Wellbeing

Child-friendly travel

As tempting as it is sometimes to book a two-week beach holiday, the has-been backpacker in me usually insists on some sort of ambitious family adventure

Lisa Laws

October 13, 2008

For most of the country it was business as usual last week, but not so at The British School in Abu Dhabi. Thanks to what must have been an irreversible timetabling error, half-term followed Eid this year and the school closed for two weeks. We hardly needed the extended break so soon after summer, but I, for one, wasn't complaining. The travel opportunity was irresistible and we set off for an extended play date with two of my daughters' best friends and their parents.

Holidaying with another family is unfamiliar territory for us. We had our concerns. Would the children spend the time arguing and bickering? Would the parents still be friends after 11 days? Would our family's somewhat hands-off parenting be exposed as being nothing short of negligence? Furthermore, would my rather casual approach to culture be found out? (My hair may be dyed these days, but my inner blonde is entirely natural).

As tempting as it is sometimes to book a two-week beach holiday and hand over parenting to the kids clubs, the has-been backpacker in me usually insists on some sort of ambitious family adventure. Our friends pleaded for Turkey. We were happy to follow and as it turned out, the country and its wonderfully hospitable, child-friendly people made it all so easy. Public transport and entrance fees are free for those under 12. Restaurants seemed to welcome both adults and children, despite the kids less than decorous behaviour and obsession with the local dog and cat life. And when it came to visiting the Salvador Dali exhibition, even the grown ups were free, as long as they were accompanying a child.

After five days on foot, inspecting mosques, palaces and bazaars as we struggled to hang onto the children in the relentless Istanbul crowds, I for one was ready for a drop in pace. Cappadocia, the land of fairy chimneys, underground towns, hotels partially embedded in caves and gorgeous hiking trails was just what I needed. So was our guide, who managed to dish up the region's history, plant and animal life in delightful child-size chunks and fun quizzes.

It all got a bit more complicated as we embarked on a blistering two-day ruins tour beginning at Ephesus and ending in Troy. Sadly, explaining Greek mythology and Artemis's strange anatomy in little people's terms was just too much of a challenge for the new guide. Now, I don't want to resurrect the whole nature-nurture issue of last week, but I couldn't help but notice that while our friends attentively and enthusiastically discussed the subtle decorative differences between a couple of broken Roman columns, my husband was playing with his BlackBerry, our girls were shuffling pebbles with sticks and I'd wandered off entirely. Is it really chance that as a family we aren't big on ruins or has the parents' indifference to ruins ruined it for the children? Who knows, but at least we've returned home with our friendships anything but ruined.

What are NFTs?

Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.

This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”

This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

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.”