Al Davis, the Hall of Fame owner of the Oakland Raiders known for his rebellious spirit, died Friday night at his home. He was 82.
He was best known as a rebel, a man who established a team whose silver-and-black colours and pirate logo symbolised his attitude towards authority.
Yet he was a key figure in the 1970 merger of the established NFL and his upstart league, the AFL, establishing the template for pro football's rise to the No 1 US sport. He also was an influential coach before becoming a football executive.
He also was a trailblazer as the first man in modern NFL history to hire an African-American as head coach, after he had been the first to hire a Mexican-American for the same position.
"Al Davis's passion for football and his influence on the game were extraordinary," said Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, in a statement. "He defined the Raiders and contributed to pro football at every level.
"He is a true legend of the game whose impact and legacy will forever be part of the NFL."
Davis became an assistant coach with the Baltimore Colts at age 24, and later assisted at several college football programmes before joining the Los Angeles Chargers of the new AFL in 1960. In three years he was hired by the Raiders and became the youngest general manager/head coach in pro football history, and he was a good one; his teams were 23-16-3.
Davis bought into the franchise, and eventually took control of it. The Raiders won Super Bowls in 1976, 1980 and 1983, the latter after the team had moved to Los Angeles following a protracted court battle with the NFL, only to take the team back to Oakland in 1995.
Davis's Raiders were known for employing players considered character risks by many clubs, and for a swashbuckling playing style that often seemed to push the boundaries of the rules. It all fit with Davis's personal mantra: "Just win baby".
As he aged, his teams declined. After winning a championship in 1983, the Raiders did not return to the Super Bowl until 2002, when they were heavily defeated, In eight-plus seasons since, they have been one of the worst teams in the league, with a composite 39-93 record and no play-off appearances.
A few years ago, he decried his inability to make time halt.
"I can control most things, but I don't seem to be able to control death," he said. "Everybody seems to be going on me."
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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.”
