Advice for the Wise - November, 2015

Advice for the Wise - November, 2015 from Karvy Private Wealth

Wealth Management Suite

“Money is a very dangerous thing, you have to get know how to look after it or else you will lose it with ease and remember how you would've it in hard times.” ― Auliq Ice.

Auliq Ice has rightly spoken about the dangers of Money! It’s dangerous when you begin to lose track about how you have spent all the hard earned money. We all know how much blood and sweat goes in making that every penny all through the year. What most of us fail to understand is;with changing times the value of your earned money won’t suffice to meet your growing needs and that’s when Wealth Management steps in!

Wealth Management of course in its own way is very self-explanatory, but it has those hidden gems; when used rightly will take you to a different world.

Through this blog we are trying to give you a different perspective about Wealth Management and how this might prove beneficial for you all the while making sure that our customers are our top priority and that nothing can be more important than your satisfaction.

This being our first blog after an interval of few months we would again want to tell the world a little more about ourselves and start the journey once again;

Simple things like:

1. Who are WE?

2. What’s different about us?

3. The advantage of doing business with us!

So we’ll begin with ‘Who are WE’?

Karvy Private Wealth is the wealth management arm of the Karvy Group. Over the years, Karvy Private Wealth has gathered unrivalled expertise in providing top notch service delivery along with cutting edge investment planning.

Based out of Mumbai, Karvy Private Wealth also has branch offices in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai,Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Gurgaon and Pune. We aim to be one of the most sought after Wealth Managers for high net worth individuals in India, through a goal of long-term value creation for all our clients.

Our approach in building an optimum portfolio for you brings together the following unique aspects:

What’s Different about us

1. Risk Evaluation: We ascertain your ability and willingness to take risks. As per which we factor  your appetite into conservative, moderate or an aggressive investor
2. Asset Allocation: Our Wealth Managers then get started on developing a unique asset -allocation strategy for you. They formulate a tactical approach for long term and short term approaches.
3. Restructuring of existing portfolio: Here, we review your existing portfolio on assets and individual security levels.  We suggest unique combination of products across asset classes.
4. Execution: We ensure careful execution of all the transactions through our teams of personal Wealth Managers.
5. Reviews and recommendations: Our investment counsellors constantly scrutinize and recommend new investment options depending on market fluctuations.

Advantage of doing Business with us!

1.  Our experts – a team of personal asset managers at your service: At Karvy Private Wealth excellence comes as standard. The management team consists of professionals with pedigreed academic records and in-depth expertise in the wealth management field. and with the strength of the entire Karvy Group within our reach, you receive full advantage of the industry expertise available exclusively within our group. We are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not an act at Karvy, it’s a habit.
2.  Maximum choice of products & service: Karvy Private Wealth offers the widest range of products and services, providing clients a variety of options all through a single contact point. Products and services include Equities, Debt Instruments, Commodities, Mutual Funds, Insurance, Structured Products, Financial Planning, Real Estate solutions, etc.
3.  Product-neutral recommendations: We ensure that our recommendations are 100% product-neutral and unbiased because unlike the others, we are neither tied up with any one particular insurance company nor do we have our own mutual funds.
4. All-India presence: With presence in over 400 branches across India, Dubai and New York and an additional 300+ franchisees across the country, we are poised to cater to families and businesses spread across multiple cities in India providing them with combined and integrated solutions.
5. Decisions based on scientific and researched based insights: With intensive in-house research carried out across various asset classes and investment products. Rapid responses to changing market conditions. And with individual needs placed at the centre of scientific and calculated tailor-made solutions built for each client, you can trust KPW to take a sound decision with your investment.
6. Mutual relationships built on trust: Our successes are a result of a team effort. At Karvy you will benefit from personalized service with multiple face-to-face meetings. Your personal wealth manager has the unique capacity to mobilize the Karvy Group’s leading experts to service your particular needs at anytime. Your journey at a Karvy Private Wealth will always end with a warm handshake and a feeling of mutual trust. 

