Overview
- Silver-miner funds led recent gains, with SLVP up 155.9% and SIL up 140% over the past year compared with GLD at 49.92%.
- GLD remains the scale leader at about $156.7 billion in assets, while SLV sits near $35.7 billion and holds roughly 491 million ounces of silver.
- Bullion vehicles like GLD and SLV hold physical metal to track spot prices, whereas SLVP and SIL own baskets of mining companies that can move on earnings, costs, and politics.
- Costs are similar in key pairs, with SLVP at a 0.39% expense ratio versus 0.4% for GLD, so fees are not the main differentiator.
- Risk profiles diverge, as miner ETFs showed deeper five-year drawdowns near 56% versus about 22% for GLD, highlighting bigger swings that can amplify both gains and losses.