Exchange traded funds backed by physical holdings of gold have been under ample, well-documented pressure this year.
Off 11.1% over the past three months, the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) has seen its bullion holdings dwindle to the lowest levels in six years. Since the start of the current quarter, investors have yanked more than $1.7 billion from GLD, the world’s largest gold ETF. [October was Mean to Gold ETFs]
But even with gold’s woes, some investors have stuck by silver and the related ETFs. Not that they have been rewarded for their faith. Over the past 90 days, the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV) and the ETFS Physical Silver Shares (NYSEArca: SIVR) have tumbled more than 21%. Last month, a period that was particularly brutal to gold, silver ETFs were found notching a series of 52-week lows as October drew to a close. [Bad Things for Silver ETFs]
Thing is investors have remained loyal to silver ETFs. SLV’s silver holdings, currently 345 million ounces of the white metal, rest at a three and a half year high, reports Tatyana Shumsky for the Wall Street Journal.
Part of the reason for that scenario is smaller investors favor silver due to the metal’s low price tag relative to gold. Investors managing $100 million or more own about 15% of SLV’s outstanding shares, but smaller advisors and investors make up the bulk of the ETF’s remaining holders, according to the Journal.
Year-to-date, SLV and SIVR have added over $511 million in new assets on a combined basis while GLD has bled $2.7 billion. [Investors Sticking With Silver ETFs]