#7 - iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV)
Many investors find an exchange-traded fund (ETF) to be a more comfortable way to invest in precious metals like silver. The iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA: SLV) is one of the most popular silver ETFs, designed to track the price of silver while eliminating concerns related to security, storage, and liquidity that come with holding physical silver coins or bars. Since SLV is backed by physical silver held in trust, it offers direct exposure to silver’s price movements while benefiting from the convenience of a stock-like investment.
SLV is 100% invested in silver, meaning its performance closely follows the metal’s price, though it typically trades slightly below the spot price of silver due to management fees. SLV has $13.84 billion in AUM and an expense ratio of 0.5%.
About iShares Silver Trust
iShares Silver Trust (the Trust) owns silver transferred to the Trust in exchange for shares issued by the Trust. The Trust's each share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in its net assets. The assets of the Trust consist of silver held by the Trust's custodian on behalf of the Trust.
More about iShares Silver Trust- Current Price
- $29.11
- Asset Class
- Commodities
- Fund AUM
- $13.84 billion
- Expense Ratio
- 0.50%
- 6-Month Performance
- 12.22%
- 1-Year Performance
- 30.95%
Investing in silver comes with known risks that can be hard to predict or time. These include geopolitical risks in the countries where silver is mined. The price of silver is also affected by the overall economic outlook. For example, rising interest rates are generally bearish for metals.
But lower interest rates—often linked to inflation—and a weaker dollar can make silver more appealing to investors. The strongest case for higher silver prices lies in its industrial demand. Silver is the best electrical and thermal conductor of all metals, which makes it highly valued for electrical applications. This is especially evident in the electric vehicle and solar energy markets today, and it will be an essential part of the clean energy story for years to come.
As you can see, there are different ways to gain exposure to silver. MarketBeat keeps a list of the top gold stocks by market capitalization. Since many miners extract silver as well as gold, this list also gives you access to some of the best silver investments.
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