UAE

Sheikh graduates from Sandhurst

Among the 199 cadets graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

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In their immaculate uniforms, 199 cadets from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, one of the most prestigious military academies in the world, graduated as officers on Thursday. Among them was Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, the Deputy Prime Minister. The passing-out parade was watched by a number of members of the Royal Family and many UAE officials.

Among the others attending the ceremony were Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, the Crown Prince of Dubai, and Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, according to the state news agency, WAM. John Hutton, the UK's secretary of state for defence, reviewed the parade, representing the Queen. In his sovereign's representative's address, Mr Hutton reminded the officer cadets of the values of a Sandhurst officer: integrity, valour, selflessness, loyalty, willpower, responsibility and leadership.

"These are values held by previous generations of newly commissioned officers, who once stood where you stand today. And today, they pass the baton on to you, the 199 cadets who will receive their commissions this morning," Mr Hutton said. "They are values that will equip you with a moral compass for the rest of your lives. Twenty-six countries are represented here this morning. And cadets from 15 of those countries will pass out today. Our overseas cadets are an integral part of what makes Sandhurst so special."

Sandhurst has produced officers for nearly 200 years, and the UAE is believed to be the Arab country with the largest number of cadets to have graduated from the academy, with a total of 200 becoming officers. The graduates have included the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan, and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. England's Prince William and Prince Harry also graduated from the academy. After the ceremony, Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed expressed his happiness at his son graduation and wished him success in serving his country, WAM said.

* WAM

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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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How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

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