Every Tuesday afternoon we publish a collection of topics and give our expert opinion about the Equity Markets.
Following on from the fairly significant pullback in Gold, we will take a brief look at silver pricing and also the silver vs gold ratio, but the main focus will be on ASX-listed ETFs with full or partial exposure to silver metal or silver-related listed equities. In the non-metal ETFs, they offer a different and, in some cases, less risky exposure given their investment in multiple listed companies both here and overseas.
Silver has pulled back slightly less than gold and the gold vs silver ratio has fallen marginally from 84.10 to 82.00 and silver made new all-time highs, signalling the start of a potential long-term upward trend. From a technical perspective, a short-term pullback to fill the price gap near $40.00 is possible in November before the next leg higher.
There are several influencing factors, including potential Fed rate cuts, persistent inflation, geopolitical tensions in Gaza, and frequent changes in global trade negotiations.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are quite a useful tool to use to get exposure to the metal itself without owning it or multiple listed mining companies – there are a number of ASX-listed ETFs that have more or less exposure to silver.
EFT code ETPMAG vs Silver Mining ETFs – What’s the better choice?
*EPTMAG - GLOBAL X PHYSICAL SILVER - ASX: EPTMAG
Provides pure exposure to the Australian dollar silver price. ETFs that contain silver miners may reflect movements in the silver price, but the stocks may move on company-specific news like earnings and production results.
EPTMAG has a low correlation with Australian and US stocks. It has a fairly strong correlation with the gold price.
EPTMAG offers investors a focused and liquid way to invest in silver without taking on storage costs. While it may add diversification to a portfolio, investors will be exposed to movements in the Australian dollar and the related price of the metal. The fund does not pay any distributions, unlike mining stocks or mining ETFs.
This ETF is backed by physical silver but avoids the need for investors to store their bullion. Each physical bar is segregated, individually identified, and allocated. The latest bar list shows that the fund holds more than 14,000 bars of silver in London. Bar lists are audited. The largest, standard size for institutional trading is the 1,000-ounce London Good Delivery bar, which is the benchmark for the international silver trade. That is currently worth A$71,860. The value of the fund is A$1.05b.
Take a look at other ASX ETFs to see what the various holdings are and the proportion of silver held.
*ETPMTM – GLOBAL X PRECIOUS METAL BASKET STRUCTURED – ASX: ETPMTM
Different structure with the following allocation of metals:
Gold – 61.5%
Silver – 22.3%
Platinum – 6.3%
Palladium – 9.9%
*Both of the above ETFs have zero currency hedging, so there is risk and more specifically, of a rising A$.
Now take a look at some mining company ETFs.
ETF GDX – VANECK GOLD MINERS ETF – ASX: GDX
The reason for “gold” in the title is that the silver component is derived from the mining of gold, as is often the case. The majority of the holdings are large overseas mining companies that produce gold and silver. From Australia, Northern Star is included, one of our leading gold mining companies. Silver is largely produced as a by-product of other metal-mining processes (e.g. copper, zinc, and lead) – circa 72%. Primary silver mining is relatively small, but bear in mind that modern exploration technology can identify new mineralisation opportunities using data.
The 52-week price range has been A$54.06 low and $132.76 high. Current price A$107.55, which is about a 19% pullback from the high on 17th October 2025.
Does pays a small dividend, which is 30% franked.
ETF MVR – VANECK AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES ETF – ASX: MVR
Offers access to a diversified portfolio of mining stocks, some of which produce silver. BHP, the second largest holding, is better known for iron ore and copper, but it produces silver from its copper operations in South America and South Australia at its Carapateena, Olympic Dam and Prominent Hill locations. The portfolio also contains South 32, which operates the Cannnington mine in N West QLD, one of the world’s largest producers of silver and lead.
Price volatility has been relatively absent, even during the recent pullbacks in gold and silver.
Pays a dividend twice a year.
ETF MNRS – BETASHARES GOLD MINERS CURRENCY HEEGED ETF – ASX: MNRS
This tracks the performance of an index that compromises the largest non-Australian global gold mining companies hedged into Australian dollars. Only about 7.3% of the portfolio is exposed to silver. It also offers exposure to precious metal streaming companies that buy some or all of a mining company's production at a predetermined discounted price and provide upfront financing to get to the point of production.
Has had a sizeable pullback of about 20%.
ETF MET – BETASHARES ENERGY TRANSITION METALS ETF – ASX: XMET
Exposure to global producers of copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, manganese, and silver. The top stock is MAG Silver Corp, which had a 44% stake in the Juanicipio silver mine in Mexico. Pan American Silver launched a US$2.1 bid for MAG Silver, which was completed in September 2025. Pursuant to the terms of the Transaction, MAG shareholders received an aggregate of US$500 million in cash and approximately 60.2 million Pan American Shares in consideration for their MAG Shares. MAG received the PAS shares at $20.54, which currently trade at $35.24. Had a pullback of about 17% from recent highs and is a fairly small fund of about A$40m.
The above provides an overview of ETFs in the silver sector and some options to diversify investment in silver metal, mining stocks, and other related investments.
We will be looking at volatility and price action in gold and silver on an ongoing basis.
We offer value-rich content to our BPC community of subscribers. If you're interested in the stock market, you will enjoy our exclusive mailing lists focused on all aspects of the market.
To receive our exclusive E-Newsletter, subscribe to 'As Barclay Sees It' now.
