Traditionally, silver has been one of the best forms of household investment. And more than an investment tool, silver enjoys being an auspicious gift item and has carried on the culture for quite a long. Be it on the occasion of the birth of a child, getting a new job, buying a new car/home, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, or Dhanteras, gifting silver never goes out of fashion.
As far as Investment is concerned, the whole world is chasing Gold and if you are wondering which investment will give you the highest return – Gold, Real Estate, or something else then here is food for thought – Silver has outperformed Gold in 2010, 2011 and matches the appreciation of Gold in 2012. This quick comparison of Gold and Silver will show how silver has done well in the last three years in comparison to Gold –
Silver has been regarded as a form of money for more than 4,000 years. Investment in Silver can be very lucrative and the cost is cheaper than gold. The price of silver had gone up to as high as Rs 65,475/kg in September 2012. Thus, you can easily invest in Silver without too much hassle and take full advantage of the price rise over the years. During the “great commodity race,” the main competitor for the silver investment dollar is gold.
Latest ways of Investing in Silver
Physical Silver is the traditional method of purchasing silver. However, there is a practical concern in buying physical silver and why most people do not prefer the same. The issues with silver in a physical state are:
1. It can be stolen so one has to keep it safely
2. You have to pay to make charges (even if you buy a coin)
3. Cannot be traded freely and conveniently. There are not many places where one can easily offload physical silver.
4. Many people in India get skeptical when it comes to selling physical silver and gold. It is considered an asset for life that has to be passed on to heirs and not sold.
Hence, if you want to invest in silver then it makes the most sense to avail the non-physical forms of silver. These three easy ways to invest in silver are:
1. e-Silver
National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) has started a new way to trade in e-Gold and e-Silver by simply purchasing the same in Demat form. In this form, retail investors can buy a minimum of 1 unit of gold equivalent to 1 gram of gold, and 1 unit of silver equivalent to 100 grams of silver in Demat form at real-time Indian prices, which tracks the international gold and silver prices. You can open your account with one of their Depository Participants and purchase an e-silver in Demat form.
2. Commodity Futures
You can trade in Commodity Futures for Silver in exchanges like MCX and NCDEX by potentially taking a position in silver by trading on its futures and trading on the same lines. Derivatives, such as silver futures and options, currently trade on various exchanges around the world.
3. Silver Exchange Traded Funds
Since there are no Silver ETFs in India, you can purchase the same from International markets. You can ask your broker to enable overseas trading for you after which you can buy and sell selected securities that trade in the US from your trading account.
So now you know that there are other ways in which you can invest in silver. Silver is an attractive safe haven for investors due to several reasons. Silver is in significant demand across sectors such as jewelry, medicine, coinage, photography & electronics, mirrors & optics, and other industrial applications. Companies incorporate silver-based products in clothing, refrigerators, mobile phones, computers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, keyboards, and much more.
We hope that your investment portfolio also has a silver lining in it!
