Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls for global show of support one month after Ukraine invasion

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday urged people around the world to show support for Ukraine by gathering in their city centres and making themselves “visible and heard', to mark one month of Russian invasion.

In a video on Instagram, Mr Zelenskyy called on people to gather with Ukrainian symbols and rally for freedom and peace from Thursday onwards.

Zelenskyy's message

“This is only the beginning for Russia, on the Ukrainian land. Russia is trying to defeat the freedom of all people in Europe, of all the people in the world.

“I thank everyone who acts in support of Ukraine in support of freedom, but the war continues.

"The acts of terror against peaceful people go on one month already, that long. It breaks my heart, hearts of all Ukrainians and every free person on the planet.

“That’s why I ask you to stand against the war starting from March 24, exactly one month after the Russian invasion. From this day and after them, show your standing.

“Come from your offices, your homes, your schools and universities. Come in the name of peace, come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, to support freedom, to support life.

“Come to your squares, your streets, make yourselves visible and heard. Say that people matter, freedom matters, peace matters, Ukraine matters.

"From March 24 in downtowns of your cities, all as one together who want to stop the war. The war of Russia is not only the war against Ukraine. It’s meaning is much wider.

“Russia is trying to defeat the freedom of all people in Europe, of all the people in the world. It tries to show that only crude and cruel force matters.

"It tries to show that people do not matter as well as everything else that make us people.”

In the post to accompany the video, Mr Zelenskyy wrote:

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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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