Al Wahda manager Javier Aguirre is keeping his players focused on the game against Presepolis. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National
Al Wahda manager Javier Aguirre is keeping his players focused on the game against Presepolis. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National
Al Wahda manager Javier Aguirre is keeping his players focused on the game against Presepolis. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National
Al Wahda manager Javier Aguirre is keeping his players focused on the game against Presepolis. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Football

Asian Champions League: Al Wahda face Persepolis ‘intent on winning’ regardless of permutations

Al Wahda manager Javier Aguirre said the outcome of Monday night’s game between Al Rayyan of Qatar and Saudi Arabian powerhouse Al Hilal will not change his team’s game plan.

Amith Passela
Amith Passela

May 07, 2017

  • English
  • Arabic

Al Wahda manager Javier Aguirre said the outcome of Monday night’s game between Al Rayyan of Qatar and Saudi Arabian powerhouse Al Hilal will not change his team’s game plan when they meet Persepolis of Iran in the final Group D match in the Asian Champions League (ACL).

Victory for Rayyan would mean both Wahda and Persepolis will not progress beyond the group stage, but a win for Hilal can provide one of them a lifeline to reach the round of 16.

Hilal lead the group on nine points followed by Rayyan (seven), Persepolis (six) and Wahda (four).

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Wahda can qualify ahead of Rayyan on head-to-head results as they are ahead on goal difference after one win each. But that is only if they win and the Qatari side lose.

“We have travelled to Tehran with the intent of winning this game and it will not change whatever the outcome of the other game,” Aguirre said.

“Anyway, we need to win this game to have whatever chance we may have. So that’s what we want to go out there and achieve.

“Whatever has to happen will be after this result.”

Wahda’s resounding 5-1 win over Rayyan in the last game, after picking up just one from their previous four matches, have raised their hopes of a qualification to the knockout round in the competition.

“We were able to score from the chances we created for that to win by a big margin against Rayyan,” Aguirre said. “But this is the way we have been playing all our matches in the ACL. We wish we can do it again.

“The result of the last [ACL] game was a confidence booster. It may also be a change of fortune for us, because we didn’t deserve to lose some of the earlier games.

“This is a tough game against Persepolis, though, and playing in Tehran doesn’t make it any easier, but we are hopeful.”

Persepolis have suffered a dip in form of late and have collected only two points from a possible nine.

Like Wahda, they must win to have any chance to progress, and they will be strengthened by the return of Jalal Hosseini and Soroush Rafieitelgary from suspension.

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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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