ABU DHABI // As the newly elected members of the FNC prepare to take their seats, former members have urged them to make sure they are ready for the job.
That means keeping a copy of the UAE Constitution near by and being prepared to build on the council's previous work, they say.
"They need to read the Constitution," said Khaled Al Falasi, a former Dubai member who chaired the council's foreign relations and mineral resources committee. "They must know all of it, all of the articles."
Fatima Al Marri, another former Dubai member, said the Constitution was the FNC members' "weapon in the council. It explains the role of the FNC clearly".
Mr Al Falasi said it was important for new members to continue the work of the previous councils by reviewing all sessions, and to constantly follow up on their recommendations.
"They need to know all our previous sessions so that they do not start from zero," he said.
"They need to not ignore previous recommendations. Follow them or update them, or work on things the council didn't work on before.
"New members need to follow on so that the council's previous work does not dissolve at the end of every term. They need to start where the previous session ended." And once they begin "heated" discussions, the members have three tools at their disposal, Mr Al Falasi said.
"One, law amendments or pushing for new laws; two, issues they want to discuss; and three, questions to ministers," he said.
"These are the three means they will have. They must take advantage of all of them."
Mr Al Falasi said the new members should not forget the promises they made to be elected.
"When addressing issues, they should introduce their own programmes too," he said.
Rashid Al Marar, a former member for Abu Dhabi, said councillors also needed to know when to use the media.
"[It] helps an idea to live on beyond the FNC chambers," Mr Al Marar said.
"They support what you say. With no media the idea completely dies. The FNC member should not be afraid of media. They should say what is right."
Ahmed Al Khateri, a former Ras Al Khaimah member who chaired the council's legislative and legal affairs committee, advised new members to ensure they were well briefed when questioning ministers.
"When presenting figures, they need to make sure they are all accurate," Mr Al Khateri said. "And when addressing issues in ministries, they should tackle big issues, not daily mistakes."
In this, the Audit Bureau's reports were a great help, he said.
"It is our primary source of information," Mr Al Khateri said.
"Their reports have important numbers, no one can argue with them because they are extremely credible."
But Mr Al Falasi said he would like to see the Audit Bureau work more closely with the FNC.
"They should not wait for us to ask for these reports," he said. "They should do monthly reports and give them to the council. Sometimes they used to be … a year late. This must change."
Mr Al Falasi said statistics and evidence of official wrongdoing were the most important parts of the reports.
"Sometimes ministries need to overrule laws for a short period. The report also includes this," he added. "Without the reports, the members could struggle."
Ms Al Marri had particular advice for female successors. They should be confident in their position as equal members of the council.
Only one woman was elected this time but more will probably be among the members appointed by the rulers.
The first session of the new FNC has still not been officially summoned but the Constitution requires it to be in the third week of this month.
And Mr Al Falasi had one final piece of advice for the new members: they should remember that it was "an honour to be part of the council".
"They now have a responsibility: they must address issues concerning the rich and the poor in the country."
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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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