DUBAI // Zaina Afzal shook her head in dismay and looked at her teammates for answers when the quizmaster asked what a cartographer does for a living.
The 10-year-old pupil from the Horizon School in Dubai had seen the other teams buckle under pressure and pass on the question at Battle of the Brains, an interschool quiz held yesterday afternoon.
Now it was their turn.
"It may seem obvious that it has something to do with cars," ventured Zaina, after none of the teams seated on the stage at Al Safa Private School auditorium managed to give the right answer.
"But no, it isn't," she laughed later, after learning that a cartographer charts maps. "No one managed to get that."
The wrong answer did not stop the Horizons team of six from proceeding to the final round of the competition, where they competed against Dubai English Speaking School, Repton and Jumeirah English Speaking School (Jess).
Horizon tied for second place with Dubai English Speaking School behind Jess.
The interschool competition was organised by Starting Point Dubai, a non-profit company that organises skills-based events for children to hone their non-academic skills while testing their knowledge.
"In today's world, information is available at the click of a mouse," said Anoop Bhargava, an adviser from Starting Point.
"But admissions to top universities and jobs are finite. Pupils must be prepared to display skills that set them apart from the rest and make it to the top - that is debating, public speaking, leadership and working in a team."
Ten schools took part in the quiz for primary schoolchildren between the ages of nine and 12 years.
The first multiple-choice round consisted of questions about topics in the news.
"Name a country based in two continents, Europe and Asia," said Laura Everest, a partner at Starting Point.
All teams raised their hands, shouting out "Turkey".
Next came general knowledge, open questions and rapid-fire questions before the pupils were quizzed on academic knowledge and current affairs.
Marion Sinclair, principal of the Horizons School, said the children put in a lot of hard work to brush up on different topics.
"We can see from their enthusiasm they have put a lot of effort into this," said Ms Sinclair.
"These competitions not only develop their thinking skills, but also raise their confidence and ability to face a crowd.
"Right now, they have to sit on a stage with a team and think fast."
James Gore, head of English at Repton preparatory school, agreed the quiz would make pupils well-rounded achievers.
"It improves their general knowledge and allows them to showcase their talents outside of academics and sports," said Mr Gore.
The six pupils from his school were chosen in a preliminary test.
Isabella Caraiscos, a Year 6 pupil, was elated when she was picked to represent the school.
"We were only told a few days ago and we just studied a bit," she said.
Her teammates also argued about what cartographer could mean.
Freya Reynolds, 10, said she knew the answer but could not get a word in edgeways. "I knew it had something to do with drawing maps but no one was listening to me."
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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.”
Test squad: Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan(wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah
Twenty20 squad: Babar Azam (captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
