Donovan is aiming to prove his worth

Two teammates will be playing in the UAE next month - with different clubs and different objectives. David Beckham will see his three-month sojourn with AC Milan as a chance to play regular football at a high level and stay in contention for an England place before returning to Major League Soccer. For Landon Donovan, his Los Angeles Galaxy vice-captain, a similar spell at Bayern Munich will give him another chance to prove himself on a bigger stage.

The pair will arrive in the Emirates next week for winter training camps which could help shape their future paths. Beckham, 33, who yesterday chose to end his £2 million-a-year (Dh 11m) deal as the face of Pepsi in order to concentrate on other advertising deals, will be part of the all-star Milan side which prepares to take on Hamburg in the Dubai Football Challenge on Jan 6 (kick-off 7pm) at the new Sevens stadium on Al Ain Road.

While the prospect of the former England captain playing alongside Kaka, Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko whets the appetite, the Bundesliga champions Bayern will also be in town. Donovan, 26, will be with them as they sharpen up their skills in Dubai before playing a friendly against Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi on Jan 10 (kick-off 5pm). With the German striker Lukas Podolski linked with a move to England or back to Cologne, the Munich side see Donovan, initially on loan until March 16, as someone who could provide back-up to Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the Bayern chairman, said: "We'll wait and see how he gets on before deciding whether to extend the loan. "We have a great team, evidenced by the fact we've gone 16 games unbeaten, so we don't need any new faces." In two spells at Bayer Leverkusen, who signed him at the age of 17, Donovan played just seven games, before going back home to the States to play for San Jose and then signing for the Galaxy in 2005. The five-time US Player of the Year says he has matured since his European excursion.

And having shown his form and his finesse again, Donovan is keen to prove his worth to the Bavarian giants and get a permanent deal. Maybe, privately, that is what Beckham is thinking too, despite insisting he will return to finish his American adventure and fulfil his five-year contract with LA. Both Milan and Bayern will use the Dubai camps to set up deals in the January transfer window and resolve the futures of some of their key men.

Milan are chasing a left-sided defender and midfielder, dismissing speculation Fabio Cannavaro could join them from Real Madrid. Bayern have persuaded Bastian Schweinsteiger to commit to a new deal until 2012, and their captain Mark van Bommel is next on the list as he is out of contract next summer. They also hope to get Frenchman Franck Ribery to extend his deal, which ends in 2011. akhan@thenational.ae

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.”

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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