Nancy Pelosi visits Kyiv and vows US will stand by Ukraine 'until victory is won'

The US will support Ukraine in its fight against Russia “until victory is won”, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after a visit to Kyiv.

The Californian Democrat led a congressional delegation to the Ukrainian capital to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before heading to Poland for talks with officials.

Ms Pelosi is the most senior American politician to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded in February.

“Our delegation travelled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine,” a statement by Ms Pelosi released on Sunday said.

The unannounced visit to Kyiv on Saturday was publicised only after she had left Ukraine. It marks a show of continuing support for the country’s struggle against Moscow.

Footage released by President Zelenskyy’s office showed Ms Pelosi and other US politicians in the city. In video later released by Ms Pelosi’s office, the two thanked each other for their support in the war.

“You all are welcome. We’ll win and we’ll win together,” Mr Zelenskyy told the delegation.

Ms Pelosi said: “We are here until victory is won.”

She told Mr Zelenskyy the visit was to “say thank you for your fight for freedom”.

“We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done,” she said.

Mr Zelenskyy said he was “very grateful for this powerful signal of support". The US "is a leader in strong support for Ukraine during the war against the aggression of the Russian Federation", he said.

The US delegation included Democratic representatives Gregory Meeks, Adam Schiff, Jim McGovern, Jason Crow, Barbara Lee and Bill Keating.

The delegation later travelled to Warsaw to meet Polish President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials.

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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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