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The number of people who have fled the war in Ukraine has reached 7,270,939, figures from the UN Refugee Agency show.
More than half have gone to Poland, where 3,817,564 refugees are registered, UNHCR data indicates.
Antonio Vitorino, director general of the UN's International Organisation for Migration, said "the scale of human suffering and forced displacement" was far worse than had initially been expected.
Women and children represent 90 per cent of the refugees, with Ukrainian men aged 18-60 unable to leave due to being eligible for military service.
Romania has taken in 613,435 refugees, while Hungary has accepted 731,098.
The figures show 491,144 people from Ukraine have fled to Moldova, 484,661 to Slovakia and 16,650 to Belarus.
A total of 1,116,387 people fleeing Ukraine have arrived in Russia since the full-scale invasion was launched on February 24.
While the outflow has slowed significantly since March, the UNHCR has projected that 3 million more Ukrainians could become refugees by the end of the year.
“The needs of those internally displaced and all affected by the war in Ukraine are growing by the hour,” Mr Vitorino said.
“Access to populations in need of aid remains a challenge amid active hostilities but our teams are committed to continue delivering urgent assistance inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries.”
More than 12 million people were displaced in the first eight weeks of the war, Jan Egeland of the Norwegian Refugee Council told reporters.
“People talk about since the Second World War, [but] tell me when in the Second World War there were 12 million people displaced in eight weeks,” Mr Egeland said.
Displacement on that scale took place “over a longer period” back then, he said.
Almost two thirds of Ukrainian children have been displaced from their homes.
The war in Ukraine is a “child rights crisis” where education is under attack, nearly 100 youngsters have been killed in the past month alone and millions more have been forced to flee their homes, the UN children’s agency said.
Before the invasion, Ukraine had a population of 37 million in the regions under government control, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and the pro-Russian separatist-controlled regions in the east of the country.
European Union and national leaders have been keen to talk of open borders and welcoming refugees. But moving across the continent is not easy, particularly for those who leave with few or no belongings and limited money.
The 27-nation EU has granted Ukrainian refugees the right to stay and work for up to three years, reviving a law that was dormant since the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1992.
If they cannot stay with friends or family, then the bloc has established reception centres to house them. Food and medical care are provided, as are welfare payments and access to schools.
UN's co-ordinated response
The UNHCR has not been limited to documenting the Ukrainian diaspora. It has also co-ordinated a humanitarian response, including attempting to send money to those who have fled.
It began a cash enrolment scheme in Ukraine on March 27.
The UNHCR has said “access to the hardest-hit areas remains extremely challenging, with continuing security risks, both for affected civilians as well as humanitarian actors”.
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Europe — in pictures
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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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Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
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Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
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Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
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