Perhaps an eminently-winnable Test match against the world champions is just what Martin Johnson requires at this stage of his tenure as England manager. The iconic leader kicked off his stint as England coach earlier this month by pleading for patience from the rugby public for his developing side. Two matches later, and in the wake of defeat to Australia, he is already feeling the heat. The scrum, which has, since before Johnson's playing days, been England's greatest strength, is not functioning. He has picked a dud captain. And the golden boy he has instilled so much faith in at fly-half has shown he is still just that - a boy - at Test level.
A victory today would go a long way to correcting all those ills, and Johnson has kept faith with the much criticised duo of his captain, Steve Borthwick, and stand-off Danny Cipriani. Even with England's poor form, they could still better the Boks - and that view comes straight from the mouth of the South African coach, Peter de Villiers. De Villiers, who has hardly been averse to eccentric ramblings since he took over the post from Jake White, claimed his side are struggling for motivation ahead of their trip to Twickenham.
He was referring to the fatigue that has been forced upon them by a long, hard season. However, it is hard to believe that players of the ilk and competitive spirit as Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield and John Smit will not be up for a clash with England. Brian O'Driscoll, the Ireland captain, believes his side's recently-fostered rivalry with Argentina makes today's encounter in Dublin a "grudge match". The fixture does carry with it extra significance. If the Pumas do claim their fourth successive win over the Irish, it will relegate O'Driscoll's team outside of the world's top eight - meaning a tougher World Cup draw.
Argentina knocked Ireland out of last year's World Cup in France, and O'Driscoll said: "Post-World Cup we've built up grudge matches. This match is about seeding, you just think about now and let previous rivalries pass you by." pradley@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.”
Liverpool’s fixtures until end of 2019
Saturday, November 30, Brighton (h)
Wednesday, December 4, Everton (h)
Saturday, December 7, Bournemouth (a)
Tuesday, December 10, Salzburg (a) CL
Saturday, December 14, Watford (h)
Tuesday, December 17, Aston Villa (a) League Cup
Wednesday, December 18, Club World Cup in Qatar
Saturday, December 21, Club World Cup in Qatar
Thursday, December 26, Leicester (a)
Sunday, December 29, Wolves (h)
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