Everton were plunged into further turmoil as their under-fire owners watched their underperforming team slump 2-0 at fellow strugglers West Ham.
Chairman Bill Kenwright and majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri were both in attendance as two goals from Jarrod Bowen kept the Toffees rooted in the relegation zone and left manager Frank Lampard’s future in serious jeopardy.
While Everton’s fans made their feelings crystal clear again, unfurling banners reading ‘Board Full Of Liars’ in the away end, their team simply capitulated.
Such is the discontent surrounding the club that Everton’s directors had been advised to stay away from last week’s home defeat by Southampton for their own safety.
Thus, Moshiri’s appearance at the London Stadium felt hugely significant. It was the first time he had attended an Everton match in almost 18 months, and therefore the first time he had witnessed the team under Lampard.
It may be the last, such was this feeble display which even made West Ham, themselves in a dreadful run of form, look almost competent.
On the pitch two, after a tribute to Hammers co-owner David Gold, who died three weeks ago, two edgy teams played out a horribly cagey encounter.
Everton keeper Jordan Pickford did not help the nerves when he miscontrolled his first touch of the ball, but Michail Antonio could not take advantage.
Pickford redeemed himself when he made a fine save to tip over a swerving shot from Said Benrahma but West Ham, themselves on a run of seven matches without a win, soon made their dominance count.
In the 33rd minute Emerson Palmieri lifted a high cross into the box and Kurt Zouma flicked it on for Bowen to prod home.
Bowen appeared to be in an offside position but the goal survived a VAR review.
Nine minutes later, Bowen – who had not previously scored since October – doubled West Ham’s lead.
Antonio did brilliantly to skip past the challenge of James Tarkowski on the touchline, leaving him the simple task of pulling the ball back for Bowen to tuck away.
Yet even at 2-0 up West Ham almost allowed their confidence-shorn opponents back in before half-time, but Alex Iwobi’s low shot was deflected on to a post.
In the second half Pickford palmed an Emerson drive on to the crossbar, Declan Rice fired across goal and wide and Bowen was denied a hat-trick by a timely Conor Coady challenge.
It mattered little as West Ham comfortably held on, hauling themselves out of the bottom three and giving their under-pressure boss David Moyes some breathing space in the process – while leaving Lampard fearing the worst.
"We were unfortunate not to get the result, we keep pushing but it wasn't our day. If we don't take our chances we will get punished," said Everton forward Alex Iwobi on Sky Sports.
"We discussed about getting on top of them because they are in the same situation as us but unfortunately it was not the case.
"The ownership is on us as a team, we attack and defend together. We still have half the season left and a lot of improvement to do.
"Frank Lampard made a few changes after the break, told us to keep pushimg and be more dynamic.
"(Pressure) is nothing new to us, we were in the same situation last season. We have a break coming up and we have to regroup.
"It is not just the manager who takes responsibility, the players are fighting for him and the club."
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PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
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%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
Michael Beckley, Cornell Press
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
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.”
