ABU DHABI // Hundreds of diplomats, dignitaries and organisation representatives gathered at the candle-lit Residency Gardens of the British Embassy last night for the Future Centre for Special Needs' 11th Annual Gala Dinner.
An estimated Dh600,000 was raised at the event - one of the centre's major annual fundraising drives - thanks to sponsorship, a raffle and an auction of work created by budding artists at the centre.
Launched in 2000, the non-profit organisation aims to advance the education of children and young adults with special needs, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and honorary president of the Future Centre, told the audience.
"This centre has long been proving invaluable service in the community," he said.
The centre has gone from "strength to strength", he added, and tripled in capacity - from 60 pupils 12 years ago to now helping more than 185 people aged between three and 20 diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, physical disorders, hearing impairment, or a speech and language disorder.
The centre, in Mohammed bin Zayed City, plans to increase its student intake to 200 and open classes for early intervention for three-year-olds to enable more students to be integrated back to mainstream schools, said Sheikh Nahyan.
This year's theme "From Strength to Strength" celebrated the centre's achievements over the past year and heralded the launch of its inaugral UAE-wide Skills Challenge 2013 - a competition on May 8 and 9 that will challenge 130 students from different centres on vocational skills such as poster designing, word processing, acrylic painting, wood carving and basket weaving.
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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.”
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The bio
Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist
Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi
Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup
Hobbies: Reading and drawing
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