http://defaqtoblog.com/insight The official Defaqto Insight Team blog platform Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:23:46 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en View the businesses of the world as a large set of nodes interconnected by the business they do with other nodes. Some nodes will have tens of connections, some will have hundreds; a few will have millions of connections. This type of network is often referred to as a scale-free network ... http://defaqtoblog.com/insight/2008/10/22/networks-avoiding-financial-meltdown/ There is no doubt that the Internet and surrounding technologies have had a massive impact on the way businesses around the globe structure their processes and communication. Processes that took weeks now take days. New businesses have been formed, and old businesses have been altered beyond recognition. Some of the most profound ... http://defaqtoblog.com/insight/2008/10/20/bankers-trust-2/ Those of you that have eyed through Ludlum’s Bourne rather than opting for the big screen option will be well familiar with the phrase “rest is a weapon”. In the books Robert Ludlum has Jason Bourne re-iterate the importance of rest time and time again. But we all know how ... http://defaqtoblog.com/insight/2008/10/20/rest-weapon/ A recent article in Professional Adviser saw Barclays Wealth supremo, Mark Kibblewhite, responding to criticism from the IFA community about the levels of client service provided by large wealth management players (such as Barclays). Of key interest here is the fact that these two entities are even having this debate when ... http://defaqtoblog.com/insight/2008/08/18/battle-commences-ifas-wealth-managers/ A recent consumer survey undertaken by Friends Provident found that two-thirds of Brits have little or no faith in the Government when it comes to pensions. This sentiment comes as no real surprise in the current climate and echoes similar findings from Defaqto's Retirement Savings & Income Report 2007. Defaqto asked1 ... http://defaqtoblog.com/insight/2008/07/08/political-parties-work-achieve-greater-pensions-good/ Financial centres rise on the back of the empire that creates them. They also tend to fall as their empire wanes. London hasn’t, however. It straddles time zones; Sterling had become a globally recognised currency and English became the language of commerce.  As the empire declined, London’s primacy in areas such ... http://defaqtoblog.com/insight/2008/05/28/empires-wax-wane-financial-centres/ London is arguably the world's premiere financial capital and yet most UK citizens are financially unplanned. There is a lack of buy-in from those outside the square mile. The regulator is attempting to redress this through its Retail Distribution Review by creating a simpler regulatory landscape in which financial advisers ... http://defaqtoblog.com/insight/2008/05/19/increase-planning-increase-standards/ The most important reason for including hedge funds within a balanced investment portfolio is to diversify effectively. Perfect in the current market environment but investors will need to prepare themselves for hedge fund casualties as the start-ups which benefitted from the market bull run of 2003-7 find it more difficult ... http://defaqtoblog.com/insight/2008/05/08/hedge-bets/ Historically, when base rates changed, savings rates followed suit, but in the current credit crunch, those with spare cash and prepared to move their money around can take advantage of the banks' and building societies' eagerness to attract retail funds. Last time the Bank of England's base rate was changed to ... http://defaqtoblog.com/insight/2008/04/17/savers-good-defaqto/ Following The Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to reduce the Bank of England Base rate by 0.25% to 5.00%, Defaqto’s Principal Consultant – Banking, David Black comments:   “This 0.25% cut by the Monetary Policy Committee was widely anticipated and comes as no surprise. What remains to be seen is how much ... http://defaqtoblog.com/insight/2008/04/10/defaqto-comments-base-rate-change/