Red Bull team chief Christian Horner was delighted – even if Daniel Ricciardo was not – on Saturday after both of his drivers qualified ahead of Ferrari for Sunday's British Grand Prix.
Horner said he hoped Red Bull’s success would become a trend that helped them overhaul the Italian marque to take second place in the constructors’ world championship.
Australian Ricciardo, however, said it "sucks" to be beaten by a teammate for the first time this season after he qualified fourth behind Dutch teenager Max Verstappen for the race.
“Yeah, it’s the first time this year,” he said. “And it sucks getting beaten in any case. You’d love to go through a perfect season, but we just missed a little bit here and there today.”
The Red Bulls wound up third and fourth on the grid behind the two Mercedes of pole-man Lewis Hamilton and title race leader Nico Rosberg.
“To convert our pace into a second row grid position with both cars was certainly more than we could have expected coming into the weekend,” said Horner.
“Hopefully, we can give them a hard time tomorrow. Our long-run pace is better than our short runs.
“In the championship, we’re 24 points behind, so if we can nick a few points this weekend then there are circuits coming up that are good for us.”
On Ricciardo’s agonies, he said: “It’s the first time that Max has out-qualified Daniel since he’s been in the car, so he’ll take confidence from that I’m sure.
“It’s all pretty close. I think Max absolutely nailed it and he did the job that was required. His lap was a ‘stonker’.”
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Install an air filter in your home.
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
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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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Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Automatic
Power: 530bhp
Torque: 750Nm
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Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
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2 The Riyadh Dirt Sprint (TB) 1,200m (D) $1.500,000
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