Our blogs are going to be a way of connecting with people who are interested in learning more about Wealth Management and how we can add value to your investments. Till then, Cheers!

To know more about our products and services click here:http://www.karvywealth.com/

The world this week august 20 - august 24 2012

The world this week august 20 - august 24 2012 from Karvy Private Wealth

Insurance & its myths

Life Insurance is not easy. It is also not difficult if you have a total knowledge about it. What you need to do is unfollow some of the myth about insurance and understand it from the core. These myths are spread across the investors and hence lets talk about these myths so that you just refer and wipe it from your mind. Followin are some of the myths which you would also relate to:

1. I am Single & there is no one dependent on me, so why do i need insurance!
2. My Life Insurance Coverage Needs Only Be Twice My Annual Salary
3. My Term Life Insurance Coverage at Work Is Sufficient
4. The Cost of My Premiums Will Be Deductible
5. I Absolutely MUST Have Life Insurance at Any Cost
6. I Should ALWAYS Buy Term and Invest the Difference
7. Variable Universal Life Policies Are Always Superior to Straight Universal Life Policies Over the Long Run 
8. Only Breadwinners Need Life Insurance Coverage
9. I Should Always Purchase the Return-of-Premium (ROP) Rider on Any Term Policy
10. I'm Better off Investing My Money Than Buying Life Insurance of Any Kind

There are quite more myths and misinterpretations about insurance. What's important that your life is always at risk and at no point you would know will happen next. Hence, forget the myths and analyze the importance of Insurance. 

Want to know more?

Contact us on karvy@gmail.com
Visit our website: http://www.karvywealth.com
Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KarvyWealth
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarvyWealth

Source: www.Investopedia.com

Eliminate your Debt

Here are five steps to help you eliminate your debt and set yourself up to avoid problems in the future.
The world has advanced so much that nothing has become impossible. Technology has widened to a greater extent and simultaneously the way of living has also risen. But what in this high standard world is the amount of debt that has be created.
Getting out of this debt is obviously what one would desire but how? No one knows.
Here are five steps to help you eliminate your debt and set yourself up to avoid problems in the future.

1. Know what you owe: Figure out exactly whom you owe and for how much. Make a list of all your debts, minimum monthly payments, due dates, and interest rates. Rank your debts in order from those with the highest interest rates to those with the lowest. Determine which debt (if any) is worth keeping.
2. Set up a budget and pay up your debt:If you don't already have a budget, now is as good a time as any to start one. A budget will help you determine how much debt you can pay off, as well as where you can trim expenses to end up with more money to pay up debt.
3. Lower your borrowing costs: Review opportunities to transfer your loan to another provider who offers a more competitive rate. In the context of home loans, this is colloquially referred to as a 'balance transfer'. Based on the offers on hand, you should even consider negotiating with your current loan provider.
4. Set up an emergency fund: To keep yourself from falling back into a debt trap, you need to set yourself up for a secure financial future. An emergency fund is your financial cushion to help protect you from unexpected expenses (say, expenses on account of a medical contingency) or changes in income (such as losing a job). You should keep this fund in a safe and liquid avenue like a savings bank account.
5. Live within your means:This is a hard but necessary truth. Stick to cash whenever possible for future purchases. If you don't want to carry cash, use a debit card instead of a credit card. Even when you use a credit card, ensure that you pay it off every month and pay it off on time!

Source: http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-show/slide-show-1-money-five-steps-to-reduce-your-debt/20120718.htm

Future of Gold

Made Governor of the Central Bank of India, d. Subbarao, tremendous efforts to dissuade the citizens of his country from investing in gold, and on the back of the pressures posed by imports of gold standard on the value of Indian rupee. Attention fans of shares and securities critical to invest in gold by saying that he lost any intrinsic value and is subject to theft, which is a source of concern to its owners.

And gold was made to its investors an annual return of 25% over the past five years, but in recent months has been subjected to the low value of 4%. Based on this, is there a reason to invest in gold?

