Tractor Sazi midfielder Andranik Teymourian, left, fights for the ball with Majid Hassan of Al Ahli during their Asian Champions League match at Yadegar Emam Stadium in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz on March 4, 2015. Mehdi Zare / AFP
Tractor Sazi midfielder Andranik Teymourian, left, fights for the ball with Majid Hassan of Al Ahli during their Asian Champions League match at Yadegar Emam Stadium in the northwestern Iranian city oShow more

Sport

Al Ahli slip to Asian Champions League defeat in Iran

Cosmin Olaroiu says his side did not deserve to lose as Saudi Al Ahli top Group D after 2-1 home victory over Nasaf Qarshi.

Ahmed Rizvi

March 04, 2015

Cosmin Olaroiu said his battling Al Ahli players did not deserve to end up on the losing side of their Asian Champions League clash against Tractor Sazi in Iran on Wednesday.

Held 3-3 at home by Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in their opening Group D match, the Arabian Gulf League defending champions put up a determined fight in Tabriz after Farshad Ahmadzadeh had put the hosts ahead in the 40th minute when he booted home Fardin Abedini’s cross from the right.

"We didn't deserve to lose the game," said Olaroiu, whose team have gone winless in five matches in all competitions.

“It was a difficult match, and the Iranian team we played against was very strong.

“The atmosphere in the stadium made it difficult for us to play, however the opportunities we made outnumbered the chances made by the home side.

“We did our best in this tough situation. We lost the ball in the important areas of the field and that was where they took advantage from.”

The defeat left Ahli at the bottom of the group with one point from two matches. They host Uzbek side Nasaf Qarshi on March 18, with a win in that match needed to keep alive hope of reaching the last 16.

Fortune has not been on Ahli's side recently. Their last win came a month ago, against Sharjah in the AGL. Since then, they have lost to Al Shabab (1-0) and Al Wasl (4-0) in the domestic league, and drawn with Ajman (0-0) and Ahli of Saudi Arabia.

The visitors started the game with only two foreign players, Oussama Assaidi and Kwon Kyung-won, and deserved a bit more for their efforts.

They came out fighting after the break, dominating possession but failing to break down a resolute Tractor Sazi defence. Habib Fardan came closest to equalising, in the 57th minute, but was thwarted by the goalkeeper Hamed Lak.

“In the second period they had one good chance, but our goalie saved it well,” said Antonio Oliveira, the Tractor Sazi coach.

He said his team’s organisation had been too much for the Emirati side.

“We saw a highly tactical game and there were of course some mistakes,” Oliveira said, “but we had almost the entire game under our control.”

In the other Group D match, the Saudi Al Ahli beat Nasaf Qarshi 2-1 in Jeddah to go top of the group. Omar Al Soma and Saleh Al Jamaan scored for the hosts.

arizvi@thenational.ae

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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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