Go for silver – in mining shares or bullion

THERE are two main ways to get exposure to silver. The simplest route is through a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that tracks the price (dollar price) of silver. These are run by the likes of iShares ( part of asset manager BlackRock) and WisdomTree – and can be bought through major online investment platforms.

Alternatively, investors can buy into an investment fund that has exposure to silver – either through holding shares in silver mining companies or through stakes in exchange traded funds tracking the silver price.

Charteris Gold & Precious Metals prefers to hold silver mining companies while Merian Gold & Silver holds a mix of miners and exchange traded funds. Among its top ten holdings are Canadian mining firms Pan American Silver, First Majestic Silver and MAG Silver – as well as a position in fund Sprott Physical Silver that tracks the silver price. Interactive Investor’ s

Dzmitry Lipski and Chelsea’s Juliet Schooling Latter are both supporters of the Merian fund.

Says Lipski: ‘The manager of this fund, Ned Naylor-Leyland, boasts more than two decades’ experience of investing in precious metals.’

Over the past year, the fund has generated a return for investors of 32 per cent. Over the same period, Charteris Gold & Precious Metals has generated gains of 38 per cent.

Charteris also runs a Premium Income fund that has a third of its assets in the shares of mining companies – the likes of London listed Fresnillo and PolyMetal (gold and silver mining companies) and Rio Tinto and BHP (also London listed, but miners of copper and iron ore).

Silver can be bought via commodity dealers such as BullionVault – and stored by the company in its vaults subject to an annual fee of just less than 0.5 per cent (minimum charge of £6.15 a month).

Silver bullion that is vaulted will cost £65.83 for 10 0 grams including