Top Canadian Silver ETFs

To gain exposure to silver, investors have traditionally turned to physical bullion such as coins, bars, or certificates of ownership. While these options offer direct ownership, they come with added responsibilities like secure storage, insurance, and higher transaction costs.

In 2025, silver exchange-traded fund (ETF) continue to offer a more accessible and cost-effective alternative. These funds provide instant diversification and liquidity, allowing investors to track the price of silver without physically holding the metal. Many silver ETFs are eligible to be held in registered accounts like a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) or Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), making them a tax-efficient choice for Canadians looking to add precious metals to their portfolios.

Whether you’re hedging against inflation, diversifying your holdings, or seeking exposure to industrial demand for silver, ETFs are a practical entry point. If you’re looking to learn all there is to know about silver ETFs in 2025, this article is for you.

What is a silver ETF?

A silver ETF is basically a fund that holds an underlying “basket” of silver. The “exchange-traded” aspect of silver ETFs means that their shares trade throughout the day on exchanges, like stocks do with their own ticker symbol.

As a product, silver ETFs have some unique features that new investors should understand:

• Holdings: Silver ETFs can gain exposure to the price of silver in two ways: physically via audited vaults of actual bullion, or synthetically via silver futures contracts. The former tends to have lower costs and track the spot, or actual price, of silver better.
• Currency hedging: The price of silver is tracked in U.S. dollars (USD), while Canadian silver ETFs are priced in Canadian dollars (CAD). Therefore, fluctuations in the USD/CAD exchange rate can add additional volatility for non-currency hedged silver ETFs. Currency hedged silver ETFs use derivatives called forwards to mitigate this risk at an extra cost.

Finally, like all ETFs silver ETFs charge fees to their investors. These fees include the fund manager’s management fees and any operational, administrative, and marketing expenses. These are combined to form the ETF’s management expense ratio, or MER.

The MER is expressed as a percentage fee deducted from your total investment on an annual basis. For example, someone who invests $10,000 in a silver ETF with a 0.50% MER can expect to pay $50 in annual fees. Keeping this as low as possible is always a good idea.

Top silver ETFs in Canada

The following Canadian-listed ETFs provide exposure to silver, either via physically backed bullion or synthetic exposure, using futures contracts.

Sprott Physical Silver Trust (TSX: PSLV)

PSLV is technically a close-ended trust and not a true ETF. This means that depending on supply and demand, PSLV’s share price can occasionally trade at a discount or premium to its net asset value, or NAV.¹ That being said, PSLV trades like any other ETF on exchanges with high liquidity. The trust holds fully allocated silver bullion with the Royal Canadian mint, which investors can redeem shares for in sufficient amounts.

iShares Silver Bullion ETF (TSX: SVR)

SVR offers investors exposure to 77.95 tonnes, or 2,506,124 ounces, of silver bullion in trust as of February 24, 2023. The ETF is currency hedged, and also offers a non-currency hedged version (SVR.C).

Horizons Silver ETF (TSX: HUZ)

HUZ provides investors with synthetic exposure to silver via futures contracts. The ETF tracks the Solactive Silver Front Month MD Rolling Futures Index. In addition, HUZ is currency hedged.

Pros of investing in silver ETFs

Silver ETFs may be a good addition to an investment portfolio due to the following:

1. Tax Efficiency: Silver ETFs can be held in tax-advantaged accounts like a TFSA or RRSP, unlike physical bullion. This allows investors to grow gains tax-free or tax-deferred, depending on the account type, making it a more efficient way to gain silver exposure in Canada.
2. Liquidity: Silver ETFs trade on major stock exchanges, offering instant buy and sell capabilities during market hours. This is a major advantage over physical silver, which often requires time-consuming and costly liquidation through dealers.
3. Lower Cost: While ETFs charge a management expense ratio (MER), these costs are often lower than the fees associated with storing, insuring, and securing physical silver. Many silver ETFs also avoid the wide bid-ask spreads that come with physical coin or bar transactions.
4. Convenience: Investors don’t need to worry about physical storage or authenticity verification. ETFs simplify ownership by offering silver exposure through a brokerage account, just like a stock.

Cons of investing in silver ETFs

That being said, there are a few reasons why silver ETFs may not be ideal for all investors:

1. Unreliable Inflation Hedging: While silver is often marketed as a hedge against inflation², research suggests its correlation with inflation is inconsistent over long periods. Investors looking for dependable protection against purchasing power erosion may find gold or Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) more reliable.
2. Less Effective Diversification than Gold: Silver does offer diversification benefits³ due to its low correlation with traditional equities and fixed income, but these correlations are not as weak as gold’s. As a result, gold often plays a more prominent role in portfolios designed to weather economic shocks.
3. High Volatility: Silver prices are known for their extreme swings, often showing two to three times more daily volatility than gold.⁴ This can lead to significant short-term losses and makes silver ETFs less suitable for conservative or income-focused investors.
4. No Physical Ownership: With silver ETFs, investors don’t actually own the metal. This eliminates the potential premium of collectible bullion and may be a downside for those seeking tangible assets in times of systemic financial risk.

Are silver ETFs right for you?

Silver ETFs should be considered an advanced investment best suited for high-risk tolerance investors with specific goals. If you’re wiling to accept high volatility, then a silver ETF could be a good way to speculate on the price of silver. If you’re planning to hold silver long term and looking for a tax-efficient and liquid way to invest, then silver ETFs might be a suitable alternative to bullion. Keep in mind that silver ETFs tend to have higher MERs than regular stock and bond index ETFs.

If you want to check out other ways to invest in silver, consider reading our Guide to Investing in Canadian Silver Stocks.

FAQs

Is silver ETF better than gold ETF?

Silver ETFs tend to be more volatile than gold ETFs due to silver’s dual role as both a precious and industrial metal. While silver may offer higher upside in bullish markets, gold ETFs are generally more stable and preferred for diversification and inflation hedging.

Is it better to buy silver or silver ETF?

Silver ETFs are typically more liquid, convenient, and cost-effective than buying physical silver, especially for registered investment accounts. Physical silver, however, may appeal to investors seeking direct ownership or protection against systemic financial risks.