Questions loom over Republican convention as Florida's Covid-19 infections jump

Planning for the Republican National Convention in Florida in seven weeks has hit major hurdles, with the state becoming the US hotspot after a record surge in coronavirus cases.

Organisers are faced with logistical complications in the format of the convention, from August 24 to 27, and the level of attendance.

President Donald Trump changed the location of the convention last month from North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida, after a clash over restrictions caused by Covid-19.

But with Florida recording 15,300 new cases on Sunday, that decision is being questioned and plans to hold the convention indoors are being re-evaluated.

Duval Country, which incorporates the city of Jacksonville, has had the highest number of cases in north-east Florida, with 13,370 of the 282,435 recorded in the state so far.

Unlike previous conventions, the one in Jacksonville will not adopt a new platform but will stick to the one from 2016.

Any of the 336 state delegates who cannot attend will be able to designate a proxy from among those present to vote on their behalf on the closing day, to nominate Mr Trump as Republican presidential candidate.

His plan to deliver his acceptance speech at the Jacksonville VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena is being reassessed.

Mr Trump's aides are pushing to hold the speech outdoors to minimise the risk of virus transmission, AP reported.

“But Mr Trump has expressed reservations about an outdoor venue, believing it would lack the same atmosphere as a charged arena,” it said.

With cases rising and the Trump campaign already rescheduling rallies in Arizona and New Hampshire, he may have no choice but to amend the plans for Florida.

The health risks associated attending the convention have already prompted some Republican senators to decide against attending.

Lamar Alexander, Chuck Grassley, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney have said they will not be at the gathering.

Senator Pat Roberts said last week he would “probably not” attend the convention either.

On Monday, the Texas Supreme Court upheld Houston's decision to scrap this week's state Republican Party convention because of the pandemic.

The party is also facing a problem raising funds to meet the costs of moving the national convention.

The New York Times reported at the weekend that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was directing his top fundraiser to tell donors not to give money for the event.

Mr DeSantis's decision was made because of a personal dispute between him and his former aide, Susie Wiles, the paper reported.

The pandemic has also affected the Democratic National Convention due to be held in Wisconsin from August 17 to 21.

The meeting will be held mostly online and voting for the party’s nominee, Joe Biden, will take place over two weeks before the event.

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.”

Questions loom over Republican convention as Florida's Covid-19 infections jump

Five Republican senators say they will skip the four-day event