“They could view it as a strategic holding since silver has many of the same properties that makes gold so appealing but it also has many attributes that make it vital for industrial applications that gold does not. It trades at a 60:1ish ratio currently but on an annual basis it is mined at less than 14:1. Additionally, so much of the mined supply goes into industrial applications unlike gold which mainly goes into vaults and jewelry.”
Silver is also a vital input in the solar panel production process. That is a point to note because the performance of the Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSEArca: TAN) dating back to the start of early 2013 indicates, at the very least, solar demand is recovering. [Solar ETF Breaks Out…Again]
SILJ’s top-four holdings are Fortuna Silver Mines (NYSE: FSM), Endeavor Silver (NYSE: EXK), MAG Silver (AMEX: MVG) and Silvercorp Metals (NYSE: SVM). The quartet combines for about 46% of the ETF’s weight.
PureFunds ISE Junior Silver Small Cap Miners/Explorers ETF
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of SLV.