Understand the ownership options
You can invest in precious metals in digital or physical forms.
Digital options
Digital options include:
Precious metals basket funds: These funds offer exposure to multiple metals and broader diversification benefits compared to single-metal funds. Aberdeen Investments has a popular precious metals basket fund with the ticker GLTR. GLTR tracks pricing from the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) for each metal.
Single-metal ETFs: Single-metal ETFs, such as iShares Silver Trust (SLV), are less diversified than basket funds. SLV tracks the performance of the LBMA Silver Price.
Futures contracts: Futures contracts bind you to buy or sell a precious metal under stated terms. These are highly risky because the out-of-pocket cost is small relative to the metals exposure you gain and how much you can lose. Comex, a platform for trading futures contracts, defines separate terms for silver (SI=F), platinum (PL=F), and palladium (PA=F) futures.
Mining stocks. Mining stocks tend to rise faster and fall faster than underlying metal prices. You can opt for a focused miner like Hecla Mining Company (HL) or a diversified operation like Sibanye-Stillwater (SBSW). HL mines silver, and SBSW is a large producer of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold.
Physical options
Physical options for precious metals include jewelry or bullion in the form of bars and coins. If you decide to purchase physical metals, you must arrange for storage, security, and, possibly, insurance.
Simplest method
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