AL AIN // Secondary and high school students in Al Ain had the chance to take part in a Battle of the Brains competition yesterday.
The students represented their schools in academic subjects and used their creativity, as well as took rounds in intellectual challenges.
“We wanted to challenge the most gifted and talented children in Al Ain and we wanted students who were incredibly competitive and smart to learn from each other from different schools,” said Morgan Whitfield, a teacher at Al Ain English Speaking School and one of the organisers.
They were divided into teams and were given multiple challenges, and then had to take part in individual challenges.
“Now they get the chance, and I think it pushes them to work with other students. That is really good for them and they get to represent their school which gives them pride,” she added.
She said a lot of schools teach different curriculums and the students had the chance to learn with and from each other.
“They get to meet different people, cultures and languages and that is important.”
The challenges included engineering, where students had to build towers using newspapers, spaghetti, marshmallows and masking tape, all in half an hour.
“Some groups designed Eiffel Towers and others used the Burj Khalifa as inspiration – the tallest structure was over 12 feet high,” said Ms Whitfield.
They also had to solve mathematical problems and puzzles and competitors covered a history timeline of events from 2260 BCE to 2011.
The “Know UAE” station was one of the popular activities, where students had to answer questions about where they live.
Students also had to “construct the perfect paper airplane” using the principles of life and flight.
“Students and teachers alike had fun testing their ingenuity,” Ms Whitfield said.
She said this was the inaugural year of the event, but it will not be the last.
“It was such a huge success that we will be sure to do it next year,” she said.
Among the attendees were teachers and parents, who tried to help the students in the several activities. The students, Ms Whitfield said, rejected the help and were “in control”.
“They said: ‘No, mom, we know how to do it’,” she added.
A total of 150 boys and girls from 15 schools in Al Ain competed in the event.
Results for the Battle of the Brains will be announced at the awards ceremony on Wednesday at Al Ain Mall, one of the event’s sponsors.
The event was organised by the Al Ain Interschool Council.
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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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Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
