Unbeaten and top by 11 points but Bayern Munich ‘don’t have things so easy’ against Hertha Berlin

Philipp Lahm said injury-hit Bayern Munich had not had things their own way, despite beating Hertha Berlin to maintain their unbeaten Bundesliga record and go 11 points clear.

First-half goals by Germany forward Thomas Muller and France Under-21 winger Kingsley Coman sealed a 2-0 win at Munich’s Allianz Arena to give Bayern their 13th win from 14 league games on Saturday.

But Lahm praised his side for their resilience with star wingers Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Douglas Costa among those currently injured.

“We had a few problems before the game today, because we had a few players unavailable,” Bayern’s captain said.

“Above all, we were missing the type of players who can open up space for us against defensive teams.

“So that wasn’t an easy task for us, but we sorted things out well and we did a good job in shutting down their counter-attacking game.”

[Salomon Kalou 'tolerates the truth' to hit goalscoring form for Hertha Berlin]

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer complained that Hertha had defended “like a handball team” by packing defenders in tight to restrict the space in the penalty area.

“We didn’t have things so easy against a team who defended like a handball side,” the Germany goalkeeper said.

“It was good for us that we got the two early goals and built up a lead.

“It was harder for us in the second half, because Hertha completely stopped coming forward.”

With 13 goals in 14 league games, Muller has already equalled his tally for the whole of last season with less than half the campaign gone.

The Germany forward said he was pleased to have contributed to a good half-time lead, which became the final score.

“When it’s 0-0 you never know what can happen against Hertha, because they defend so well,” said Muller, who has scored in each of Bayern’s last five games.

“But I had a good feeling after we scored two quick goals.”

Bayern have five games left until the winter break starts on December 20 and have already qualified as group winners for the last 16 of the Uefa Champions League.

They are at fourth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach next Saturday and host Darmstadt in the last 16 of the German Cup on December 15.

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MATCH INFO

CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures

Tuesday:

Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)

Second legs:

October 23

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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.”