Thousands of pupils in the UAE will be affected after SAT essay and subject tests were dropped by the College Board.
The SAT, or Scholastic Assessment Test, is a standardised test widely used for university admissions in the US.
Each year, millions of pupils take the SAT – one of two standardised college admissions tests in the US, the other being the ACT, or American College Test.
Most universities in the US ask for a test score with the admission application.
It's much easier to get three perfect scores in subject SATs than get a perfect score in the main SAT. These pupils would be at a disadvantage.
A good score can secure places at reputed universities and help to secure scholarships.
This week, the College Board in the US, which conducts the exam, said they would no longer offer SAT subject tests.
Subject tests are 20 multiple-choice standardised exams in English, history, languages, math, and science.
But international pupils will have a last chance to sit the test in its original format with essay and subject sections in May and June.
Pupils were permitted to submit scores of three subject SAT tests instead of sitting the main SAT exams.
This helped many who wanted to study a particular subject at university.
“It’s much easier to get three perfect scores in subject SATs than get a perfect score in the main SAT. These pupils would be at a disadvantage,” said Peter Davos, founder of Hale Education Group, a consultancy in Dubai that offers mentoring and admissions counselling to pupils.
“The reason the College Board has eliminated these exams is because Covid-19 made it very very difficult for them to administer the SAT in the US and globally.”
Mr Davos said many in the Emirates took subject tests. Removing the tests would make it difficult for them to prove their skills.
“They [The College Board] did this for business reasons but this is not the right move. There will be a gap for international pupils,” Mr Davos said.
While SATs measures a pupil’s fundamental skills, such as maths and reading, the subject tests gauge content knowledge in specific areas.
Mr Davos said subject tests were also eliminated because of logistical challenges.
“It has been very challenging logistically. Also, a decreasing number of pupils worldwide were sitting these tests,” he said.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has discontinued subject tests in maths and either physics or chemistry from this year.
“The universities stopped requiring these tests but high-achieving pupils would take the exams and submit these scores,” Mr Davos said.
Many high achievers in the US sit the advanced placement exams, which last three-hours and are subject specific.
The College Board will also discontinue the optional SAT essay after the June test.
“Pupils in this part of the world did not like it, they did not enjoy it or see the point of it,” Mr Davos said.
The essay score was never integrated into the SAT score. A couple of years ago, many universities dropped the optional essay. Pupils registered for an upcoming subject test in the US will have their registration cancelled and fees refunded.
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.
