FATULLAH // Umar Akmal whacked his first one-day international century in more than four years as he and Pakistan’s spinners spoiled Afghanistan’s first Asia Cup appearance with a clinical 72-run victory.
Akmal’s unbeaten 102 off 89 balls led Pakistan to 248 for eight, then Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi shared six wickets to bowl out Afghanistan for 176 in 47.2 overs.
Afghanistan had Pakistan on the ropes at 117 for six before Akmal took charge, notching seven fours and three sixes for his first century since an unbeaten 102 against Sri Lanka in 2009.
Opening batsman Noor Ali Zadran top-scored for Afghanistan, hitting seven fours in his 44, but the batsmen struggled to read the variations of Hafeez (3-29) and Ajmal (2-25) and lost their last four wickets for only four runs.
Asghar Stanikzai labored for 91 deliveries for his 40 before falling to Afridi as the spinners never allowed Afghanistan to score freely.
“The bowlers put in a great effort, especially the three spinners,” Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said.
Afghanistan, who have qualified for the World Twenty20 next month and the World Cup in 2015, exploited Pakistan’s shaky top order after captain Mohammad Nabi won the toss and elected to bowl first.
The opening pair of Ahmed Shehzad (50) and Sharjeel Khan (25) provided a decent start of 55 before the innings disintegrated mainly due to poor strokes.
"The shot selection from the batsmen was disappointing," Misbah said. "They did not read the pitch very well and were playing like how it behaved in the first match. They were eyeing the kind of total in the first game, but this was turning and playing low as well."
Khan, Mohammad Hafeez (10), Sohaib Maqsood (13) and Afridi (6) all fell to reckless shots while Samiullah Shenwari clean-bowled Shehzad off a flatter delivery in his first over soon after the opener completed his 50.
Misbah was run out without facing a delivery in a mix-up with Maqsood, who first called for the run but slipped after taking a few steps, and both batsmen ended up at the striker’s end.
Ali, the only change made by Pakistan from the team that lost the opening match by 12 runs against Sri Lanka, dragged the total to 146 before Shenwari could not hold onto Akmal’s skier off left-arm fast bowler Shapoor Zadran in the second batting powerplay when the batsman was on 28.
“When the ball was going in the air I was hoping it would get dropped and I would continue my innings,” Akmal said after receiving his man of the match award.
“When I was batting, the messages I was getting from the dressing room were to stay till the end.
“It’s one of my best innings and hopefully, I will get more opportunities like this.”
Akmal pounced on the dropped catch and completed his half-century off 60 balls before Ali was brilliantly caught by former captain Nowroz Mangal, who ran back from mid-off and plucked a two-handed catch.
However, Akmal upped the scoring rate at a brisk pace by raising his second 50 off a mere 28 deliveries by hitting five more boundaries and two sixes as Pakistan made 84 runs in the last 10 overs.
“Umar Akmal played very well in the end to put a big total on the board and his drop was the turning point,” Nabi said.
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
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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.”
