ABU DHABI // The only woman elected to the Federal National Council in 2011, Dr Sheikha Al Ari had not planned to nominate herself for the position. But people in the community pushed her to it, she says.
“I nominated myself because the people requested that from me, and I wasn’t thinking about it. It was not on my mind.
“But when the people said I could represent them, I thought to myself ‘Why not try?’.
“After seeing how the people were asking me to nominate [myself], and were encouraging, it was a great motivation,” she says.
Her campaigns and advertisements were not long, and she did not explicitly ask for people’s votes, she says.
“I didn’t do all that because my campaign began 25 years ago in my educational journey. I have dedication for work and love for the people. They have seen me and tried me. My journey in education gave them the ability to decide.”
Dr Al Ari was the principal of Al Abraq School for girls in Umm Al Quwain for many years before resigning to join the council.
She says she was not surprised when she saw she had won.
“Would you believe me? Honestly, I wasn’t shocked. I knew my name would be there. I even have a picture of me looking at the screen and I looked confident,” she says, laughing.
Because she credits the people who surround her for her success in the FNC, Dr Al Ari has made it her motto “to be a medium of communication within the council”.
“I didn’t tell people I will do this and that. My goal was to be a communications channel with the decision-makers. We are in a nation where the [FNC] members are partners with the decision-makers, and we are all seeking for the nation’s love and happiness.
“We just need to help those who need it, to tell the decision-makers this person needs this thing done. As a member of the council, you have to have a good relationship with them, to share their occasional ceremonies, and I am always available. I don’t like saying no. This way I am participating and if I am with them, they will be with me and with the people.”
She says being part of the council means taking part in discussions on legislations and amending laws, but it does not have the power to provide the community with new decisions. However, she still tries to communicate with the leaders regarding the people’s needs.
“I say, Alhamdullilah it is enough for me to seek people’s needs. Even if we don’t get results, we have communicated and we have tried.”
She says she discusses issues that “affect the citizens and their needs”, not only topics that she is interested in.
“There were no topics that did not serve a purpose to benefit the people. I have discussed issues like traffic safety, educational affairs including teachers’ circumstances and [salary] raises, electricity and the lack of it, scientific research – everything that affects the citizens and we can have a hand in. If I only speak of what I like we will get nowhere.”
Dr Al Ari praises the Minister of Health, Abdulrahman Al Owais, for his help in issues the council has tackled.
“He is one of the people who helped me in creating the essence of my motto to be a link between the decision-makers and the people.”
She says her contact information remains available to all and unchanged for better communication with the community.
Overall, Dr Al Ari says she is proud of all her accomplishments.
She is also the only woman from the UAE to participate in the rab Parliament.
aalkhoori@thenational.ae
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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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.”
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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