It has not been a particularly straightforward start to the season for Daniel Sturridge.
Liverpool may be looking down at the rest of the Premier League after 11 matches, but the striker’s role in his team’s rise has been rather limited.
Sturridge, 27, has started only four Premier League games this season, and has been substituted in each one, while he failed to make it off the bench in victories over Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion.
Most concerning of all, the former Chelsea and Manchester City forward is without a goal in the league since April and has scored just 12 times in the same competition in the last two and a half years.
Jurgen Klopp’s preference for the more mobile and all-action Roberto Firmino has pushed Sturridge down the pecking order at Anfield, and his future at club level is uncertain as a result.
That is not the case on the international stage, though.
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Sturridge may have expected to again be excluded from the starting XI when England locked horns with Scotland on Friday in their World Cup qualifier, particularly as Harry Kane had made his comeback from seven weeks on the sidelines in Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 draw with arch rivals Arsenal last weekend.
Instead, interim manager Gareth Southgate retained faith in the forward who had spearheaded the attack in his two previous games in charge, a 2-0 win over Malta and a goalless draw with Slovenia.
That decision paid off handsomely. Sturridge broke the deadlock at a time when Gordon Strachan’s side were on top, stooping to head Kyle Walker’s fizzed delivery into the far corner. It was a fine finish that few players on the pitch could have replicated.
Scotland made a bright start at Wembley, initially pressing England high up the pitch and snapping into tackles in midfield, where the tenacious Scott Brown and Darren Fletcher were not shy in imposing their physicality on the game.
England were forced into several sloppy moments in the opening exchanges, with John Stones caught in possession twice and fellow central defender Gary Cahill also looking uncomfortable whenever he was closed down quickly.
England had problems playing out from the back throughout, with Scotland benefiting from multiple turnovers in advanced areas. Strachan’s side were never able to take full advantage, though. The visitors were guilty of poor decision-making in some instances, but what let them down most was their profligacy in front of goal.
While there was plenty in England’s performance that was far from perfect, that particular charge could not be levelled at them.
Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Cahill all did brilliantly to guide headed efforts past Craig Gordon, with the clinical edge of Southgate’s side inside the penalty area ultimately the difference.
Sturridge did not contribute a great deal outside of scoring the opener — it was in fact his only effort on goal — but that moment alone was another timely reminder of the fact that he is his country’s most reliable finisher and a player who still has plenty to offer in the right set-up.
It is difficult to see him getting back into the Liverpool team any time soon — although his ability cannot be denied, Firmino is clearly a better fit in such a fluid frontline — but Sturridge remains a key man for his country.
Southgate, who took a big step closer to landing the England job on a full-time basis after Friday’s convincing triumph, is unlikely to forget that in a hurry.
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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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