Atletico Madrid's Saul Niguez celebrates scoring against Deportivo la Coruna in his team's La Liga win on Saturday. Chema Moya / EPA / March 12, 2016
Atletico Madrid's Saul Niguez celebrates scoring against Deportivo la Coruna in his team's La Liga win on Saturday. Chema Moya / EPA / March 12, 2016
Atletico Madrid's Saul Niguez celebrates scoring against Deportivo la Coruna in his team's La Liga win on Saturday. Chema Moya / EPA / March 12, 2016
Atletico Madrid's Saul Niguez celebrates scoring against Deportivo la Coruna in his team's La Liga win on Saturday. Chema Moya / EPA / March 12, 2016

Football

Atletico Madrid ‘have found a regularity’ says an encouraged Diego Simeone

Diego Simeone hailed Atletico Madrid's 'more stable way of playing' on Saturday after a comfortable 3-0 win against Deportivo la Coruna in La Liga as they turned their eyes to the Champions League.

Press Association

March 13, 2016

  • English
  • Arabic

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone believes his side have run into top form as they warmed up for next week's Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven by cruising to a 3-0 home win against Deportivo la Coruna.

Simeone's side remained eight points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona following a fourth straight win and they head into next Tuesday's return leg against PSV unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions.

“We’ve found a regularity and a more stable way of playing,” the Argentinian said in quotes reported on the club’s official Twitter account after goals from Saul Niguez, Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa made light work of Depor.

See more: Neymar double, Leo Messi brilliance and Arda Turan bicycle burnish Barcelona – in pictures

“What’s important is that the goals come from different parts of the field.”

Atletico drew 0-0 in Eindhoven last month and Simeone quickly switched his attentions to the Dutch side’s visit.

“The most important (game) of the season was the Deportivo (game). Now it’s the one against PSV,” he said.

Argentinian Saul, whose 18th-minute header was his eighth goal of the season, was also looking ahead to next Tuesday.

“The team has done a great job,” he told the club’s official website.

“We have achieved a great result, which gives us a plus for Tuesday. We have achieved a great result and it has been a very rounded match.

“We must continue doing our work and be strong at home until the end of the season. Now we have another final on Tuesday at home.”

Deportivo have now gone 13 league games without a win and coach Victor Sanchez feels his side are not enjoying the best of luck.

He told the club’s official website: “We are at a time of the season in which fortune is not with us.”

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Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

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Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)

Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal  (Oct 30, EFL)

Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)

Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal  (Nov 6, Europa)

Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)

Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)

Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)

Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)

Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)

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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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