Bent's cap search goes on

Darren Bent will keep trying to impress the national coach Fabio Capello after again being left out of the England squad. Capello saw the Sunderland striker score an excellent goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday but opted for Gabriel Agbonlahor, Peter Crouch and Carlton Cole up front for England's final World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Belarus.

Bent is the leading home-grown goalscorer in the Premier League. The 25-year-old told the Sunderland Echo: "I've given a good account of myself on Saturday but I've been knocking them in all season and have yet to get a call-up. "I just have to keep knocking on the door with my performances for Sunderland. I'll just have to keep banging them in. "I'm in good form, my confidence is high and I feel I can score goals at any level. This won't knock my confidence."

There was disappointment for the United goalkeeper Ben Foster, who was ruled out of the England games through injury. The FA did not specify what the problem was. Meanwhile, England's qualifier against Ukraine on Saturday will only be available to viewers on the internet or in cinemas. The clash failed to attract a TV company, rights holder Kentaro said yesterday. Fans who subscribe in advance will be charged US$8 (Dh29) to view the match.

"Over 20 million people in the UK regularly use the internet to watch sport," Philipp Grothe, chief executive of Kentaro Group said. "The mainstream adoption of broadband and the growing popularity of online viewing is now a realistic alternative to old-fashioned TV broadcasting." He said Kentaro had also struck a deal to show the match across the country in cinemas. Elsewhere, the Sevilla winger Jesus Navas is eyeing a call-up to Vicente del Bosque's Spain squad for the World Cup after his match-winning performance against Real Madrid on Sunday.

The 23-year-old has not played for his national side as he suffers from anxiety attacks and homesickness. He said: "Going to the World Cup and being able to enjoy playing for the national team would be the best. But right now I am focusing on being relaxed." Inter Milan defender Lucio has pulled out of Brazil's final qualifiers against Bolivia and Venezuela with a muscle strain.

Brazil, like England and Spain, have already qualified for the finals. Lucio's Inter teammate Diego Milito will miss Argentina's matches against Peru and Paraguay after injuring his thigh. The striker's absence will be a blow to Diego Maradona's side, who are struggling to qualify. New Zealand assistant coach Brian Turner is confident captain Ryan Nelsen will be fit for the crucial first leg of their World Cup qualifying play-off against Bahrain on Saturday.

Nelsen missed Blackburn's 6-2 defeat by Arsenal in the Premier League with a back injury, but Turner said: "Our physio spoke to Ryan ... and we're confident he'll be right to play against Bahrain." New Zealand will prepare for the game in Dubai this week before heading to Manama. Japan plans to bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups despite Tokyo's failure to win the right to stage the 2016 Olympics.

A Japan Football Association official said yesterday that there were no plans to pull out of the running for the tournaments. The winning bids for both finals will be announced in December next year. * With agencies

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

Bent's cap search goes on

Sunderland's in-form striker will keep trying to impress the national coach Fabio Capello after again being left out of the England squad.