Rory McIlroy cleared to play Race to Dubai events despite missed time

Rory McIlroy will be able to play in the European Tour's Race to Dubai after being given special exemption due to his ankle injury.

The injury, sustained in a football kickabout with friends in July, meant that the world No 1 was unable to meet the 13-event qualification standard in order to remain in the Race to Dubai even though he currently leads the rankings.

The Northern Irishman had to sit out the Scottish Open, the British Open at St Andrews and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which would have all worked towards his qualifying tally.

However, after discussions with the European Tour, McIlroy has committed to play a further three events to take his tally to 12 and, as a result, officials have used their discretion to ensure their star name is not absent from their showpiece finale.

“These are exceptional circumstances and I have taken this situation and the resulting decision very seriously,” said new chief executive Keith Pelley.

“I have spent the last two weeks examining every angle and every possible solution and I have spoken with Rory and his team, as well as independent medical advisers and some prominent players.

“Therefore, after lengthy discussions, I have given him approval to play a minimum of 12 European Tour events this year.”

The Final Series begins with the Turkish Airlines Open at the end of October, takes in the WGC-Champions event and BMW Masters in China, before climaxing at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November.

European Tour officials made the obvious decision to offer dispensation to McIlroy in order to protect both their short and long-term investments.

McIlroy says he is kept from adding four more events through global commitments, such as the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour, and his recovery programme that limits how many weeks he can play in a row.

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.”

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A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

Rory McIlroy cleared to play Race to Dubai events despite missed time

Rory McIlroy will be given a special exemption on the European Tour to play in the Race to Dubai tournaments even though he misses the minimum 13-event qualification.

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

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A State of Passion