Experts respond positively to this question, but they argue that investing in gold may be done only as insurance against the collapse of the other categories of assets. Says Lakshmi Iyer, head of investment products and fixed income in a box “Cuttack” common: “We believe that the difficulty in curbing inflation and performance moderate stocks and asset classes are included for the debt securities may induce many small investors to turn to gold, as a category of investment.” She adds: “The variability of the underlying market for foreign currency and the possibility of monetary expansion to some of the major currencies around the world, may push in turn also to the expected improved performance of gold, but it is a bad idea if you think that gold can be a substitute for other assets such as equities and fixed income. It For his part, says Kapil Narang, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation Ameriprise India: As long as you do not seek to achieve a return in the short term, we believe that we are always investing in gold should be part of a very diverse portfolio. “ And continued with saying, look to gold as a tool to ensure backup save the value when passing other categories of investment periods of volatility.

The record high for the price of gold increased by 30% during the last year is the very reason financial planners to advise investors not to do a large bet on the yellow metal. Says Aditya Daddy, a partner at Foundation The Tipping Point, a consulting firm financial: “We have passed the stage in which he was possible advice to invest in gold as a tactical, and we are now advised the investor that ensures its investment portfolio represented 5% of the precautionary measure of exchange against inflation Financial because the price of gold following the rate of inflation. “ He adds that those who actually chose to allocate 10% of their portfolio of gold, and then increased its share of the portfolio to 15% following a high price, they can sell part of gold and increasing the share of assets fell in value recently.

Although the above justify continued investment in gold, but that does not represent good news for women, it is not permissible to buy gold jewelery and consider it as an investment in gold, because the cost of production of jewelry and drop the price when the sale does not keep the profit margin mention of gold in order to an investment. Daddy says that even if the collection of gold for a future occasion such as marriage, it is the most logic to buy the metal through electronic funds traded in the financial markets, a form of non-physical forms of gold. He adds: “Even if you were buying gold in the form of alloys, there is still a difference between selling price and the repurchase price. And the best option is to invest in gold through funds traded in the financial markets, then sell when needed, and then do buy gold material.”

Has increased the spread of funds traded in the financial markets and investing in gold significantly, with the number of accounts in these funds from 147 047 in March of 2010 to 428,769 in September 2011, a high convergence rate of 192%. The total amount of gold owned by the fund rolling company AMC, an Indian company for asset management, has risen from 19 tons in March of 2011 to 28 tons in September and to 33 tons in December 2011, an increase of 74% during the nine months.

Upon observation of these popular enjoyed by ETFs investing in gold, I decided Exchange of India National (NSE) to do trading session private funds traded invested in gold, after the completion of trading cash and derivatives at half past three pm will be held on 24 April. At the time that can be traded funds, gold during a session of regular trading that are open in the ninth hour and a quarter of the morning and closed at half past three in the afternoon, is the resumption of trading funds, gold in the fourth and a half from that date to continue until eight o’clock pm, in order to enable investors to invest in gold until late in the evening. It was also decided not to impose fees on the implementation of the trading funds, gold transactions during the day, ie twenty-fourth of April.

Are you prepared for this year's life events?

Our lives are shaped by various events that come with financial consequences. Many people get swept up in such events without being financially prepared. Life events range from the significant milestones of getting married, the birth of a child, buying a home, caring for aging parents, to the loss of a loved one, planning for retirement and your estate. What are the major life events you anticipate this year? Are you prepared for them financially?

Getting married?
Are you planning to get married this year? What a thrill to plan and prepare for a wedding but far too often an important aspect of the marriage, the merging of financial lives, is ignored. Money is an important aspect of marriage and one of the most difficult topics to deal with. Open communication will help you both to align your goals, which ultimately makes for a more successful marriage. As you build financial security together you will need consensus and compromise for some money related issues. It may not sound terribly romantic, but issues such as establishing joint bank accounts are important matters that ought to be discussed. Home ownership, having children, and funding their education naturally should be on the agenda for discussion as well. Remember to review your important documents carefully to ensure that they reflect your new marital status.
Are you the parent who is expected to finance your son or daughter's wedding? Quite often, much of the financial burden of the actual wedding day is likely to fall on the shoulders of parents already in retirement. Where will this money come from? If your child's wedding is imminent, plan ahead and try to work within a budget appropriate for you so that costs do not spiral completely out of control and jeopardise your finances. Do not be in competition with your in-laws who may have far greater resources than you do.

