US president Donald Trump’s deputy national security adviser, Egyptian-American Dina Habib Powell, will leave her position early next year.
The surprising news comes following Mr Trump’s announcement recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, something that has sparked outrage and protests across the Middle East.
The exit of Mrs Powell, a driving force behind the Trump administration's Middle East policy, will be part of an anticipated wave of departures following Mr Trump's first year in office, the Washington Post reported, quoting a number of US officials.
However, unlike other senior officials — such as US secretary of state Rex Tillerson — who are rumoured to soon be leaving or replaced over disagreements with the US president, Mrs Powell’s departure is attributed to family reasons.
One source close to Mrs Powell told The National that she has been mulling her departure "for a few months and is itching to go back to New York where her family is".
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Mrs Powell has played an instrumental role in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and has, since taking office in January, helped mend relations between Arab governments and Washington.
She has also been part of a number of visiting US delegations. She accompanied Mr Trump to Saudi Arabia in May, she travelled with secretary of defence Jim Mattis to Egypt, and has embarked on multiple trips in the Middle East with Jared Kushner — Mr Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, who is leading a delegation to discuss the peace process.
Mrs Powell also played a critical role in negotiations of the release of US activist Aya Hijazi from Egyptian prisons.
Mrs Powell was born in Cairo in 1973, speaks fluent Arabic and immigrated with her parents to Texas at the age of four.
At 32, she served as assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs under George W Bush. She then moved to New York and joined Goldman Sachs in 2007 as managing director and, in 2010, became a partner.
Mrs Powell was praised for her efforts at the financial giant to promote women entrepreneurship, including overseeing initiatives and aid programmes that allowed her to cross paths with Ivanka Trump — Mr Trump’s daughter and top aide.
With her departure, the Arab-American community will lose a seat close to the president’s desk. It is still unclear who will replace Mrs Powell, but an appointment will most likely take place early next year after a reshuffle of national security and foreign policy positions.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has nominated Alex Azar, of Lebanese origins, as secretary of health and human services.
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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.”
