Former Scotland teammates cross paths again a long way from home

Having shared the best part of 100 caps unevenly between them in the intervening time, for two vastly different rugby union nations, two Scottish back-rowers will meet on the field for the first time in 18 years on Friday.

They meet in an "All-Star" charity game in the Middle East. How times change for Jason White and Alistair Thompson.

As teenagers, they featured in the same back row in a Scottish representative side called the Caledonia Reds in 1996.

White went on to play 77 times for Scotland, where he fostered a reputation as one of the hardest tacklers in the international game.

Thompson belatedly sampled international rugby as captain of the UAE, having pursued a career in teaching instead.

Now he just hopes to avoid too many collisions when he is reunited with his former teammate on Friday.

“Jason went to the heights of international rugby and I stayed at a certain level,” said Thompson, who will play for an Abu Dhabi select side.

“He is a tremendous guy and I just hope I don’t get in his way when the game starts because I certainly don’t want to be tackled by Jason White. I know how that feels.”

White is making a guest appearance for the Dubai selection playing against a side assembled from Saracens and Harlequins in the capital.

The Bill McLaren Foundation All Star match kicks off at 5pm at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, with the return fixture at Dubai Sports City next week.

“It is a great opportunity to bring the players together from different clubs and create a higher level of rugby and increase the level of competition,” Thompson said.

“I’m sure the same could be said of the Dubai side. It will be a tough game, my lungs will be working hard, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end.”

While Thompson will have the benefit of local knowledge when he faces White, the celebrated former Scotland captain still has some UAE experience to draw on.

He was part of the Xodus Steelers side that won the International Veterans title at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in November.

“It’s the first time I’ve played in a match since November, so I’m really looking forward to pulling the boots on and taking to the field,” White said. “It’s for a great cause and will hopefully encourage more young people to get involved with the sport.”

pradley@thenational.ae

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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.”