Are you expecting a new baby?
The birth or adoption of a child is one of life's most fulfilling events. New parenthood naturally comes with new financial responsibility and raising a family presents new budgeting challenges. Start to review and estimate current and future expenses, from nappies to university fees! An equity mutual fund would make an ideal savings vehicle for all the early cash gifts that your child might receive as there are strong prospects for long-term capital growth.Child-care is likely to be a major expense, especially as many mothers must return to work. Even if you are able to stay at home with the children, bear in mind that an extended absence from work, skills and training, could limit your future career options, and therefore your lifetime earning potential. If you do wish to pursue a career, consider part-time work or pursuing training and education whilst the children are still young.
The birth of a child is a good time to make a will, if you don't already have one, and review your insurance policies to include the latest beneficiary. The will should make provisions for guardianship if both parents die while the children are still minors.

Owning your own home
Are you planning to buy or build your own home? A home is one of the most significant purchases you will make in your lifetime. If this is on the horizon this year do make sure it is within your budget and lifestyle and will not become a burden. If you know what your budget limitations are you will not be tempted to look at properties or houses outside of your price range. Location is everything, and a wonderful home in an undesirable area may not be worthwhile from the home value perspective.
Be careful with whom you deal as the real estate market can attract some unsavoury characters. Be particularly cautious and deliberate in ensuring that all essential documentation is in place.

Is retirement on the horizon?
Retirement should be a fulfilling and exciting time of life. If you plan to retire this year or fairly soon, I hope you have been preparing long before now. How would you like to live in retirement and how much is it likely to cost? Assess your sources of retirement income, which should ideally include a pension, rental, and dividend income. Then calculate how much you must save to supplement it to be able to afford the lifestyle you envisage. There are numerous online retirement planning calculators that should help you in making these estimates. Your Pension Fund Administrator ("PFA") will also be able to assist in this regard.
Don't forget to build in issues of aging, such as provision for medical health care. Estate planning should be on the front burner, as you age. As life goes naturally through its various stages, so too should your financial planning. Review your financial objectives regularly to keep them in synch with events that shape your life. Even if you have been fairly consistent with your planning since your twenties or thirties, by the time you are in your 50s or 60s you will.

Source : http://234next.com

Advice for the wise January' 11

Indian equity markets continued to experience significant turbulence in December. While January began on a positive note, profit booking has continued to exert downward pressure on the indices. Our ‘Advice for the Wise’ newsletter for the month of January will give you an outlook across sectors along with economic updates both from a global and domestic perspective.

Advice for the wise January' 11

View more presentations from Karvy Private Wealth.

Common Budgeting Mistakes

Most of us think we are pretty good at estimating our monthly expenses. We account for all the bills that come in every month like cable, water and heat, car insurance and loan payments. We even remember to include such things as groceries, gasoline, and other miscellaneous expenditures.
But our monthly expenses actually add up to a lot more than we typically account for.

The only way to determine with any degree of certainty what your true expenses are, is to keep a running count of every penny you spend for a few consecutive months, and then work out your average from there. Other, more significant expenses that don't typically get mention are things like getting a hair cut every six weeks, or passing through the car wash once a week.

How much is your house really costing you?
Sure, you are factoring in your mortgage, because that is a monthly expense, but what about the insurance and taxes which you only pay once a year? Are you remembering to include the random purchases like a new DVD player? Have you purchased any new home décor items recently, like trendy candles or new tea towels?

