Andrew Luck has always been so good.
Which is why it is so odd to see the Indianapolis Colts quarterback perform so badly two weeks into the new season.
With Luck sitting at the bottom of the league’s passer rating chart, the AFC South favourite Colts suddenly look like a box of doughnuts sitting on the break-room table, waiting to be gobbled up by anyone who passes by.
The Tennessee Titans are next up for the winless Colts. For the first time in his young pro career, golden boy Luck, 26, is answering uncomfortable questions. To his credit, he is taking full responsibility.
“I have to improve, no question,” he said. “As a quarterback, it’s in your hands. I haven’t made the best decision. I’ve missed some throws.”
The Colts were expected to win at the Buffalo Bills and at home over the New York Jets but were thrashed in both games.
Luck threw five interceptions and fumbled away the ball once. The Colts offence averaged 29 points per game last year. This year they added veteran stars in running back Frank Gore and receiver Andre Johnson to give Luck more options.
The paltry returns? In two games, the Colts have 21 points; Gore has 88 yards rushing; Johnson 51 yards receiving.
Of the nine teams who started 0-2, four of them – the Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and the Colts – still have reason to believe they have play-offs talent. But Indianapolis have been the most surprisingly dull against teams they could have defeated.
It is true that the Bills have an established, respected defence, and the Jets may have grown one. But the Bills did surrender 40 points to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Week 2. The Jets are a work-in-progress under a new coach, and should be exploitable by a top-of-the-line NFL quarterback.
What gives?
No doubt Indianapolis’s offensive line is a problem. The big and mobile Luck has been sacked four times. The Jets also hit him six times as he threw the ball.
The Colts defence does not make opponents swoon with fear, but has been stout enough against Buffalo (27 points) and the Jets (21) to give Luck and the supposed high-powered offence a chance to win.
It is the turnovers that have killed the Colts, and that comes back to you-know-who.
Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano singled out Luck in the wake of the Jets defeat for not being more careful with the ball.
“It’s not that hard,” Pagano said. “It’s not trigonometry.”
Later in the week, and a bit cooler in the head, Pagano was back to calling Luck “great” and “phenomenal”, but did not back away from his Luck problem.
“Does he have to make good decisions? Absolutely,” Pagano said. “Does he have to manage the game? Absolutely. It’s the hardest job on the football field.”
A few weeks ago, the game at Tennessee on Sunday would have been perceived a marshmallow for the Colts: against a division rival they have beaten seven consecutive times, who play a rookie quarterback, in Marcus Mariota. But Mariota has been surprisingly good, posting the highest passer rating of any starter in the league – 31 spots ahead of Luck.
For now, for Luck, it’s an upside-down world.
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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.”
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
