Growing up with an accountant for a father and role model, an awareness of money management was instilled in me and my siblings from an early age. Now, at 28, I have a sixth sense for sound investment and as a consequence I have recently established my own relocation business called 2DXB with the help and guidance of an umbrella company here in the UAE.
Although I am British, I have been fortunate enough to live an international life. Born in Paris, my family moved to Tokyo when I was three. At the age of six, we moved to Norfolk in the UK, where I spent most of my childhood and early teenage years.
I moved to the Middle East in 2004 when I took a job with Emirates Airline as cabin crew. My decision to move to Dubai was nothing to do with money, but more to do with expanding my horizons. Once I arrived I immediately realised the opportunity to save money, and I also saw a great potential for business. In 2007, I moved away from the airline industry and into relocation. In February this year I embarked on a new venture and decided to set up on my own. I feel that my educational background in leisure and tourism, as well as my experience as an expatriate, gives me the edge when it comes to understanding the requirements of relocation to and from a foreign country.
Having earned pocket money from a young age, I have always understood the connection between working and making money. My parents had a simple formula for determining how much pocket money I would make.
At nine, I made 90 pence (Dh5) a week, which went up to £1 at the age of 10. I always took an interest in my father's work and often helped him with book-keeping tasks. This gave me an insight into having financial responsibility and taught me to appreciate the value of money.
Looking back, the accounting skills I picked up from my father have been of great assistance to me in today's business world.
I have always tried hard to save money. If you build up your savings, sometimes it is wise to transfer money from your current account to a fixed-deposit account, where it will earn more interest and be less accessible to you, therefore avoiding any temptation to withdraw cash unnecessarily. Had I not been saving and building up some capital, I would never have been in a position to set up my business at the age of 28.
I was fortunate not to have to borrow money to help set up the business and, instead, could rely solely on personal savings.
With my business, my monthly salary is variable. In these early stages it is hard to determine exactly how much, having paid the bills and rent, I have towards spending and saving. At the moment any spare cash is invested in the business. Once the business is more established I anticipate saving about 25 per cent of my income.
I am in the process of selling a company in the UK which I entered into as an investment in 2003. It is a small restaurant and hotel and it has recently been valued at double the price at which we bought it.
Having anticipated that the start of my business would coincide with the onset of the financial crisis, I knew there would be a period of time when money was going out and not necessarily coming in, so fortunately, I was well prepared.
As with most people, I have had to make cutbacks in my personal life, such as choosing a cheaper gym membership, to help cope with the financial instability. However, I can't help but feel that perhaps we will all benefit in the long run through being forced to be more frugal with our money.
After all, it would be silly to believe that money alone can buy you happiness. To some people, happiness is having a flashy car or the latest mobile phone, but to others, simply owning a car at all is a luxury.
If I became a millionaire overnight, I would start by paying my brother back the 1 yen I owe him - with interest, of course. I would like to think I wouldn't abandon the way I have managed my money up until now and I hope I wouldn't become frivolous. There are several charities close to my heart, including the Kidney Research UK and groups that research into coeliac disease, so I would use my unexpected windfall to donate funds to a good cause.
* As told to Inga Stevens
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The%20Little%20Mermaid%20
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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
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Schedule
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SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4-litre%20flat-six%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E525hp%20(GT3)%2C%20500hp%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E465Nm%20(GT3)%2C%20450Nm%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh944%2C000%20(GT3)%2C%20Dh581%2C700%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zombieland: Double Tap
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Four out of five stars
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Who is Ramon Tribulietx?
Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role.
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
FIXTURES
Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)
Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
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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.”
