Silver ETFs
Silver has been prized since ancient times. Although relatively scarce, it is more abundant than gold or other precious metals. Because of its relative abundance, it is the least expensive of the precious metals. It is sometimes known as “poor-man’s” gold. Nonetheless, like gold, it is considered to be a store of value and a hedge against inflation. Silver is mined in many places, including Australia, the US, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile. It can occur as its own ore, or commingled with gold and other metal ores. Increasingly, much silver comes from recycling of previously manufactured silver-containing products. Because of its strength, malleability, ductility, thermal conductivity and light-reflecting properties, silver has a wide variety of uses: It used to be prominent in coinage. It is especially prized for jewelry and art. But it is also used in the manufacture of silverware, photography products, and in the medical field. In fact, some ancient cultures believed that silver had direct medicinal qualities. There are several silver or silver-related ETFs available. IShares Silver Trust (SLV) invests in silver bullion. Powershares DB Silver Fund (DBS) tracks the price of silver by investing in an index of silver futures contracts. E-TRACS CMCI Silver Total Return (USV) is an ETN that seeks to follow the Bloomberg CMCI silver total return index. ETFS Physical Silver Shares (SIVR) attempts to track the spot silver price. There are also double long and short silver ETFs. For those contemplating options trading, SLV, DBS, and SIVR have listed options in $1 increments. Therefore these three may make useful cash-secured put and covered-call candidates. Although silver is highly correlated with gold, it tends to be even more volatile. When gold prices are rising, silver prices tend to rise faster. (Of course the opposite is true as well when prices drop.) This could make for relatively richer premiums on silver versus gold ETFs. Silver funds, by their very nature, are not diversified instruments. Keep this in mind when crafting your trading plan. Always stress prudence in constructing your plan. To increase your knowledge about silver bullion itself and its uses please visit
Only-Silver-Bullion.
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