Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel said on Friday that Formula One must "act responsibly" over the environment if the sport wants to remain relevant.
"I think this sport has some big challenges ahead," the Ferrari driver told a video news conference ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.
"Obviously, the whole situation with the pandemic around the world doesn't help, but nevertheless, there are some big questions to be answered for the future to make sure that this sport is still around in years to come.
"With where the world is going, there are big things that we need to tackle. We need to address (them) and Formula One is, maybe, not at the forefront of this.
"We can do better than what we're currently doing.
"Looking after the world, the environment, I think there's some interesting aspects that we are trying to fulfil or achieve, but I think F1 has to do more and be a bit more open and tolerant. Otherwise ... it could get difficult in the future."
The 33-year-old German, who won successive world titles from 2010 to 2013, said F1 should be "setting examples rather than reacting to pressure from the outside" when it came to cleaning up its environmental performance.
"As a global sport, we should act responsibly," he said. "When it comes to the environment, obviously we are driving around the weekend in cars, we're burning fuel which is probably a very small amount of the total energy, or total carbon footprint, if you want to talk in CO2 terms.
"But still I think we need to be setting the right example, not just in our carbon footprint, but also on other things.
"Every little bit makes a difference. The amount of plastic bottles we consume during the weekend, I think there are solutions to that.
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Ferrari's passionate tifosi facing a miserable afternoon at Monza
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"How we power some panels in the paddock, there are solutions to that.
"We should be at the forefront in pushing developments rather than using a convenient and cheap way in order to make things work and easy.
"F1 is obviously the pinnacle of motorsports when it comes to development of the cars, but I think it doesn't just stop there.
"When you talk about the cars, I think there's more that can be done in order to have greater relevance for the future."
Vettel added that he remained "very open" with Ferrari despite knowing he is in his last season with the team and is, this weekend, racing for them at Monza for the last time.
"I don't feel pushed out," he said. "We're very open, also vocal, and when something is not right - and that's for Charles (Leclerc) and myself -- if I get asked, I would answer. And if I don't get asked, I might say it, nevertheless.
"I'm open, I'm here to do my job until the end of the year.
"I enjoy racing and I want to make sure I can get out of the car at the end of the year knowing that I've done everything I can to put all the things together, that mattered, to get the best result."
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.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
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