AL AIN // If the numerous supporters of the country's most successful top-flight club prefer to think the worst is over, they may want to reconsider. Al Ain, nine times a league champion, show no signs of revival.
The club went into last night's Pro League home game with Al Nasr at Tahnoon bin Mohammed Stadium in the relegation zone, and they were still there when the match ended.
Nasr's prolific Ismael Bangoura scored in the 28th minute, Rodrigo Vergilio converted in the 68th, and that was enough to subdue Al Ain 2-1 before a crowd of 4,873.
There was some good news for the home side though as they came to terms with their latest setback on the pitch.
The first bit was the goal scored by Elias Ribiero, Al Ain's new Brazilian, his first in the UAE, on a penalty in the 79th minute.
It was not enough to change the outcome of the game, but it was a start for Elias.
Also, the club has help on the horizon. Jeremie Aliadiere, a French striker with extensive experience in the Premier League, including with Arsenal, Wolves and Middlesbrough, has signed with the club. Alexandre Gallo, the coach, would not speculate when the club might see Aliadiere, 27, on the pitch. But he is on the way.
Nasr, meanwhile, now cannot be faulted for harbouring hopes of a top-three finish and a place in the 2012 Asian Champions League.
The addition of Virgilio, the Brazilian forward sometimes known as "Careca", has given Walter Zenga's squad a cutting edge, in tandem with Bangoura, that compares favorably to any in the league.
They are on 19 points and sit among the front half of the pack chasing leaders Al Jazira, and their manager, the former Italian international Walter Zenga, who coached at Al Ain in 2007, was pleased.
"This game is six points, not three points, because we keep Al Ain far away from us and that is very important," he said. "It's also important for the morale of my club.
"We had some players who are hurt or coming back from injury. This three points is very important to us."
Meanwhile, Gallo has five days to work some magic or his side could be in trouble against the Indonesian side Sriwijaya of Palembang in a play-off to determine who joins Group F for the Asian Champions League.
Elsewhere last night, Al Wahda fell further behind in their chase of a second successive title when Al Ahli came from behind to beat the Pro League champions 2-1, thanks to a brace from Pinga.
The former Wahda man levelled things before scoring the late winner from a spot kick in a game that turned into high drama after the referee Mohammed Abdulkarim al Zarouni reversed a spot-kick awarded to Wahda.
It appeared Tariq Ahmed, the Al Ahli defender, had tripped Saeed al Kathiri, the substitute.
But he changed the decision and later awarded a penalty against them when Ismail al Hammadi went crashing down in what appeared to be a deliberate dive from a slight touch from Abdulraheem Jumaa.
Fernando Baiano, the Brazilian forward, put Wahda ahead in the 18th minute with his ninth goal of the season, before Pinga levelled five minutes into the second half.
The midfielder playing against his former club was clinical on the one-on-one with Mutaz Abdulla, the Wahda goalkeeper, after Abdulla Abdulrahman had set him clear.
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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.”