Clothing is another category that is often completely underestimated. If you keep track of every purchase for a few months, or a year, you will find your clothing costs to be much higher than you might have guessed. Every pair of socks, every belt, every scarf, pair of gloves, accessories…or a new coat, these are not paying for themselves.

We often do not account for emergencies or set aside a fund for unforeseen expenses like a spontaneous weekend getaway, or minor car repairs. Regular dental or optometrist visits often fail to make the budget list, too, but they are a very significant and very real cost.
When you really sit down and think about everything that you spend money on, no matter how small or large the amount, the budget suddenly takes on a whole new shape. If you have a consistent monthly income, you can structure a realistic budget based on all of your actual expenses, and work out a plan for allowing for all the little unforeseen expenditures that can really break the bank if left unaccounted for.

Source : articlesbase.com

Financial planning makes loan repayment comfortable

Buying a home is a major financial commitment for an individual. Usually, a homebuyer stretches financially to purchase a house, and in most cases, borrows the funds from a bank.

These loans are large amounts and in the light of the volatility in interest rates, it is advisable to spend a good amount of time on financial planning in order to avoid a debt trap in the future. The interest rates have been quite volatile since the last 10 years. There have already been a couple of cycles of soft and hard interest rates.

There are three types of home loan schemes - fixed rate scheme, floating rate scheme and mixed rate scheme (also called teaser rate scheme). Under the fixed rate scheme, the interest charged on the loan amount remains fixed for the entire loan tenure.

However, these days most banks have stopped offering the fixed interest rate scheme. A few banks offer a fixed rate at significantly higher than the prevailing rates and that too the agreement has a clause of variability based on time or under certain conditions.

In a floating rate scheme, the interest rate varies with time based on the market conditions. In the teaser rate scheme, the bank offers an attractive fixed interest rate for the initial few years and links the loan to a floating rate thereafter. There are many variants of such schemes available. They suit the needs of different borrowers. Therefore, it is very important to analyze such schemes based on your financial condition before getting into a particular scheme.

Usually, a home loan is a long-term financial commitment as the tenure goes for more than 10 years in most cases. Therefore, it is important to think about various personal milestones and plan for regular monthly outflows before taking a loan.

Regular payments of EMI is very important and an essential part of a home loan. The payment history of an individual goes a long way in deciding future loan disbursements. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that one should be regular and prompt in paying EMIs. It is advisable to discuss with your bank in case of any difficulties in paying the EMIs and work out a solution. You can look at prepayment, part prepayment or foreclosure of the loan to reduce or stop the EMI dues.

Source :ET

When trust is a must

Everyone knows getting professional advice can be hugely beneficial - but not everyone knows what to look for in a good financial advisor.

There are three things people should keep in mind when they're seeking a financial planner.

1. It’s an ongoing relationship. ''Whatever you do, you need to choose an advisor you feel comfortable with and who you feel you can trust.''

2. You have to be willing to tell all. You do have to share information of a financial nature or potential impact. There are many personal issues that can have a financial impact - job security, potential inheritances and, when it comes to estate planning, whether you like your son-in-law.

3. Third, be willing to be proactive to ensure you have a dynamic and constructive relationship with your planner and keep them in the loop if your circumstances change.

Being proactive goes both ways; the advisors as well as the client should be proactive. If you're sick, you go the GP - the GP is not going to knock on your door when you're coughing and spluttering at home.

And if you receive a salary increase or a lump-sum payment, you shouldn't let it sit around doing nothing for four months until the next meeting. Younger people have a greater sense than older generations of the importance of taking control of their own wealth creation.

 The trigger point for most people deciding to see a financial planner for the first time is that moment in their life when they begin to have surplus cash.

Source: smh.com

What is a Trade deficit?

A Trade Deficit occurs when the value of a country’s imports exceed its exports for a specific period of time, usually a year.

The relationship between imports and exports are called the trade balance. When exports exceed imports it is called a trade surplus. Trade deficits can occur in both developing and advanced countries.Basically, it represents an outflow of domestic currency to the foreign markets.

