BRNO, Czech Republich // All the talk in the build-up to Sunday's MotoGP Czech Grand Prix focussed on whether Marc Marquez could become the first rider to win 11 races in a row in motorcyle racing's top class.
But he made a different kind of history, finishing fourth at Brno to mark the first time in his career in MotoGP that he failed to finish in the top three.
The Honda rider’s streak came to an end at 10, but the Japanese team had the consolation of making it 11 wins in a row when Marquez’s teammate, Dani Pedrosa, won the race ahead of Jorge Lorenzo’s Yamaha.
In what has become a common theme, Marquez got off to a poor start from pole position, dropping to sixth place.
Lorenzo soon settled down at the front, followed by Pedrosa, who overtook him on the sixth lap. Lorenzo never really got close enough to fight back.
“I didn’t plan the race in this way, but fortunately, Jorge opened a gap immediately, so I had to change my plan and then push to the limit,” Pedrosa said.
“I kept my rhythm until the end, but in the end I struggled with my rear grip and was not able to go out strong in the corners.
Pedrosa, 28, won by 0.410 seconds.
“Finally we beat Marc, but unfortunately it wasn’t me, it was Dani this time,” Lorenzo said.
“After two laps, I started feeling not as well as in the first laps and Dani cut me and passed me ... and went away. The bike wasn’t so bad at the end of the race, so I tried, pushed to the limit to cut him, but it was too late.”
Marquez, 21, moved up to third after a few laps, but instead of narrowing the gap on the two leaders, he found himself under heavy pressure from Valentino Rossi.
Shrugging off a heavy crash in Saturday’s practice in which he injured the little finger on his left hand, Rossi, who has won five premier-class races in Brno, breezed past Marquez midway through the race.
He finished more than five seconds ahead of the championship leader for his 190th podium finish in all classes of motorcycling grand prix.
“I was able to do a good race, I’m happy, I had a good pace and it’s another podium,” Rossi said.
“It was a great pleasure to beat Marc one time.”
Marquez still comfortably leads the overall standings with 263 points and seven races remaining.
Pedrosa, his Honda teammate, is second with 186 and Rossi is third on 173.
In Moto2, Spanish rider Esteve Rabat took his fifth victory of the season to stretch his overall lead the class, and Alexis Masbou of France won the Moto3 category for his maiden victory.
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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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