PAARL, SOUTH AFRICA - FEBRUARY 01: Eoin Morgan of England smiles ahead of the start of play during the practice match between England and South Africa Invitation XI at Boland Park on February 01, 2020 in Paarl, South Africa. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
PAARL, SOUTH AFRICA - FEBRUARY 01: Eoin Morgan of England smiles ahead of the start of play during the practice match between England and South Africa Invitation XI at Boland Park on February 01, 2020 in Paarl, South Africa. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
PAARL, SOUTH AFRICA - FEBRUARY 01: Eoin Morgan of England smiles ahead of the start of play during the practice match between England and South Africa Invitation XI at Boland Park on February 01, 2020 in Paarl, South Africa. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
PAARL, SOUTH AFRICA - FEBRUARY 01: Eoin Morgan of England smiles ahead of the start of play during the practice match between England and South Africa Invitation XI at Boland Park on February 01, 2020

Eoin Morgan open to idea of England playing Tests and limited overs games on same day to counter coronavirus-affected schedule


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Eoin Morgan thinks the idea of England playing a Test and limited-overs international on the same day could be feasible given the unprecedented issues facing the sport.

This week the England and Wales Cricket Board announced an emergency funding package worth £61 million (Dh277.4m) designed to attempt to offset the effects of coronavirus on the game.

The season is postponed to at least May 28, and whether any cricket can take place in the UK at all this summer remains to be seen.

In a truncated campaign, the ECB are likely to focus their resources on international cricket, with series planned involving Pakistan, West Indies and Australia, as well as the T20 Blast.

If the pandemic does ease, one possibility that has been floated is having Tests and white-ball cricket on the same day with separate England teams.

Morgan, who is expected to lead England at the T20 World Cup in Australia in October, said the seemingly fanciful idea is possible, given the situation.

“I see every option being viable during this extraordinary time,” Morgan said. “Certainly I've never experienced anything like it and don't think anyone else has.

“If there's an opportunity to play as much cricket as we can, I'd like to think every player would be behind it. I certainly am.”

During his time in lockdown, Morgan has been adjusting to life as a parent after his wife gave birth to their first child last month.

“We've been isolated for a bit longer than anyone else, which is really nice,” Morgan said. “We've been dealt a really good hand when it comes to things that are going on at the moment and have been bunkered away for a while, and haven't been under pressure to go off and play cricket, which has been really nice.

“Obviously times are still uncertain at the moment. People are waiting to see what sort of impact that has had on the virus and if it has slowed things down or stopped the increase in infection.

“Realistically we can't think about playing, when our first game will be, or how many we will play until the situation is downgraded from a pandemic. As ridiculous as it sounds that's how serious it is.”

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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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