Barcelona have the destiny of the tightest Primera Liga title race in years in their hands after gaining six points on eternal rivals Real Madrid in the past week.
The Catalans followed up their 4-3 win in the clasico against Madrid at the Bernabeu last Sunday with a 3-0 victory over Celta Vigo in midweek, while Madrid slipped to another defeat, 2-1 at Sevilla.
Atletico Madrid lead the way with eight games left, a point clear of Barca and three ahead of Real. Barca host Atletico on the final day of the season in what could be a title decider.
It was not quite a perfect week for Barcelona as goalkeeper Victor Valdes will miss the rest of the season after cruciate ligament damage to his right knee.
Gerardo Martino’s men can also expect a difficult test this weekend as they visit city rivals Espanyol in the Catalan derby.
Midfielder Andres Iniesta said they cannot let their concentration be swayed by the misfortune that has afflicted Valdes or their upcoming Uefa Champions League quarter-final against Atletico.
“Playing every three days there is no time to enjoy victory or let your head get down,” he told Barca TV.
“It is very difficult, but we need to keep going. Derbies are always very special occasions and the situation in the league makes this one even more important. We need to go there and win, although we are aware of how difficult that will be.
“We are back in the fight for La Liga, which I think is just. Now every game is a final.”
By contrast, it has been an awful week for Real Madrid as, having gone five months and 31 games in all competitions without tasting defeat, they were beaten twice in four days.
Playmaker Isco said he believes there is still time to peg back Atletico and Barca, as they did earlier in the season after a difficult start to the campaign.
"It was a big blow because it has changed the situation we were in until two games ago. We are Real Madrid and we are obliged to respond," he told the club's website.
“There are eight games left and we are totally confident that we can reverse the situation. We have already done so once this season. We were six points behind and there is no reason we can’t cut the gap now.”
Atletico, meanwhile, on paper face the hardest game of the title challengers when they travel to fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
Diego Simeone’s men are one of only two sides to have beaten Athletic at home since they moved to the new San Mames at the start of the season, when they met in the Copa del Rey in January.
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
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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