Thule Adventure Team on the 11km adventure running/rope works circuit leg of the event yesterday. Courtsey Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
Thule Adventure Team on the 11km adventure running/rope works circuit leg of the event yesterday. Courtsey Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
Thule Adventure Team on the 11km adventure running/rope works circuit leg of the event yesterday. Courtsey Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
Thule Adventure Team on the 11km adventure running/rope works circuit leg of the event yesterday. Courtsey Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority

Sport

Thule stretch lead after impressing on Jebel Hafeet

New Zealanders look good for title and Ussher and teammates can make it two titles in a row.

Agencies

December 12, 2010

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Thule Adventure Team of New Zealand dominated again yesterday, stretching their lead to 24 minutes over the nearest challenger during the second day of the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge.

With four days remaining in the endurance race, the team of Richard Ussher, Elina Ussher, Mercel Hagener and Nathan Fa'Avae appear well on the way to winning the competition for the second year in a row. They more than doubled their first-day lead in yesterday's running, biking and mountaineering events.

The French team Thule Adventure/Europe - Jacky Boisset, Myriam Guillot, Jarad Kolhar and Flinta Martin - remained in second place. Wenger of Switzerland climbed to third, followed by Team Netcompetence/Explore (Sweden) and Salomon Santiveri (Spain).

The competition yesterday opened with the teams running to Jebel Hafeet, riding bikes to the summit then using ropes and harnesses to get back down.

The 5.5km "adventure run" to the mountain was a difficult trek over rough terrain. Most of the runners managed to stay near the front of the pack, and several teams moved up in the standings. Guats Adventure (Canada) turned in the fourth-fastest time for the running segment, and Adidas Terrex (UK), China-1 and China-2 also fared well.

The bike race up the mountain was a 13.8km ride with a climb of 700m. Tight turns and steep slopes took a toll, and many teams used tow lines in an effort to maintain cohesion and assist slower teammates.

The racers then swapped their biking gear for climbing gear for an 11km adventure running/rope works circuit. Included in the test, which had a net elevation gain of 970m, was a ridge run descending into a canyon, followed by a 60m overhanging rappel. After running to the next rope works, they climbed along a canyon, then came back along the ridge to where they started - the summit of Jebel Hafeet.

Thule Adventure increased their lead over Thule Adventure/Europe by 14 minutes. Adidas Terrex and Guats Adventure also did well, breaking into the top 10 for the first time.

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Four stars

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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