Children take part in an activity during the opening day of the Abu Dhabi Science Festival at Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi (Christopher Pike / The National)
Children take part in an activity during the opening day of the Abu Dhabi Science Festival at Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi (Christopher Pike / The National)

Where might an interest in science lead?



Who can tell what the sparks of interest generated at this year’s Abu Dhabi Science Festival might lead to? Some parents will probably have brought their children to this event because it is a fun and educational day out, but for some bright young minds, this might be the moment when they discover an interest and aptitude in science that could lead to as-yet-unimagined breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.

Getting children interested in the so-called Stem – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – subjects is, of course, just the first small step in this process, even if it is a crucial one. As Abu Dhabi Education Council director general Dr Ali Al Nuaimi explained, this interest needs to be encouraged and nurtured at school so that each child can reach their potential at university and in their working lives.

As any parent will be able to attest, what captures the attention of one child will not necessarily have the same effect on another, which is why the range of activities at the festival has to be as broad as possible. This year there are 67 activities at the festival, a 20 per cent increase on the year before, and 40 per cent of the content is sourced from the UAE. These include everything from the Smartphone Microscope station, in which a USB microscope zooms in on the fibres of tweed fabric, to a microplanes workshop, where children learn about the science behind aviation and get to build – and launch – their own model airplane.

Participation by schools is up too, with 15,000 students from government and private schools expected to attend, a 50 per cent increase on 2015. Total visitor numbers are expected to be considerably more than the 110,000 who attended last year.

The wider question is what happens once we have inspired this new generation of burgeoning scientists and they get to graduate level and beyond. This country is a long way off leading the world in either funding of research and development or in the scale of the research being conducted. As Dr Saeed Al Hassan, an Emirati faculty member at the Petroleum Institute, told The National last month: “A lot of undergraduates are not exposed to research”. If students whose interest is piqued by events like the science festival are to truly reach their potential, this has to improve.

The UAE space programme is an example of a Stem project that can inspire a new generation, just as Nasa’s Moon landing programme energised an earlier generation – something from which the United States continues to reap the benefits. We need to do the same, and it starts with capturing children’s imaginations.

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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Try out the test yourself

Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer

Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer

Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer

The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).

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Number of staff: 210 
 
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Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
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