Abu Dhabi World Championship begins today
ABU DHABI // It is almost like the final school examination before graduating to the next level for Alyazyah Al Shehyari.
Earmarked as one of the rising Emirati female jiu-jitsu stars she will be among the 1,272 players in action on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
The 10-day long championship gets underway Friday with the Abu Dhabi Kids Festival for girls at the Ipic Arena at Zayed Sports City.
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“This will be my last time in the juvenile division because I will turn 17 soon,” said Alyazyah, who will be competing in the blue belt 61.5 kilogramme division.
“Obviously I want to graduate from this class with a gold medal, which I have not won in two previous attempts. This will be my last chance and then it will get more difficult when I move in to the youth and adult category.”
Alyazyah will vie for a medal in two categories, in the juvenile today and in the Abu Dhabi World Youth Cup on Sunday.
She was forced to pull out of the competition last year after suffering a leg injury on the day before the event.
“So actually I have returned after two years of training,” she said. “I’m training three times in the day – morning, afternoon and night. I have also set up a separate room at home to train.
“I’m also training at my club, Al Wahda, and do some work private training with my former school coach [Roberta Ferreira] to improve my techniques.
“I want to thank the UAEJJF for the support and facilities they have provided on my development and when I train with the junior national team.
“I organise my time. I know this year’s going to be harder and how many girls will be there in my weight category. It can be as many as 20 and not all of them will be Emiratis.”
Alyazyah is going into the competition having won all her fights in the local tournaments.
“I hope I can take the winning formula forward,” she said. “It is important for me to win a gold at this level because thereafter it gets harder in the youth and adult categories,” she said.
“But having said that, I need to work harder and win at the higher levels to be a champion, which is my ambition.”
A Grade 11 pupil of Al Shahama School, Alyazyah wants also to excel in her academics.
“I do my school work well and that’s one of the reasons my parents don’t interfere with my training,” she said.
“Until now I have got good marks at school and when I feel that I need to give more time for studies I cut down on my training time. My objective is to join the diplomatic staff and eventually serve as an ambassador for my country.”
The highlight of the eighth staging of the competition is the adult division with a total prize purse of Dh 2.5 million up for grabs, from April 19 to 23.
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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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Three ways to boost your credit score
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