I love old cars. I'm sure you're already sick of hearing me wax on about classics, and how they are archeological finds, and blah blah blah. Please, for me, can you stop rolling your eyes? I have a point coming up.
Two old cars I've owned couldn't have been more different: a 1967 Chevrolet Biscayne and a 1965 Triumph Spitfire. I loved them both with all of my heart, but for completely different reasons.
The Biscayne was a land yacht of a car; a long, wide, four-door saloon that I once fit 10 people inside, and we weren't as uncomfortable as you might imagine.
Old-timers would tell me they used to drive these cars with just one finger on the top of the wide, skinny steering wheel and cruise slowly down the street; and you could, because of the overboosted steering. It was more than comfortable and sort of floated down the road, languidly bobbing over rough tarmac like a ship in a light wind.
But it was in no way sporty; it dived and heaved to one side and the other if you tried a sharp curve at speed, its tyres squealing their remorse. And braking was a product of forward planning, as its four drum brakes were woefully inadequate in pulling down a car that weighed as much as a small villa. But keeping this in mind just helped to enjoy the soft cruising, taking away the temptation of a lead foot.
The Spitfire, on the other hand, was a barrel of English-bred monkeys. A tiny little car, rising under the height of the tyres of large trucks, it was light and lithe, able to dart around corners and through traffic like a linebacker - well, a peewee-sized linebacker. While it didn't have much power, keeping the speed and revs up and rowing through the four gears, coupled with its sometimes harrowingly sharp handling, made driving it in fury an absolute blast.
But what it had in fun, it lacked in comfort. The seats were basically bundles of straw wrapped in vinyl, and the car rattled jarringly down a normal street, vibrating higher as the engine revs increased. On one of the only times I took it out on a major motorway, it shook so much - at 80kph -that the pop-up petrol cap kept, well, popping up, and I was forced to drive with one hand on the wheel and one hand on the cap, located just behind the passenger compartment.
That's the thing about cars back then; you either went for comfort or performance, but you couldn't have both.
But today, it's completely different. There are so many cars on the roads that offer not just a very comfortable ride but, to varying degrees, a scintillating and satisfying drive, too.
The Peugeot 3008 I review on the next page is just one example. Here's a car that's got a soft, cushy ride, soaking up bumps, yet when you put your right foot down in the twisties it rewards you with a bit of fun. I can think of a host of cars, from all ranges in price, that, in many respects, are like getting two cars in one.
In the higher price range, the Germans are the kings of combining luxury and performance. A while back I drove the excellent Mercedes E 63 AMG, an absolute rocket of a car, complete with a monstrous V8 soundtrack. But before I put it through its paces, I enjoyed a lovely back massage, listening to jazz through the stereo and quietly cruising down Sheikh Zayed Road. It's the kind of thing that would have been unheard of 20 or 30 years ago.
Sometimes you need to push a button, and sometimes the car is just dialled in mechanically for two personalities, but whatever it is, I like it.
Don't get me wrong, I still love old cars, but there's a reason they don't make 'em like they used to.
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 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
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Company%20Profile
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly