ABU DHABI // Everton Ribeiro is looking forward to sustained success with Al Ahli this season and next as the UAE champions seek to dominate both domestically and on the continent.
The Brazilian, named in the 2015/16 Arabian Gulf League Best XI at Saturday's end-of-season awards, played a key role in Ahli's title triumph this campaign, scoring nine goals and finishing second in the division for assists, also with nine.
Ribeiro has now set sights on concluding the season with the President’s Cup crown before switching attention to next year’s quest to go one better than November’s Asian Champions League final defeat to Guangzhou Evergrande.
On Friday, Ahli take on Al Jazira in the cup semi-finals, as they attempt to atone for last year's runner-up finish when they lost on penalties to Al Nasr.
Speaking Saturday at Emirates Palace after being voted into the 2015/16 team of the year, Ribeiro said: “Sure, I want more — I want to now win the President’s Cup. Last season we were so close, but we lost. Now we have a chance to finish the season very well and so we try for that. And after that, we’ll come back hungry for the league and the Champions League again.”
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Ribeiro was one of the standouts in last year’s run to the Champions League final. The playmaker joined Ahli from Brazil’s Cruzeiro not long before the group stages began in February and helped the club qualify for the knockout stages for the first time in their history.
However, despite their relative inexperience, Ahli viewed the 1-0 aggregate defeat in the final to Guangzhou as a real opportunity missed, something Ribeiro says the club can use to their advantage next year.
“We talk every time about this, because we went so close but we could not grab it,” he said. “Now we have another chance and we fight again for this championship because it’s very important for the players and the team. This is now a big target.
“It was the first time we play together in the Champions League and now we have the experience to fight with the other teams and now we move stronger towards the next step.”
Ribeiro hopes manager Cosmin Olaroiu will be at the club to mastermind their Asian campaign, with speculation continuing to surround the Romanian's future. Olaroiu has guided Ahli to two league titles in three seasons, with this campaign's professional-era record points haul (66) going some way to him winning coach of the year at Sunday's awards.
“Cosmin is the best coach,” Ribeiro said. “If he stays we have more chance for next season.”
Asked about his own award, Ribeiro said: “I’m so happy to take this trophy. It’s very important to me because I fought with the guys, with the team, and we achieved our first target and won the league. And after that, this is one more important thing for me. Because I like to win trophies.
Ribeiro, who put his improvement this campaign to having a full pre-season with Ahli last summer, has been linked with a move away the club, although he is only 15 months into a four-year contract.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “My family is with me and I really like it here. And I’m proud to play for Al Ahli.”
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An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
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Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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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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Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
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- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
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