Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. EPA
Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. EPA
Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. EPA
Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. EPA

Sport

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney is player England ‘need to depend on for Euros’ says Roy Hodgson

Hodgson also paid tribute to the form of Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and Leicester’s Jamie Vardy, although he was keeping his cards close to his chest over his preferred selections.

Press Association

February 14, 2016

  • English
  • Arabic

England coach Roy Hodgson believes captain Wayne Rooney will be “a player we need to depend upon” at this summer’s European Championship in France.

Rooney's form for Manchester United had been a source of concern before the turn of the year, with the striker going eight games without finding the net in the Premier League earlier this season.

However, he has rediscovered his goalscoring touch with seven goals in eight games in all competitions in 2016, much to Hodgson’s relief.

"We are pleased Wayne has pulled himself out of that trough," Hodgson said of England's all-time record goalscorer on the BBC's Match of the Day programme.

“He’s an important player, our captain and a player we need to depend upon for the Euros.”

Hodgson also paid tribute to the form of Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and Leicester’s Jamie Vardy, although he was keeping his cards close to his chest over his preferred selections.

“We have a lot of possibilities in terms of formation,” Hodgson said.

“We can play in a diamond, or with one centre-forward, and the big thing is Kane and Vardy who have both been such a sensation.”

Read more:

Richard Jolly: History no longer on Man City's side when they collide with Tottenham Hotspur

Greg Lea: Jamie Vardy scores goals but N'Golo Kante has been catalyst in Leicester City's attacking game

Steve Luckings: Manchester United's problem is not Rooney, it's Schweinsteiger – EPL talking points

Listen: Team Talk podcast: Arsenal's now-or-never moment as Spurs see chance at Man City – analysing Super Sunday – Ep 16

Another area where England have plenty of options is the goalkeeping slot.

While Manchester City’s Joe Hart is in possession of the No 1 jersey, Jack Butland has made several impressive performances for Stoke City in this campaign and Fraser Forster has marked his return from a serious knee injury with six consecutive clean sheets.

Hodgson added: “Having him [Forster] and Joe and Jack means we are as strong as England have been.

“I tried to keep in touch with the players. Fraser is a very good character. Joe is playing well, Jack is playing well.”

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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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