William Gallas should return to lead the Arsenal defence against West Ham.
William Gallas should return to lead the Arsenal defence against West Ham.

Wenger not letting the smoke get in his eyes



LONDON // Arsenal captain William Gallas has recovered from his thigh injury and returns to lead his side for today's Premier League clash at West Ham. He suffered the injury while on on international duty for France but his time away has allowed the defender time to regain focus after what had been some "tired" performances this season. Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, may have been less than impressed to see his captain pictured with a cigarette as he left a nightclub but, nevertheless, he has been impressed by Gallas' motivation and willingness to "readdress his attitude".

Gallas, 31, was a controversial choice to succeed Thierry Henry as the club's captain. However, the former Chelsea defender has enough experience not to let that worry him and to instead look at the bigger picture. "Yes it is true I have been in trouble, but I do not think it has been that way for every game," he said. "I am the first man to judge myself when I have had a bad game. I always try to do my best and sometimes it doesn't work, but the most important thing is the squad and the club.

"If my performances are so-so and Arsenal win the eague, I think everybody will be happy." Robinho is relishing the physical challenge of the Premier League with Manchester City, according to his manager Mark Hughes The Brazilian is sure to be given a tough time by Stoke at Eastlands today, but Hughes is confident Robinho is up to the challenge. Hughes said: "It doesn't faze him. Teams could very well try to stop him playing but if that happens I expect the other good players I have to come to the fore."

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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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