Ford Mustangs are everywhere in the UAE, and that should come as no surprise. They're affordable, good-looking and have huge levels of power. When it comes to getting the most bang for your buck, there's little out there to touch a 'Stang and our roads are perfectly suited to it - long, straight, smooth surfaces. Just like the car's home country, in fact.
There aren't too many on our roads like the one owned by Tobias Klein, however. The 28-year-old has been living in Mirdif, Dubai, since 1989, having relocated from Hamburg in Germany with his parents. Both he and his father are confirmed petrolheads. They share ownership of an incredible 1992 Porsche 928 GTS, and Tobias also owns a new Golf GTI and his father has a 1999 Jaguar XJR. But it's the '91 Mustang that has the greatest hold on him.
"It used to be owned by my fiancée's father," he explains. "He had kept it as a project car and it was in really bad shape. Unfortunately he died two years ago and his wife was going to try selling it. I stepped in, bought it and set about restoring it."
The car was not running, it was badly corroded and, as you might expect, there were several moments when Tobias felt like quitting what was often a nightmare restoration process. "It was so frustrating, seeing the easy availability of spares and parts in the USA, but whenever I tried to get hold of those parts here in the UAE everyone drew a blank."
Persistence paid off, however, and through a process of elimination he was able to find the right specialists to bring the Mustang back to its former glory. Tobias has made some modifications along the way, as he explains, "Along with having much of the rear bodywork repaired [including a new tailgate], I had it lowered, I fitted a Ron Davies Racing cooling system, a new water pump with 40 per cent greater flow, a better exhaust and a great stereo system." He says the engine is quite high-revving, necessitating the extra cooling capacity for it to cope with our extreme temperatures. "Some water was found in one of the cylinders, too," he says with a sigh, "which meant I ended up having the entire engine rebuilt."
He also had the car painted matt white and it certainly stands out as being different. "I always get the thumbs up from other drivers when I'm out in it and I often get asked if it's for sale," he continues. "But it isn't. I never got to meet my fiancée's father before he passed away and I feel really good that I've been able to bring the car back to the way he always wanted it to be. It's a part of the family now."
Still, it isn't suitable as a daily driver. For that he uses the Golf. "The Mustang's clutch is really heavy and the handling, well, it's a bit of a handful! We don't get much in the way of rain here, obviously, but if the roads do get even a little wet then it's tricky to keep it pointing the right way - even when it's dry, if I exit a corner too quickly it requires a lot of correction. It's really a straight line car."
The Emirates Mustang Club, though, has been a real bonus, he says. "We've been on several trips, with one to Al Ain and back having 50 cars join in. We even had a police escort along some of the route - that was really good fun." A forthcoming visit to Jebel Hafeet should keep him entertained, too.
Has the Mustang project come to an end now? "No, I want to change some of the interior details in time but it's pretty much where I always wanted it to be. And after all the financial headaches it's given me, it's wonderful to be able to enjoy it when I have time at the weekends. I think it'll be with me for a while yet."
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.”
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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UAE SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
