Alexis Sanchez hat-trick gets Barcelona back up and running

BARCELONA 4

ELCHE 0

Barcelona moved back to the top of the Primera Liga on goal difference with a comfortable 4-0 win over Elche last night thanks to a hat-trick from Alexis Sanchez.

The Catalans are tied with Atletico Madrid on 49 points and the two are to meet for the first time in the league this season next weekend at the Vicente Calderon.

Lionel Messi was again watching from the stands as he nears a comeback from a hamstring injury and Neymar was left on the bench having recently returned from a break in Brazil.

Sanchez and Pedro proved able deputies as they slotted home inside the opening 15 minutes.

Xavi also missed a second-half penalty for the hosts, but it mattered little as Sanchez rolled home his second goal from Pedro’s pass shortly afterwards and the Chilean sealed his first hat-trick for the club with a stunning free kick 21 minutes from time.

“We played very well. We had variation, precision, control and we had a lot of chances,” said Barca coach Gerardo Martino. “We were always concentrated through the game and limited the opponent to few sights of goal. In the second-half especially we controlled the game completely.”

The Argentine was particularly pleased with the contribution of Pedro and Sanchez in the absence of Messi and Neymar. “I was happy for Alexis because, as a coach, you always like to see players like he and Pedro who work so hard for the team get their reward.”

Victor Valdes was making his return in goal for Barca after six weeks out with a calf injury and was nearly beaten on 14 minutes when Richmond Boakye fired a powerful drive off the outside of the post.

Barca had already scored on seven minutes when Jordi Alba’s enticing cross from the left was expertly finished by Sanchez. Then moments after Elche almost equalised, Barca made the game safe as Cesc Fabregas released Pedro to round Elche keeper Tono and roll the ball into an unguarded net.

Barca had a great chance to extend their advantage four minutes after the break when Cristian Sapunaru upended Fabregas inside the area and was fortunate not to be shown a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Xavi then side-footed the resultant spot kick wide of the target.

The third goal arrived just after the hour as Pedro unselfishly squared for Sanchez to double his tally for the afternoon.

Six minutes later Sanchez sealed his hat-trick with a fine curling free kick.

sports@thenational.ae

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

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

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.”