Recently, silver has been really hot, and I saw that the silver price broke through the $95 mark earlier this year, hitting a record high. To be honest, this rally has indeed exceeded many people's expectations, with nearly a 150% increase throughout 2025. Since entering this year, the upward momentum has continued, far outperforming gold.

Interestingly, many retail investors have started paying attention to silver ETFs as an investment channel. I understand why, because compared to the hassle of physical silver—storage fees, insurance costs, authenticity verification, poor liquidity—silver ETFs are definitely more convenient. Buying and selling is like trading stocks, with the ability to enter and exit anytime, and there's no need to worry about physical custody.

Regarding choices of silver ETFs, there are indeed quite a few options on the market. For example, SLV, the most well-known globally, managed by BlackRock, with over $30 billion in assets, mainly holding physical silver. There are also futures-tracking ETFs like DBS, leveraged ETFs like AGQ, inverse leveraged ETFs like ZSL, and closed-end funds like PSLV that can redeem physical silver. In Taiwan, there's also the Silver Bullion ETF from Taifex.

However, I must say, when choosing silver ETFs, you need to be clear because different products operate very differently. Some hold physical silver directly, others track futures contracts, and their fees vary. SLV has the lowest fee at just 0.5%, but leveraged ETFs like AGQ and ZSL have slightly higher fees and are not suitable for long-term holding—more appropriate for short-term trading.

For Taiwanese investors, there are mainly two ways to get involved. One is through domestic broker-dealer agency trading, which is the most common method—safe, with convenient tax handling, but with higher transaction fees. The other is to open an overseas broker account directly, which has lower costs and more target options, but requires handling remittances and tax issues yourself.

Speaking of taxes, if you buy Taiwan-listed silver ETFs, you only pay 0.1% tax upon selling. But if you buy U.S. silver ETFs, you need to include overseas income, and only pay taxes if your annual overseas income exceeds 1 million NT dollars. You need to think this through carefully.

I looked at a comparison of different investment methods. Silver futures offer the highest returns but also the greatest risk, as leverage amplifies losses. Physical silver bars seem safe but storage costs and liquidity issues are really troublesome. Silver mining stocks are more volatile, but if you’re bullish on silver prices, leverage in mining stocks could bring higher returns. Compared to these, silver ETFs have the advantage of relatively controlled risk, high liquidity, and are especially suitable for beginners or investors with smaller capital.

That said, silver prices are indeed more volatile than gold and stocks, and the risks shouldn’t be underestimated. I saw a flash crash in December that exceeded 11%, causing many to suffer significant losses that day. Also, ETFs tracking silver prices are not perfectly accurate—futures-based ones are affected by margin costs, and long-term returns might be lower than spot prices. Physical ETFs track more closely but have annual fees that gradually eat into your gains.

So, if you want to participate in this silver rush, silver ETFs are definitely a good choice, but you need to do your homework, understand the characteristics of different products, and choose based on your risk tolerance. Most importantly, don’t go all-in; diversify your portfolio, review your positions regularly, so you can participate in this historic silver rally more steadily.