Henrik Stenson is very much in the running for the Race to Dubai title this year. Karim Sahib / AFP
Henrik Stenson is very much in the running for the Race to Dubai title this year. Karim Sahib / AFP

Golf

How did Stenson, Willett, Noren and McIlroy do on Day 2 in pursuit of European Tour money list?

Paul Radley follows the pursuits of the four players who are most likely to win the Race to Dubai title on Sunday.

Paul Radley
Paul Radley
Dubai

November 18, 2016

DUBAI // The four players mathematically still able to finish the season at the top of the European Tour’s order of merit have been jostling for places in the middle of the field at the DP World Tour Championship so far.

Tied 17th – Henrik Stenson (Sweden), first in the Race to Dubai, 4,000,562.92 points at the start of the tournament

Stenson’s long game has been off, but his grip on the Race to Dubai remains strong at this point. On three-under, he is level with his closest challenger Willett. “I’m hanging in there and fighting hard,” Stenson said. “I know the guys are going to come at me.”

Tied 17th – Danny Willett (England), second in the Race to Dubai, 299,675.03 points behind Stenson at the start of the tournament

The Englishman has not managed to break clear of Stenson as yet, and he needs a high finish to leapfrog the Swede at the top of the race. “Two rounds left to the season and hopefully things go our way and we can have some fun,” the Masters champion said.

14th – Alex Noren (Sweden), third in the Race to Dubai, 633,436.42 points behind Stenson at the start of the tournament

Clawed back ground on the leaders with a three-under 69 to get to four-under for the tournament at the end of Round 2. The Swede needs more daylight than that, though. He has to finish in the top two, and hope Stenson is outside the top eight, and Willett outside the top two.

30th – Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), fourth in the Race to Dubai, 1,176,414.37 points behind Stenson at the start of the tournament

Improved 25 places from Rounds 1 to 2, after a four-under 68. After his round, he still felt he could make the podium, if his weekend is peak McIlroy. “If one of the guys doesn’t get past 10-under his afternoon, then I feel like I still have a bit of a chance,” he said.

More from Paul Radley in Dubai:

Ryder Cup teammates bounce back: Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan

Quotes from Day 2: Sergio Garcia feels good about title chances

Magic tough: Henrik Stenson still in it to win Race to Dubai trophy

Round 3 tee times: Francesco Molinari and Sergio Garcia paired

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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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Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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