remained not out on 45. Australia resumed the day on 33 without loss with Matthew Hayden and Simon Katich at the crease. Hayden (39) dragged Morne Morkel onto his stumps after working hard in an attempt to build his first substantial score of the summer. He belted seven fours in a 63-ball stay that produced just as much sweat as substance. The 37-year-old was given a rousing send-off by the SCG crowd. Ponting (53) almost collected a king pair after leaving the first ball he faced only for it to catch the inside edge of his bat, narrowly missing the stumps and going to the boundary for four. The Australian skipper's innings then flourished as he raced to a half-century at almost a run a ball. It came as a surprise when he played on to Morkel attempting a cut shot. There was also plenty of surprise when Simon Katich (61) was given out lbw to Dale Steyn (one for 60), with only the wicketkeeper Mark Boucher seemingly interested in an appeal. Clarke and Hussey then combined for a fourth-wicket partnership of 76 that helped place Australia in the box seat to win for the first time this series. *PA Sport

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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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