7 Biggest Silver ETFs in 2023

Total assets: US$11.68 billion

As the iShares Silver Trust’s website warns, it is not your standard ETF. Why? Put simply, the iShares Silver Trust is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, or a commodity pool under the Commodity Exchange Act. Further, its ETF shares aren’t subject to the regulatory requirements that apply to mutual funds.

Investors who are not put off by those conditions may find the iShares Silver Trust appealing. It uses the London Bullion Market Association silver price as its benchmark and holds silver bullion — 468,264,296.7 ounces as of the date noted above, to be exact. Over the past five years, it has achieved an average annual return of 7.43 percent for its investors.

Total assets: US$1.16 billion

The Aberdeen Standard Physical Silver Shares ETF is also not a typical ETF and is very similar to the iShares Silver Trust. It's geared at investors who want to hold physical ounces of silver. The investment objective of the Aberdeen Standard Physical Silver Shares ETF is for its shares to reflect the performance of the silver price less the expenses of the trust's operations.

The fund's silver metal is held with JPMorgan Chase Bank in London in a secured vault. This ETF reportedly has a good record for correctly tracking the spot price of silver. Its five year average annual return comes in at 8.17 percent.

The Aberdeen Standard Physical Silver Shares ETF's net asset value is determined by taking the silver ounce price as set by the London Bullion Market Association at approximately 12:00 p.m. London time (GMT) and dividing it by the number of shares outstanding for the fund at 4:00 p.m. New York time (EST) each trading day.

Total assets: US$430.82 million

Set up in December 2008 by ProShares, the ProShares Ultra Silver ETF offers twice the daily long leverage to silver bullion.

The fund uses derivatives such as futures contracts to invest in silver. ETF Database suggests it may be "a powerful tool for investors with a bullish short-term outlook for silver." The ProShares Ultra Silver ETF has the highest expense ratio by far of the four silver-backed ETFs at 1.5 percent.

Total assets: US$43.33 million

Alongside the creation of the ProShares Ultra Silver ETF in late 2008, ProShares launched its UltraShort Silver ETF.

ETF Database emphasizes that this fund can be a “very powerful tool for hedging silver exposure or simply for speculating on a decline in value,” but only for seasoned investors who have a high risk-tolerance; it shouldn’t be included in a long-term, buy-and-hold portfolio. The ProShares UltraShort Silver ETF has a lower expense ratio than its ProShares Ultra Silver ETF counterpart, coming in at 0.95 percent.

Total assets: US$1.02 billion

The Global X Silver Miners ETF gives investors access to a basket of silver-mining stocks. The ETF benefits from the fact that those companies can enjoy quick gains when the price of the metal is rising. It also allows investors to avoid the risks associated with individual companies and lets them add geographical diversity to their portfolios.

This ETF has an expense ratio of 0.65 percent, and its top holdings include streaming company Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM,NYSE:WPM) at a weight of 28.59 percent, Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NASDAQ:PAAS) at a weight of 8.55 percent and First Majestic Silver (TSX:FR,NYSE:AG) at 3.43 percent.

Total assets: US$721.89 million

The ETFMG Prime Junior Silver ETF bills itself as the "first and only ETF to target small cap silver miners." The index provides a benchmark for investors to track public small-cap companies in the silver space.

The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.69 percent and its holdings span Canada, the US and the UK, with key silver companies such as First Majestic at a weight of 13.02 percent, MAG Silver (TSX:MAG,NYSE:A) weighted at 10.24 percent and Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) at 6.02 percent.

Total assets: US$198.14 million

The iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners ETF tracks an index composed of global equities of companies primarily engaged in silver exploration or metals mining; however, it skews toward Canadian mining stocks. The ETF has the lowest expense ratio of the three ETFs focused on silver stocks at 0.39 percent.

Holdings for the iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners ETF include Pan American Silver at a weight of 23.8 percent, Hecla Mining at 13.54 percent and Newmont (TSX:NGT,NYSE:NEM) at 3.8 percent.