Capitol riots: Boris Johnson calls Donald Trump 'completely wrong'

Boris Johnson has denounced Donald Trump for inciting the mob who stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, resulting in four deaths and dozens of arrests.

"All my life, America has stood for some very important things: an idea of freedom and an idea of democracy," said Mr Johnson, who was born in New York.

"Insofar as he encouraged people to storm the Capitol and insofar as the president consistently has cast doubt on the outcome of a free and fair election, I believe that was completely wrong.

"And I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol.

"And all I can say is I'm very pleased that the president-elect [Joe Biden] has now been properly confirmed and duly confirmed in office and that democracy has prevailed."

Mr Johnson was the first European leader to speak to Mr Biden after his November election victory.

The president-elect had previously described the UK prime minister as a "physical and emotional clone" of Donald Trump.

But with a UK-US trade deal at stake, Mr Johnson will be keen to build bridges, not walls.

On Thursday, Mr Biden called the riots “one of the darkest days in the history of our nation".

He followed former US presidents in damning the actions of Mr Trump.

Former Democratic president Jimmy Carter released a statement through the Carter Centre calling the riots a "national tragedy".

And Bill Clinton, who held the office from 1993 to 2001, called the violence "an unprecedented assault on our Capitol, our Constitution and our country".

World leaders round on Trump

World leaders also did not hold back in censuring Mr Trump.

"This is not America," said French President Emmanuel Macron.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "These images made me angry and sad."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern decried the attack on democracy.

"What is happening is wrong," Ms Ardern said. "Democracy – the right of people to exercise a vote, have their voice heard and then have that decision upheld peacefully – should never be undone by a mob."

This video rounds up the withering responses of global leaders to the riots.

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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.”