Christian Horner ‘had no idea people were talking’ about possible Red Bull exit

Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner has shrugged off speculation about his future and said he is determined to stay on to help the troubled Formula One team resolve their problems.

The Times newspaper reported on Tuesday that one of Horner's rival principals had called him on Sunday morning, before the Austrian Grand Prix, to commiserate about his supposed departure.

The unidentified boss had been given the impression that Austrian Gerhard Berger, a former McLaren and Ferrari driver who is close to Red Bull’s billionaire owner Dietrich Mateschitz, was set to replace the Briton.

“I was shocked,” Horner said.

“I had no idea people were talking about me that way. I have a long contract with the team. It is difficult but I had dinner with Dietrich on Saturday evening and we still get along very well.

“We know we have problems but we just have to work through them and I am here to do that job.”

Red Bull, winners of four successive driver and constructor championships between 2010 and 2013, have yet to feature on the podium this season.

The relationship with under-performing engine partners Renault has been stretched to breaking point while Mateschitz has talked of falling out of love with the sport.

At the Austrian Grand Prix, a home race for Red Bull, the team scored just one point after Australian Daniel Ricciardo and Russian Daniil Kvyat collected 10-place grid penalties for engine changes.

Red Bull are fourth overall.

Horner said changes needed to be made to enable Renault and Honda to close the gap on champions Mercedes and Ferrari while the rules should be simplified.

However, he added that Mateschitz remained supportive of the sport despite the situation.

“He’s telling what he thinks. He ultimately is a fan, that’s why he’s committed so much of Red Bull’s marketing activities to Formula One. The risk for Formula One is when someone like Dietrich starts to fall out of love with it,” said Horner.

“That’s a big worry because we need people like Dietrich to be engaged.

“He runs a multinational company and Red Bull does not exist because of Formula One ... if Formula One isn’t generating the return and the coverage for him then of course he’s going to raise questions about that.”

Red Bull run two of the 10 teams in Formula One, with Toro Rosso used to develop junior talent such as 17-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen.

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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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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK

Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
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