ARSENAL
The busiest of the big clubs over the summer, with Unai Emery's appointment and the end of Arsene Wenger's reign heralding change. Laurent Koscielny has been named captain, although a deputy will be needed as he is injured. Of four major signings, Stephan Lichtsteiner may seem a back-up but Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lucas Torreira and Bernd Leno will surely start, with the £22 million (Dh105m) German bearing the look of the first-choice goalkeeper, even though Petr Cech has been given the No 1 shirt. Implementing different tactics, with the Uruguayan Torreira feeling the defensive midfielder Arsenal have long lacked, will be a priority for Emery. So will be persuading Aaron Ramsey to sign a new deal.
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Read more:
Steve Luckings: Anderson and Yarmolenko signings offer West Ham fans cause for optimism
New signing Felipe Anderson aims to become West Ham hero 'like Moore, Tevez and Di Canio'
Premier League transfer targets: Five players on club radars after starring at the World Cup
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CHELSEA
After months in limbo, Chelsea belatedly sacked Antonio Conte and appointed Maurizio Sarri. The former Napoli manager now has to make up for lost time; replacing one Italian's 3-4-3 formation with another's 4-3-3 seems a priority. One of Sarri's former Napoli charges, midfielder Jorginho, has arrived and another, striker Gonzalo Higuain could be targeted. Chelsea have to determine the futures of Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Willian, who could all end up in Spain, with Aleksandr Golovin a possible replacement for the No 10 role, as well as players who were out of favour under Conte, such as David Luiz and Ross Barkley, and the returning loanees, such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
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Read more:
Maurizio Sarri 'wants to keep strongest players' at Chelsea amid Hazard and Courtois exit talk
Steve Luckings: Hazard to replace Ronaldo at Real Madrid? What a welcome for Chelsea's Sarri
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LIVERPOOL
The midfield makeover began soon, with Naby Keita's arrival already agreed and Fabinho soon tied up. Yet the breakdown of the move for Nabil Fekir prompts questions if it can be resurrected and, if not, Liverpool will look for another replacement for Philippe Coutinho. The most pressing concern is whether Loris Karius can recover from his traumatic Uefa Champions League final, and pre-season errors, to remain the first-choice goalkeeper. A deal for Brazil's Alisson looks imminent. With Xherdan Shaqiri joining, Jurgen Klopp has got a back-up winger. He now has to dispose of some of the surplus strikers, such as Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge, while Danny Ings also wants to go.
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Read more:
Liverpool close to world record deal for Brazil goalkeeper Alisson
Daniel Sturridge aims to be part of Liverpool team 'week in, week out'
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MANCHESTER CITY
Pep Guardiola's biggest issue may be that, with 16 players going to the World Cup and many of them involved in the latter stages, City could be struggling to find a side to put out at the start of the season. Riyad Mahrez's club-record move from Leicester City has brought another option in the forward line and the extra winger Guardiola wanted. Yet with Jorginho opting to go to Chelsea, Fred going to Manchester United and Jean-Michel Seri joining Fulham, Guardiola may struggle to find the holding midfielder he had wanted, unless Real Madrid will accept an offer for Mateo Kovacic.
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Read more:
Richard Jolly: Signing of Riyad Mahrez fits the Manchester City blueprint
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MANCHESTER UNITED
Jose Mourinho made a swift start to the summer with the recruitment of Fred, as Michael Carrick’s successor in the midfield, and Diogo Dalot, earmarked as Antonio Valencia’s long-term replacement at right-back. Yet, besides the arrival of third-choice goalkeeper Lee Grant, things have gone quiet since then. United’s normal policy has been to look for a flagship signing. Ivan Perisic, wanted by Mourinho last year and so impressive in the World Cup, may tick some boxes. The impasse, meanwhile, also means a seemingly disenchanted Anthony Martial remains on the books. His sale could free up funds.
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Read more:
Manchester United in America: Mourinho missing star names and 'worried' by shortage of players
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TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
It is not the first time Spurs have entered the final weeks of the window without making a signing. At least there is some optimism this time after Mauricio Pochettino and Harry Kane signed new contracts. Yet other things remain uncertain: Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose had seemed likely to leave, not least because this could be the last summer to bring in a huge fee for the Belgian, and so far both remain. The World Cup may have put their plans on hold, but also Spurs'.
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Read more:
John McAuley: Hugo Lloris predicts 'special season' for Tottenham after successful World Cup
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SPECS
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp
Torque: 380Nm
Price: From Dh208,000
On sale: Now
Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
Uefa Champions League play-off
First leg: Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Ajax v Dynamo Kiev
Second leg: Tuesday, August 28, 11pm (UAE)
Dynamo Kiev v Ajax
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.”
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Fixture and table
UAE finals day: Friday, April 13 at Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
- 3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
- 6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership – final standings
- Dubai Exiles
- Abu Dhabi Harlequins
- Jebel Ali Dragons
- Dubai Hurricanes
- Dubai Sports City Eagles
- Abu Dhabi Saracens
India squad for fourth and fifth Tests
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Consoles: PC, PlayStation
Rating: 2/5
The specs: Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid
Power: 680hp
Torque: 930Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh749,000
On sale: Now
The specs: 2024 Panamera
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 353hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh408,200
On sale: Now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
