In the last few years, populism and nationalism have risen, largely driven by the resentments of an older generation that feels betrayed by the way the world has turned out. But if you thought things were bad now, the future could be even worse, with another group of men and women poised to fall into the same trap.
Members of Generation Jones – those born between 1955 and 1964 – and the baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1954) grew up in relative confidence that their place in the world was assured. Many of them passed these ideas on to their own children – often referred to as “boomers 2”. However, the financial crisis, the internet age and shifting demographic trends blew away those illusions.
Like a badly titled horror flick, Generation Z versus the millennials could be coming soon to a street corner near you. Born after 1995, Gen Zs have never known a world without the internet. Millennials, or Gen Y (typically born between 1980 and 1994, although some definitions include those born up to the year 2000), on the other hand, were handed the raw deal of coming of age in the years immediately preceding the financial crisis, then seeing all of their assumptions scuppered by austerity and the digital revolution.
Influential millennials include Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Kim Kardashian and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Gen Z includes Malala Yousafzai – the youngest person to win the Nobel peace prize.
Where Generation X (born between 1965 and 1979) – including myself – have found relative happiness in our middle age, we did have a relatively easy run of it, and didn’t have to spend our youth worrying about the effects of disruptive technology.
Millennials don’t have that luxury, squeezed as they are by the angry old boomers 2, who tend to make the decisions, and the energised, ultra-capable youngsters rising fast behind them.
Fortunately, I don’t need to worry so much about my own children (Gen Alpha, from 2012). Born into a changing world, digitally native and equipped to handle whatever is thrown at them, the kids will be alright.
It’s those in their late twenties and in early thirties who need our help the most.
It is worth saying that these labels, much like the signs of the zodiac, can be vague, self-fulfilling and that many people who fall on the cusp of generations exhibit the traits of both.
There is also a tendency these days to keep adding new labels and to subdivide people into narrower and narrower taxonomies. It is also dangerous to make sweeping generalisations about large groups of people. Gen Zs are said to be seen as confident and motivated, while millennials are cast as ungrateful, entitled and unmanageable in the workplace. All of these descriptions could apply equally well to plenty of people on their fifties and sixties.
While we Generation Xers sometimes have a hard time understanding millennials, those same millennials could face a similarly fraught relationship with the Gen Zers behind them. Millennials have not had much time to evolve past the problems of living a life according to pre-crisis norms, such as taking on high levels of personal debt. Gen Zs, by contrast, are already saving for the future.
For the past decade, millennials have also been fed a daily diet of messaging that their futures will be filled with political upheaval, precarious employment and diminished prospects.
To their credit, they have responded by changing their own sense of what constitutes wealth – a sustainable and ecologically diverse planet over owning a home, the ability to be passionate and productive over earning a large salary. Ethics and social impact have become the bottom line for this age group.
Gen Zs, meanwhile, are already with the programme, showing signs of real activism on the political front and taking more responsibility for governance. They also champion equal rights for all over the idea of life being an individual race to the top. They will also have new tools to work with such as peer-to-peer payment systems and a wealth of innovations, thanks to artificial intelligence.
Both groups care a great deal about the dangers of climate change and the importance of bio-diversity. Sounds like a formula for a better world, doesn’t it? Let’s just hope that the millennials and the Gen Zs can work together to create it.
We must make sure that millennials are not left behind. If not, we will experience a period of similar regression to that which we are experiencing now. How can we do that? The more mature of us can stop sneering at them for a start, whether behind their backs in the office or in the relative anonymity of social media. Life isn’t easy for anyone, these days, so we should all make respect for those younger than ourselves a standard part of common decency.
Mustafa Alrawi is an assistant editor-in-chief at The National
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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.”
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
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