Australian batsman Will Pucovski sidelined after suffering 10th concussion

Australian batsman Will Pucovski's injury-ravaged career received a setback after he suffered another concussion.

Test captain Tim Paine said on Friday it was "shattering" to learn that batting prodigy Pucovski had been hit on the head again.

The 23-year-old, who scored 62 on his Test debut against India in January, is regarded as one of Australia's best batting talents. Pucovski was struck on the head this week during a nets session, reported to be his 10th concussion in a career that has seen a number of injuries and mental health issues.

"Shattering when I found out," Paine told SEN sports radio.

"I've spoken to him a bit the last few days, he's improving slowly. I don't think it's as bad as some of the others he's had before.

"But obviously with his history we have to be very careful with anything around the brain," he added. "I was devastated to hear that it happened to him."

Australia expected Pucovski to become the regular opening partner of David Warner, who has seen team mates come and go since Chris Rogers played his last Test against England in 2015.

But concussions and injuries have repeatedly thwarted Pucovski's rise. He made his long-awaited Test debut against India in Sydney in January but suffered a shoulder injury.

Paine said there was no problem with Pucovski's technique despite him suffering a number of blows to the head. "He's a good player of the short ball, you don't average 54 or so in first-class cricket if you can't play the short ball," Paine said.

"I think he's now more susceptible [to concussion] than other people. He doesn't need to be hit as hard on his head."

Cricket Victoria said in a statement on Thursday that their medical staff were working with Pucovski and "he looks forward to returning to training as soon as he is able to do so", but when that might be is unclear.

Pucovski has now been sidelined for at least part of the Ashes series, which starts on December 8 in Brisbane. Paine said he would have opened the innings against England at the Gabba.

"In my opinion, he would've partnered David Warner in that first Test match, there's no doubt about that," he said.

"But Marcus Harris is probably the guy waiting for the opportunity and he's just come back from a superb six months over in England playing for Leicestershire... and we know his first-class record has been outstanding for Victoria for a long time."

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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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