A friend – an environmental biologist – tells me an interesting story. He says that a co-worker at a top university tried to get a research grant to use insect species as predators to keep down the number of pests on farmers’ crops. He could not get a grant or sponsorship. But, my friend said, if his colleague were to apply to various chemical companies seeking sponsorship to create a new pesticide, obtaining cash would be much more likely.
The problem, my friend said, is that while using insects and other predators to control pests on crops may be ethically preferable, there is no obvious profit in it. Finding one bug to control another might be a scientific breakthrough but where’s the money for investors if profit is the end goal?
A twist in that argument came to mind amid a new row in Britain about obesity. Parliament’s obesity statistics from 2021 are astounding. Most English adults are fat. A quarter (26 per cent) are obese. A further 38 per cent are overweight but not obese – or not yet. Obesity means having a body mass index of 30 or above. BMI between 25 and 30 is classified as overweight. These statistics mean 64 per cent of British adults have a weight problem.
Governments must encourage better eating and exercise
It comes amid a political spat about junk food. The British government planned to place a ban on junk-food advertisements on television before 9pm when children might be watching. They also considered a ban on buy-one-get-one-free deals. Researchers believe these contribute to the overeating of nutrient-poor food. These initiatives have now been postponed until after the next general election, in part because food price inflation has been so high.
Health activists are extremely disappointed and they also want mandatory reporting from food companies on high levels of salt, sugar and fat many put in processed food. But now the British Health Secretary Steve Barclay – the health secretary! – is reported to be in favour of the postponement of any measures that he believes constitute a “nanny state” trying to change eating behaviour through legislation. Mr Barclay is instead said to be “placing his faith” in new weight-loss drugs.
This seems absurd. The obvious way to improve our national health is for governments to encourage better eating and exercise. That can be achieved through education, but also through increasing taxes on unhealthy products and the legally enforceable reporting of unhealthy levels of food additives.
Like chemical pesticides, better solutions are available than improving pharmaceutical companies’ profits by buying vast quantities of fat-busting drugs. Besides, in Britain, there are already taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, products that can cause significant health damage. Medical treatments for lung cancer and alcoholism are possible but not getting sick by avoiding the causes of sickness is always the best medicine. The same is true of obesity.
Wonder drugs may limit the damage but they cannot eliminate the core problem – unhealthy eating. There is some good news. Over the years, I have attended numerous conferences of world-leading businesses, financial institutions and investment groups. At every conference, someone mentions ESG – environmental, social and (corporate) management. That means successful big businesses think about carbon emissions, the mental and physical well-being of staff and customers, and an ethical approach to problems.
One British business leader memorably said to me that “my staff are my colleagues by day, but they are citizens by night. They care about making a better, healthier, cleaner world for their children to grow up in”. And so, while investors always look to make a profit from their investments, increasingly many refuse to invest in companies that carry possible reputational risks. For some, that includes tobacco and alcohol businesses, some energy companies and those making lethal military hardware.
In Britain, there is now a backlash from investors to the government’s health policy changes. A letter to The Times newspaper from a group of 25 investor companies insisted that they are supportive of well-designed legislation to improve healthy eating because voluntary measures have “consistently failed to work”.
The group says they represent more than 25 different investment firms with assets of more than £6 trillion ($7.67 trillion) and they are disappointed by government rollbacks of legislation on health policy. That’s because, according to the investors’ letter, “a lack of consistent data makes it hard for investors to evaluate a company’s effect on the environment and health, and to measure the risk associated with these exposures”.
This is hugely important. A supposedly pro-business Conservative government is publicly being rebuked by an undoubtedly pro-business group of powerful investors who fear – correctly – reputational and therefore financial risks if they invest in food production companies that contribute to ill-health.
The investors now join health charities and medical campaigners in their disappointment at a lack of consistent leadership from a government that appears to have pleased no one – except perhaps the manufacturers of anti-obesity drugs.
As for Britain becoming a “nanny state” – I’ve always believed that if you are rich enough to afford a nanny, you would probably want someone who insists that your children eat healthily. Maybe we need a few nannies to tell the British government to eat their vegetables or there will be no dessert.
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
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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'C'mon C'mon'
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Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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'My Son'
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
The specs
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
