‘Not even a consideration’: Roberto Martinez tells Chelsea to forget chasing John Stones in January

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has told Chelsea they would be wasting their time if they attempt to sign defender John Stones in January.

Stones, 21, was the subject of a series of bids from Chelsea in the summer, although Everton held firm in their desire to retain the England international.

Given Chelsea’s remarkable struggles this season, speculation has been widespread that the Premier League champions will renew their attempts when the transfer window opens next month.

However, Martinez has made his thoughts perfectly clear, insisting neither Stones nor any other first team player will be allowed to leave midway through the season.

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“It doesn’t matter if Chelsea come back in for him. We created a squad to see how far we could go over 10 months. January doesn’t come into consideration,” he said.

“We’ll never lose anyone in January — unless it’s somebody who hasn’t been playing and we need to find a solution. If he’s a top performer, it’s not even a consideration.”

Stones was understood to be unhappy by Everton’s resistance in the summer, but Martinez said there will be no repeat in January as the centre-back is aware that no one will be allowed to leave next month.

“When you are right in the middle of a season, I think players understand that you can’t sell someone if you can’t replace him,” Martinez said.

“I think the uncertainty comes in the summer, where everyone speaks about possibilities.

“January is a window to solve problems with players who are not featuring as often as they feel they should, or to bring in players from a lower league to give them an opportunity.”

Following defeat to league leaders Leicester City on Monday, Chelsea are 16th in the Premier League table, one point above the relegation zone.

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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.”