With the start of the 2016/17 Premier League season less than two weeks away, Premier League correspondent Richard Jolly provides his previews for each club. Here he looks at West Bromwich Albion.
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West Brom had a very Tony Pulis season last year. For the eighth consecutive campaign, he finished between 11th and 14th. The Welshman is a paragon of consistency, but it did not please everyone.
Albion had the lowest share of possession in the division and only Aston Villa scored fewer goals.
Reliability came at the expense of excitement. The highlights were wins over Arsenal and Manchester United. Otherwise it was a drab campaign, though one Aston Villa and Newcastle United must have envied.
So will 2016/17 be any different? Probably not. Pulis’s methods are set in stone and, within limited parameters, they are successful.
Once again, Albion have been slow starters in the transfer market, though, as with last year, that may lead to several late deals.
Again, much depends on whether the coveted Saido Berahino, who almost left last summer, fell out with chairman Jeremy Peace and was a fringe player for much of the season, stays, stars and scores.
If not, Salomon Rondon assumes a still greater importance in attack.
Rickie Lambert, whose debut year at the Hawthorns yielded a solitary league goal, has to contribute more, but the emphasis will again be on solidity and being hard to break down. Troubling opponents is not the top priority.
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Key Man: Salomon Rondon
Nine goals may seem an unexceptional tally for a club record buy, but it represented a fine effort for a club who create few chances and from a player in his first season in England. Albion may need more this year, though.
Pivotal Signing: Matt Phillips
A long-term target for Pulis, who finally landed the speedy wide man from QPR for £5.5 million (Dh26.6m). Industrious wingers, like James McClean, can become pivotal for the Welshman, but other flair players, like Callum McManaman and Stephane Sessegnon, have found themselves marginalised.
Point to Prove: James Chester
Terrific for Wales in Euro 2016 but limited to nine league starts last season when he ranked at the back of the queue for central-defensive places. Deserves more of a chance now.
Crucial Factor: Getting home wins early
Albion’s last five games at the Hawthorns are Arsenal, Southampton, Liverpool, Leicester City and Chelsea. Pulis always aims to get to 40 points early. That seems particularly important now.
Predicted finish: 14th
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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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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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
