Precious Metals ETFs: Gold, Silver, Platinum

Precious metals ETFs provide exposure to metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium without the need to store or insure physical metal.

They offer inflation protection, safe-haven status during crises, portfolio diversification, and a hedge against currency debasement.

GLD is the world’s largest gold ETF, holding over $60B in physical gold stored in London vaults, and has been an industry standard since 2004.

IAU is iShares’ gold ETF, offering lower per-share prices and a competitive expense ratio, ideal for regular purchases.

SLV is the largest silver ETF with $12B in physical silver. Silver has both precious metal and industrial demand, including use in solar panels, electronics, and EVs.

PPLT — abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF — provides exposure to physical platinum used in catalytic converters, jewelry, and fuel cells.

PALL — abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF — offers physical palladium exposure, the rarest of the four precious metals, primarily used in catalytic converters.

Gold ETFs act as inflation hedges, safe havens during economic uncertainty, and provide diversification with low correlation to stocks.

Silver combines precious metal demand with industrial applications, making it a versatile hedge and growth play.

Platinum is an industrial and precious metal used in automotive catalytic converters, jewelry, and hydrogen fuel cells, supporting long-term demand.

Palladium is rare and industrially critical, mainly in catalytic converters, providing scarcity-driven investment appeal.

Metal prices can be volatile, influenced by industrial demand, central bank buying, currency fluctuations, and global economic conditions.

These ETFs hold physical bullion in secure vaults. Shares represent ownership of a portion of the metal, eliminating storage or insurance concerns for investors.

No, ETFs holding physical metals generally do not pay dividends; returns come from price appreciation of the underlying metal.

Historically, metals like gold and platinum preserve purchasing power during periods of rising prices, acting as an inflation hedge.

Yes, precious metals often have low correlation with equities and bonds, reducing overall portfolio volatility.

PPLT — abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF, for exposure to industrial and precious platinum.

PALL — abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF, providing exposure to rare palladium used in catalytic converters.

Record-level central bank purchases increase demand and can support higher prices for gold, platinum, and palladium ETFs.

Yes, though their primary use is as a long-term hedge; short-term trading is possible based on price volatility.