English footballer Kadeem Harris's fears over life in Ukraine at Metalist Kharkiv

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Kadeem Harris admits he faces a “worrying time” amid the escalating Ukraine-Russia crisis after swapping Yorkshire for Kharkiv.

The former Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday winger joined Ukrainian club Metalist Kharkiv in September, describing the move as a “no-brainer” when told of their ambitious three-year plan.

But the 28-year-old’s switch has proved anything but straightforward, with Russian troops entering eastern Ukraine this week amid fears that president Vladimir Putin could launch a full-scale invasion.

“Over here there seems to be no worry,” Harris said. “It’s just something that’s been ongoing for years. That’s what I get from the players here.

“But for myself and my family it is definitely something to think about. No one wants their son or partner in the middle of a crisis or a war.

“They are worried. But I keep having to reassure them from my end.

“They keep trying to reassure me and I keep trying to reassure my family. It is a bit of a worrying time.”

Harris is currently at Metalist’s Turkish training camp with the Ukrainian domestic season on a winter break.

The squad is due back in Kharkiv — Ukraine’s second largest city and less than 30 miles from the Russian border — in just a few days’ time, and Harris says the club are monitoring the situation carefully.

He told WalesOnline: “If anything was to happen, which hopefully it doesn’t, there are measures in place for me and for other players where we will be on the first flight home or in safety.

“I have time to see if anything does happen while I’m in Turkey. As of yet, there’s been nothing and hopefully that continues.

“We have another few days out here and hopefully the situation will become clearer before I go to Ukraine and we will take it from there.”

Londoner Harris made most of his 217 appearances in English football for Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday, while also representing Wycombe, Brentford and Barnsley.

Metalist regularly played in European competition a decade ago, but the club were declared insolvent in 2016 and reformed three years later.

They now top the second tier of Ukrainian football and hold a 20-point advantage over third-placed Alians Lypova Dolyna with 12 games left.

Metalist are almost certain to be back in the Ukrainian Premier League next season and Harris said: “It’s a big club with big ambition.

“The club want to get back to the stage they were at all those years ago when it was a recognised club in Europe.

“They told me about the three-year plan for the club when I signed and playing in Europe was in it. When I heard that it was a no-brainer, I just wanted to be part of that.”

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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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