The Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonathan, are betting on an intense sibling rivalry in their drive for a top-of-the-podium finish in the triathlon at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday.
The Leeds-based siblings, their own harshest critics who often work together in races, are the hot favourites over the Olympic distance course that begins with a 1.5km swim over two laps of Strathclyde Loch before a 40km cycle and a 10km run.
Alistair Brownlee will be out to add Commonwealth gold to his Olympic gold won in London in 2012, with triumphs in the World Triathlon Series in 2011 and 2013 sandwiching that victory.
Brownlee senior warmed up for the Glasgow Games with victory in the Triathlon World Series event in Hamburg earlier this month, winning ahead of France’s Vincent Luis and Jonny Brownlee, in third.
“This season has been about the Commonwealth Games for me, so I’m happy that I’m fit now,” Alistair Brownlee said after his win in Germany following an injury-disrupted season in which he also managed to claim the European title.
“It’s a tough course,” Brownlee told British media of the Strathclyde Triathlon Course southeast of Glasgow.
“There’s nothing particularly hard on it but nothing easy either. It’ll be a really tough, honest race I think. That’s the kind of race I like to do so I’m looking forward to it.
“I can’t complain about my shape at all. I’ve done some of the best training I’ve done in a long time so I’m really happy about it and everything’s gone as well as I could have hoped.”
Fresh from high-altitude training in St Moritz, Brownlee said the siblings’ joint podium showing under pressure at the London Olympics could hold them in good stead for action in Scotland.
“It’s not unfamiliar, London was very good practice for that,” he said. “I don’t think I’m ever going to experience pressure like that again so after that everything feels easier.
“We will go into it as favourites and I quite like that position.”
Triathlon is returning to the Commonwealth Games programme for the first time since Melbourne 2006, having made its debut at Manchester 2002 when Canadian duo Carol Montgomery and Simon Whitfield won women’s and men’s gold.
While the men’s event is headlined as a battle of the Brownlees, the women’s individual race promises to have several contenders vying for gold.
New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt claimed bronze the last time the triathlon took place at the Games and she also holds a silver from the 2011 World Triathlon Series and bronzes from the 2009 and 2012 editions.
She will likely be up against England’s Jodie Stimpson, a silver medal winner in the World Triathlon Series in 2013.
Saturday sees the triathletes back in action, albeit in the sprint distance mixed team relay, an event that makes its Games debut.
Teams featuring two men and two women will each swim one 250m lap of the loch before embarking on a 6km cycle and a 1.6km run.
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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.”
Company%20Profile
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RESULTS
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Brraq, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Taamol, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Eqtiraan, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Soft Whisper, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Etisalat, Sando Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
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