Former Arsenal player Freddie Ljungberg returns to 'special place' to coach Under 23 side

Former Arsenal star Freddie Ljungberg has returned to the Premier League club as Under 23 manager.

Ljungberg helped Arsenal win the Premier League twice and the FA Cup three times in a nine-year spell from 1998 to 2007.

He scored 46 goals in 216 appearances for Arsenal and, after retiring in 2014, the Sweden winger spent a season coaching Arsenal's U15 side.

Following a short spell as Wolfsburg assistant manager, Ljungberg returns to the Emirates Stadium after Arsene Wenger ended his 22-year reign as Arsenal manager at the end of the season.

Wenger has been replaced by Spaniard Unai Emery.

"I'm delighted to be returning to the club. Arsenal has always been a special place for me and I'm really excited at this opportunity to work with our under-23 team," Ljungberg said on Tuesday.

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"I look forward to working with the talented young players we have at the club.

"I know many of them well and will work hard to help them continue developing and become the best players and people they can be."

Ljungberg played a prominent role in Arsenal's Premier League and FA Cup double triumph of 2002 and was part of the 'Invincibles' team which went unbeaten for the 2004 league campaign.

Ljungberg, who also played for West Ham, Seattle Sounders, Chicago Fire and Celtic, joined Wolfsburg as former Arsenal Academy manager Andries Jonker's assistant in 2017.

But he left when Jonker was sacked as manager of the German side after just seven months in charge.

Arsenal's new Academy chief Per Mertesacker said: "It's great to have Freddie back at the club.

"He understands the club's values and how important it is to give young players the opportunity to grow and develop."

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The Pope's itinerary

Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport

Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial

Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport

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.”