Top Silver ETFs/ETCs
The silver price
Like with gold, an investment in silver is easily done with listed products like ETFs or ETCs. These investment products track the spot silver price closely, after taking management fees into account. Silver has a significantly lower specific weight and features a lower cost per unit than gold. Therefore, an investment via an ETF or ETC, as opposed to owning the precious metal physically, is even more advantageous for silver.
For investors, however, silver is usually only the second choice. This is because silver is less scarce and used much more for industrial purposes, compared to gold. Therefore, the silver price is a lot more sensitive to economic fluctuations and the associated risk is considerably higher than for gold, at times even higher than for shares.
Besides exchange-traded products on silver in US dollar, there are currency-hedged products available as well. These products are also considered in our comparison. Currently, silver is tracked by 7 ETFs and/or ETCs.
The difference between Silver ETFs and Silver ETCs
The diversification principles of the regulatory investment fund framework (UCITS) do not allow to launch a UCITS fund with only one constituent. Due to this fact, silver is mainly available as an exchange-traded commodity (ETC) in European countries. These products are certificates issued by a financial institution collateralised with physical silver. In contrast to the EU, Swiss regulation allows ETFs for single commodities like silver.
Cost of Silver ETFs/ETCs
The total expense ratio (TER) of Silver ETCs is between 0.19% p.a. and 0.75% p.a.. These costs contain insurance premium, storage costs and additional management fees for the product.
The best Silver ETF/ETC by 1-year fund return as of 30.06.24
| 1 | Xtrackers IE Physical Silver ETC Securities | 30.82% | ||
| 2 | Xtrackers Physical Silver ETC (EUR) | 30.53% | ||
| 3 | iShares Physical Silver ETC | 30.35% |
All Silver ETFs/ETCs ranked by fund return
The largest Silver ETF/ETC by fund size in EUR
| 1 | WisdomTree Physical Silver | 1,847 m | ||
| 2 | iShares Physical Silver ETC | 883 m | ||
| 3 | Xtrackers Physical Silver ETC (EUR) | 229 m |
All Silver ETFs/ETCs ranked by fund size
The cheapest Silver ETF/ETC by total expense ratio
| 1 | Invesco Physical Silver | 0.19% p.a. | ||
| 2 | iShares Physical Silver ETC | 0.20% p.a. | ||
| 3 | Xtrackers IE Physical Silver ETC Securities | 0.20% p.a. |
All Silver ETFs/ETCs ranked by total expense ratio
Silver ETFs/ETCs in comparison
Besides return, there are further important factors to consider when selecting a Silver ETF or ETC. In order to provide a sound decision basis, you find a list of all Silver ETFs/ETCs with details on size, cost, age, currency hedge, instrument type and collateral ranked by fund size.
Compare all Silver ETFs/ETCs in detail
Compare all Silver ETFs/ETCs in a chart
| Provider ISIN | Fund size in m EUR | TER in % | Currency hedge | Instrument type | Replication method | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WisdomTree Physical SilverJE00B1VS3333 | 1,847 | 0.49% p.a. | - | ETC | Physically backed | |
| iShares Physical Silver ETCIE00B4NCWG09 | 883 | 0.20% p.a. | - | ETC | Physically backed | |
| Xtrackers Physical Silver ETC (EUR)DE000A1E0HS6 | 229 | 0.40% p.a. | - | ETC | Physically backed | |
| Invesco Physical SilverIE00B43VDT70 | 176 | 0.19% p.a. | - | ETC | Physically backed | |
| Xtrackers Physical Silver EUR Hedged ETCDE000A1EK0J7 | 161 | 0.75% p.a. | Yes (in EUR) | ETC | Physically backed | |
| Xtrackers IE Physical Silver ETC SecuritiesDE000A2T0VS9 | 119 | 0.20% p.a. | - | ETC | Physically backed | |
| Xtrackers IE Physical Silver EUR Hedged ETC SecuritiesDE000A2UDH55 | 31 | 0.73% p.a. | Yes (in EUR) | ETC | Physically backed |
Source: justETF.com; As of 07.07.24
Return comparison of all Silver ETFs/ETCs
The table shows the returns of all Silver ETFs/ETCs in comparison. All return figures are including dividends as of month end. Besides the return the reference date on which you conduct the comparison is important. In order to find the best Silver ETF/ETC, you can also perform a chart comparison.
| ETF/ETC | 1 month in % | 3 months in % | 6 months in % | 1 year in % | 3 years in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xtrackers IE Physical Silver ETC Securities | -5.70% | 18.74% | 27.01% | 30.82% | 25.18% | |
| Xtrackers Physical Silver ETC (EUR) | -5.66% | 18.65% | 26.85% | 30.53% | 24.40% | |
| iShares Physical Silver ETC | -5.81% | 18.90% | 26.81% | 30.35% | 25.29% | |
| Invesco Physical Silver | -5.84% | 18.89% | 26.80% | 30.34% | 25.34% | |
| WisdomTree Physical Silver | -5.85% | 18.83% | 26.61% | 29.95% | 24.23% | |
| Xtrackers Physical Silver EUR Hedged ETC | -6.99% | 17.05% | 21.49% | 24.72% | 2.83% | |
| Xtrackers IE Physical Silver EUR Hedged ETC Securities | -6.96% | 16.95% | 21.27% | 24.26% | 1.56% |
| ETF/ETC | 2024 in % | 2023 in % | 2022 in % | 2021 in % | 2020 in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xtrackers IE Physical Silver ETC Securities | 27.01% | -4.25% | 10.75% | -6.09% | - | |
| Xtrackers Physical Silver ETC (EUR) | 26.85% | -4.46% | 10.55% | -6.25% | 33.75% | |
| iShares Physical Silver ETC | 26.81% | -4.19% | 9.81% | -5.69% | 33.70% | |
| Invesco Physical Silver | 26.80% | -4.19% | 9.81% | -5.68% | 33.76% | |
| WisdomTree Physical Silver | 26.61% | -4.52% | 9.54% | -5.90% | 33.42% | |
| Xtrackers Physical Silver EUR Hedged ETC | 21.49% | -4.32% | 0.86% | -15.23% | 43.28% | |
| Xtrackers IE Physical Silver EUR Hedged ETC Securities | 21.27% | -4.85% | 0.27% | -15.30% | - |
Source: justETF.com; As of 30.06.24; Calculations in EUR including dividends