ABU DHABI // Being an unofficial hotspot for purebred Arabian racing, Abu Dhabi celebrates a double tonight; the start of the new season and another grand accomplishment in completing the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Racing Festival's final race.
Jean Pierre Totain, who became the first and only trainer from Europe to win the Kahayla Classic, the Arabian showpiece and traditional opener in the Dubai World Cup meeting, is one of the invitees among the five trainers and nine jockeys, all of whom either have trained or ridden Sheikh Mansour's horses.
"The Middle East, particularly the UAE, have given a new lease of life for Arabian racing, and they continue to play a vital role on its improvement," said Totain, who saddled Magic de Piboul to victory in the Kahayla Classic in 2001.
"The Arabian races are now better known and is drawing global attention. They have made their way to some of the most prestigious meetings, the Royal Ascot in England and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France.
"It is getting better every year with both, the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup and Sheikh Mansour Festival series, providing the encouragement and incentive for the owners and breeders of the Purebred Arabians."
Totain trains both, Arabians and thoroughbreds in France, and has saddled more than 1,600 winners as a trainer and more than 50 as a breeder in his 24 years on the job.
He is one of the four trainers for Sheikh Mansour in France. The others who arrived along with him are Jean Francois Bernard, Robert Litt and Damien de Watrigant, who ran Djezika in the Kahayla Classic in 2006.
De Watrigant will get an opportunity to watch a former inmate and winner of the Deauville Derby, Kandar Dul Falgas, racing in tonight's feature race, the Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Cup, a prep race for the National Day Cup.
Joining the trainers are nine French riders, all of them who have carried the silks of Sheikh Mansour to victory in Europe.
Phillipe Sogorb is booked on Barood Al Reef, for the Al Reef Stables, in tonight's opener; a maiden for UAE bred colts and geldings.
"It's my first visit and I am greatly looking forward to riding in Abu Dhabi," said Sogorb. "I have heard of UAE's racing and watched the Dubai World Cup, so it's nice to have got an opportunity and experience a ride.
"Given the opportunity, I will certainly like to ride in the UAE. It suits us very well because the UAE season is during the winter and our off-season in Europe. I hope I can get to know more of the local trainers that can lead up to a good partnership for the future." It was a sentiment shared by Sogorb's colleagues Charles Nora, Jean Bernard Eyquem, Jean Baptiste Hamel, Jimmy Martin, Roberto Montenegro, Fabrice Veron, David Morrison and Francois Xavier Bertras.
apassela@thenational.ae
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
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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