How To Invest In Silver: 5 Ways To Buy And Sell It

Coins or bullion

Owning physical silver, either as coins or bullion, is a psychologically and emotionally satisfying way to invest in silver. You have possession of it and can use it, if necessary. And in some cases, it’s actually relatively easy to access. For example, U.S. coins made before 1964 contain about 90 percent silver, and you can purchase them at the value of their silver content.

Silver futures

Silver futures are an easy way to wager on the rising or falling price of silver without any of the hassles of owning physical silver. You could even take physical delivery of the silver, though that’s not the typical motivation of those speculating in the futures markets.

ETFs that own silver

If you don’t want to own physical silver directly but also want a lower-risk method than futures, you can buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that owns physical silver. You’ll have the potential reward for owning silver if the price rises, but fewer risks such as theft. An ETF that owns physical silver will deliver the return of silver prices minus the ETF’s expense ratio.

Silver mining stocks

You can also take advantage of a rising silver market by owning the stocks of companies that mine the metal. By owning a miner you can benefit in two ways. First, if the price of silver rises, the company’s earnings should rise along with it. In fact, silver miners’ profits will rise faster than the price of silver, all else equal. Second, the miner can raise production over time, also increasing its profits. That’s an extra way to win with silver, over and above just betting on the price itself.

ETFs that own silver miners

If you’re not looking to do a lot of analysis on silver miners but still want the advantages of owning a mining company, you can turn to an ETF that owns silver miners. You’ll get diversified exposure to miners and lower risk than owning one or two individual mining stocks. Three ETFs are classified as silver miners, according to ETF Database: Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL), iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners ETF (SLVP) and Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF (SILJ).