Roman Abramovich docks luxury superyacht in Turkey's Bodrum

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A superyacht linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich docked in the Turkish tourist resort of Bodrum on Monday, after skirting the waters of EU countries that have imposed sanctions on the oligarch over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Abramovich was among several wealthy Russians added last week to an EU blacklist, and EU governments have acted in recent days to seize yachts and other luxury assets from them.

World governments are seeking to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies over the invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation".

Last week, Mr Abramovich flew to Moscow after leaving Istanbul in his private jet.

Flight-tracking data showed it was a second trip by a jet linked to him between the Turkish city and the Russian capital in three days.

There was no indication that Mr Abramovich was on the 140-metre yacht Solaris when it docked in Bodrum on Monday afternoon, after it left Montenegro's Adriatic resort town of Tivat on March 13.

Since then the vessel, which sails under a Bermuda flag according to monitoring site Marine Traffic, had tracked south and rounded the Greek island of Crete in recent days before reaching Turkish waters on Monday morning.

It spent the day motoring north, hugging the Turkish coast and steering away from nearby Greek islands, before arriving in Bodrum where pictures showed the imposing white vessel towering over other moored boats.

Moonlight II is so big it dropped anchor outside Dubai Harbour. The 91.4-metre vessel can carry 36 guests in 18 cabins along with 35 crew. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National
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UAE builder Gulf Craft's Majesty 120. Gulf Craft would not disclose a price but second-hand 120s can be found on the market for about 12m dollars

The superyacht was built in a German shipyard and first took to the sea early last year. It is one of a string of yachts owned by Mr Abramovich, according to reports in luxury goods publications SuperYachtFan, SuperYacht and Forbes.

Its latest journey began on March 8 when it left a Barcelona shipyard where it had been undergoing repairs.

A second yacht linked to Mr Abramovich, Eclipse, also seemed to be on its way to Turkey, according to Marine Traffic.

Several groups have been confirmed as bidders to buy English soccer club Chelsea from Mr Abramovich, who was also hit by British government sanctions after Russia's invasion.

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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Roman Abramovich docks luxury superyacht in Turkey's Bodrum

Second yacht owned by Mr Abramovich also seems to be on its way to Turkey, says Marine Traffic

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

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