UAE

Sheikha Jawaher praised for refugee work

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres has praised Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi for her help and support to refugees throughout the world.

The National staff

May 31, 2015

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres has praised Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi for her help and support to refugees throughout the world.

Sheikha Jawaher, the wife of Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, is the UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children and Chairperson of The Big Heart Foundation.

“As UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children, Sheikha Jawaher has launched many initiatives to rally support and raise awareness about the issues of thousands of refugees scattered across the world. Her efforts have made a tremendous difference, and more importantly, her ability to inspire others to give more and exert extra effort has contributed to our efforts,” said Mr Guterres. “It is a great honour for me to recognise her momentous contributions to supporting refugees and displaced people.”

The High Commissioner stressed that the Big Heart Foundation led one of the most important and successful campaigns dedicated to refugee children on the global level.

Mr Guterres presented the UNHCR Advocacy Award to Sheikha Jawaher in recognition and appreciation of her efforts to alleviate the suffering of families and children affected by wars and conflicts, and her eagerness to launch initiatives to raise awareness about refugee issues and secure the financial resources needed to provide humanitarian aid worldwide.

The High Commissioner asked Sheikha Jawaher to continue in her post as UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children and to carry on leading the way in advocacy and support for refugees caught up in the MENA humanitarian crisis.

Sheikha Jawaher expressed her appreciation and reiterated that she would always remain a supporter and advocate for the issues of refugee children and people in need across the world, and noted that the mission has not yet reached completion; that what has been achieved is but a fragment compared to the magnitude of the prolonged ordeal of refugees worldwide.

newsdesk@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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