India's trade deficit--difference between imports and exports--in April-August of 2010-11 is USD 56.6 billion. - Indian Express

Manufacturing sector creating lot of opportunities!

The union ministry of commerce industry is looking at formulating new policies to attract investments for setting up mega manufacturing hubs in India. It is believed that such a move would help ensure timely approval and clearance of investments needed for the booming manufacturing sector.

The ministry panel is also very confident about the economy registering 9% growth in the current fiscal year. However, looking upon the ongoing situation of the global economy and its impact on the country, the minister said, “We have not emerged fully out of this economic situation.”

The manufacturing sector would create a lot of job & investment opportunities in the coming few years as  the Indian economy is expected to lead to a sustainable increase of 0.5-0.6% in India’s real GDP growth rate and create an additional 8.9 to 9.4 million jobs.


Source: Economic Times

How to build long term wealth?

Word of the day: Call options

Explanation: It is an agreement that gives an investor the right (but not the obligation) to buy a stock, bond, commodity, or other instrument at a specified price within a specific time period.

Also Known as: Call

Example:  If you believe that a certain stock or commodity’s price is expected to rise after some time, say in the next three months, you can buy a call for that day today. If the price crosses the price at which you bought the call you end up making money, if not then you lose nothing… Why? Because you had the right… but not the obligation to exercise the same, so you simply do not exercise the option.

Another advantage with such instruments is that you can get larger exposure by paying a smaller amount, as you have to pay only the option premium and not the entire transaction amount while entering into a contract.

IMG, Reliance in deal to develop Indian basketball

(Reuters) - Sports and entertainment agency IMG and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries scored an agreement that could eventually lead to the formation of an Indian professional basketball league.

As part of the 30-year deal, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has granted the IMG Reliance joint venture commercial rights to basketball in India, including sponsorship, advertising, broadcasting, merchandising, data and franchising rights. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

IMG Reliance also will advise the BFI on managing school and college leagues.

"This is a gigantic opportunity," IMG chairman and owner Ted Forstmann said in a telephone interview.

"We got together with (Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani) to build a very big sports ownership business in a phenomenal country that's growing like crazy," he added.

Ambani is India's richest man. Reliance, whose businesses include petrochemicals, retail and telecommunications, is India's largest company by market capitalization.

IMG and Reliance formed a joint venture in March to develop, market and manage sports and entertainment in India. Forstmann said the venture was formed to tap into a market of 1.2 billion people that boasts a fast-growing middle class and a young demographic looking to branch out beyond the wildly popular cricket.

IMG officials have openly discussed their desire to own the next Indian sports league after the success of the Indian Premier League, a cricket organization IMG helped establish three years ago that Forstmann said is now valued at $4 billion.

The IPL's rapid success has changed the way potential sports investors view Indian commercial opportunities, said Neel Shah, a sports marketing associate with the Indian office for advertising agency Dentsu who previously worked for Major League Soccer.

"It has raised the bar tenfold on what type of value people are placing on sports properties that do well on the ground and on air," he said of the cricket league.

Under Forstmann, IMG's profit has grown fivefold since he bought the company in 2004. He has expanded it from a business of representing athletes and models to managing more lucrative events like Wimbledon and Fashion Week, and crafting TV deals in China and India.

The initial focus for the IMG Reliance venture will be on developing the sport of basketball and the infrastructure, but a pro league could follow three to five years after that, said Andrew Wildblood, an IMG executive vice president and an executive director with the joint venture.

"This is a giant step towards our stated vision of making basketball a much-watched and popular sport in the country," BFI general secretary Harish Sharma said.

IMG and Reliance are not alone in wanting to develop basketball in India as the National Basketball Association in March announced a partnership to start a recreational league for 14- to 18-year-olds with another Indian conglomerate, Mahindra Group.

"There is a large untapped opportunity for sports in India, particularly for basketball," NBA International president Heidi Ueberroth said in an email. "The investments being made by Reliance and IMG will accelerate the growth of basketball and affirm its potential in India."

NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver told Reuters in March that basketball participation and interest in India is growing, and there may be an opportunity to create a league sooner rather than later.

Forstmann acknowledged India currently lacks many arenas that could accommodate pro basketball teams, but said IMG does not want to miss out in a country where the number of Indian middle-class households is expected to surge fourfold between 2008 and 2030 to 147 million according to a McKinsey Global Institute report.

In addition, IMG Reliance is moving ahead with plans to open at least one sports academy to train Indians in such sports as golf, tennis, basketball and soccer, as well as position the country to win more medals in the Olympic games.

Source : Reuters

Gold hits record as investors seek alternate asset

Gold rallied on Friday to an all-time record above $1,260 an ounce, as investors looked to precious metals for an alternative to equity or debt investments given renewed uncertainty about the economic recovery.

Several surprisingly weak U.S. economic readings released a day earlier renewed investors worries, driving them to seek the safety of a tangible asset like gold.

Spot gold hit an all-time high of $1,261.90 an ounce, but was bid at $1,256.65 an ounce at 3:20 p.m. EDT (1920 GMT), against $1,243.40 late on Thursday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery also climbed to a record at $1,263.70, and settled up $9.60 at $1,258.30, its highest ever close.

"I think it is a case of gold's ability to compete with both credit and equity markets for investments. Competing with credit markets has been in play for a long time, because of low interest rates and low opportunity cost of holding gold," said Tom Pawlicki, precious metals analyst at MF GLOBAL in Chicago.

"The data yesterday from initial claims and Philadelphia Fed was another thing indicating to investors that the economic recovery will be subpar compared with other recession recoveries. That makes gold more attractive," he added.

The precious metal has risen nearly 15 percent since the end of 2009, fueled by sovereign risk in the euro zone, historically low interest rates, and concern over the stability of paper currencies.

"Sovereign debt worries, central banks raising their holdings and record low interest rates keep attracting new buyers to gold," said Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen.

"The Goldilocks scenario continues. Risk-off helps gold through safe haven (buying), risk-on helps it as well through a weaker dollar."

The euro, along with gold, was strengthened as well by the U.S. Philadelphia Federal Reserve's plummeting June factory index and a rise in first-time filings by unemployed U.S. workers last week, which pushed U.S. Treasury yields to their lowest in a week.

The dollar's decline to three-week lows against the euro, headed for its best weekly gain in over a year as European leaders said they would publish details about the health of European banks.
Lingering fears over European sovereign debt levels are also burnishing the metal's safe-haven appeal.

"We expect gold to continue to perform well given continued fiscal/debt challenges in Europe and the potential for this to spread to other regions," Deutsche Bank said in a note.

For a graphic:http://bit.ly/c9su09

SPDR ETF HITS RECORD

Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust, hit record highs at 1,307.963 tonnes on Thursday as investors continued to turn to physical bullion as a haven from risk.

For a graphic:http://bit.ly/d2GNmV

For a graphic: http://bit.ly/aR7lNR

Silver tracked gold higher to a four-week peak of $19.24 an ounce. Late in the session it pulled off the highs to trade around $19.16 an ounce against $18.67 late Thursday, slightly outperforming the yellow metal.

Some investors said silver had lately underperformed gold's gains and was due for a greater percentage rise.

The gold:silver ratio fell to its lowest since late May on a day-to-day basis, with one ounce of gold now buying 66 ounces of silver. The silver market, smaller and less liquid than gold, tends generally to outperform when prices are rising.

"If both gold and silver continue to improve, we expect silver to outperform, thus moving the gold-silver ratio lower," said ScotiaMocatta in a note.

Platinum advanced to $1,588 an ounce from $1,574, and palladium was higher at $487 than $479.50 late Thursday. Both hit a one-month highs during the session.
The world's biggest palladium producer, Norilsk Nickel, said it had received an offer for some of its Australian assets, and that it planned to proceed with plans todivest them.
Prices at 3:32 p.m. CDT (2016 GMT)

Source: Reuters