Gold ETF – Gold ETF Funds

Silver ETFs are growing in popularity due to the increasing demand for silver among investors. Silver demand has grown for many of the same reasons that have driven gold prices higher in the 21st century. It is looked at by some as a hedge against a falling dollar, others see it as a safe place to store wealth, and by others as an industrial metal with growing demand. So naturally traders and investors are looking for an easy and convenient way to trade the precious metal known as “poor man’s gold”. For many investors a silver ETF will fill the bill quite nicely.

Silver ETFs can eliminate a lot of the problems associated with owning large amounts of silver. Where to buy silver, where to sell it, and how to store silver safely and securely, can be a hassle. If you imagine needing to move or sell a vault full of silver quickly you can see where it might be problematic. A silver ETF, or a gold ETF for that matter, can be traded as fast and as safely as any stock.

Silver ETFs are made to follow the price of silver and do this in a couple of different ways. Either the ETF will physically own silver and store the metal in a secure vault or will use financial instruments, like futures contracts, to track the silver price. Read the prospectus of any fund you are considering investing in to learn how they track the price, the style and objective of the ETF can effect your trading strategy significantly.

Some silver ETFs you might want to further investigate:

The iShares Silver Trust Fund - Ticker symbol SLV – The objective of this ETF is to reflect the value of the silver they minus expenses and liabilities. This ETF holds physical silver and they issue shares representing fractional interests in its assets. At the time of this writing BlackRock Asset management was the sponsor of the fund, the Bank of New York Mellon was the trustee of the trust, and the London branch of J.P. Morgan Chase was the custodian of the fund. Trades on the New York Stock Exchange.

ETF Securities Silver Trust - Ticker symbol SIVR – As the name suggests this fund holds physical silver and issues shares based on its assets. This ETF attempts to reflect the silver spot price. The sponsor of the fund is ETF Securities, the trustee is the Bank of New York Mellon, and the custodian of the silver is HSBC Bank USA.

PowerShares DB Silver Fund - Ticker symbol DBS – Based on the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index – Optimum Yield Silver Excess Return and managed by DB Commodity Services LLC. This fund attempts to reflect the price of silver through the use of futures contracts and trades on the New York Stock Exchange.

ProShares Ultra Silver ETF - Ticker symbol AGQ – Seeks daily investment results that correspond to double the price of silver bullion, as measured by the U.S. Dollar fixing price for delivery in London. Uses financial instruments, like forward contracts, futures contracts, option contracts, and swap agreements to get its results. Can be extremely lucrative, or destructive to your portfolio if on the wrong side of the trade, use with caution. Really designed for day and short term trading.

UltraShort Silver ETF - Ticker symbol ZSL – Opposite of AGQ, this ETF seeks daily investment results that match twice the inverse of the performance of silver bullion, as measured by the U.S. Dollar fixing price for delivery in London. Uses various financial instruments to get its results. Designed for short term holding and can be painful if you are on the wrong side of the trade.