DUBAI // Shaikha Al Qassimi likes to practice what she preaches. Passionate about health and fitness, she is a popular role model for both men and women.
The Emirati hopes to spread the word about the importance of an active, healthy lifestyle.
“The importance of moving is much more than getting extremely fit,” said Ms Al Qassimi.
“Not everyone is motivated to get up every day and train. It’s about finding what you love and that, in itself, will help you.”
Having an impact on her community is the main reason Ms Al Qassimi signed up to be a “fitness ambassador” at the forthcoming Etisalat Fitness Festival, a three-day event involving educational workshops, classes and races aimed at the whole family.
“I wanted to be involved because this event is about getting people moving,” she said.
“The community, especially females, needs a local to represent them. Our lifestyles are not the best and you can see expatriates are more organised, they were brought up playing, running and eating healthily.
“Our food is not very healthy, so combine that with the little amount people move and it’s a bad combination.
“I want to be an inspiration for women, to break the barrier of thinking that they should just be at home or can only do certain types of training.”
It is important to involve the whole family in fitness events, said Ms Al Qassimi.
“You see these things like the Dubai Fitness Championships but you don’t see kids there with parents, aunts and uncles. This event is an opportunity for families to see how they can do things together.”
British expat Harriet Stewart will also take part in the festival as an ambassador. Dubbed the UAE’s fastest woman, she has an impressive 100-metre sprint time of fewer than 13 seconds, and will compete against some of best runners in the Emirates.
“It’s this sort of event that can introduce people to what fitness is,” she said. “It’s educational with awareness from nutrition to sports and wellness as well as activities. There’s so little focus on sport for children here that this is great, it brings the community together.”
The event, to be held at the Dubai Autodrome from November 5 to 7, will include competitions, races, an expo, classes and workshops.
“The whole family can compete, trying different things, learning something new, which can spur them into fitness if they aren’t already” focusing on it.
Abu Dhabi-based fitness instructor Jamie Greene said events such as this help to put fitness at the forefront of people’s attention.
“These kinds of events show the community what is out there, right in front of them and available to help change their lives,” said the New Zealander. “These events bring it a lot more into the public eye.
“If people can get to see how fitness and exercise has helped others, it may influence them to get involved themselves.”
mswan@thenational.ae
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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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