Yesterday I wrote about buying gold coins, and received an email from a reader asking whether there is any way of investing in silver without buying physical silver – like a silver ETF or a silver mutual fund.
I know there are plenty of silver ETFs in the US, and I have even created a list of silver ETFs in the past, but I was not aware of any silver ETFs available to Indian investors.
I dug up a little and found that although Benchmark funds had filed a prospectus for a silver ETF in 2008 – that fund never actually came to existence. A quick glance of the prospectus shows that even this ETF didn’t actually plan to buy physical silver, but invest in other overseas ETFs or mutual funds that were invested in silver. So, in that sense – it would not have been a very direct way of investing in silver.
I couldn’t find any mutual fund that invests in silver either, and I believe that there is no silver ETF or silver mutual fund in India at this time.
If you are interested in silver, then right now the best bet for you is buying physical silver, although storage of physical silver might become an issue as your holdings grow.
The next best option is probably engaging in commodity trading and trade silver, but this is not something I have done personally, and I have no knowledge of it.
If any of you know a good way to take a position in silver – please do share with the rest of the community here.
Image by Tim Ellis
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I forgot to mention that for those who live in Delhi like I do, you can also buy from a reputed jeweller in Chandni Chowk. There are two roads famous for jewelry shops in Chandni Chowk, one is Dariba Kalan, and another is Kucha Mahajani. I only somewhat trust the dealer/shop called Jalan Jewelers on Kucha Mahajani. Jalan Jewelers is at number 6 in the Hallmark List here: http://www.bis.org.in/cert/hallmarkass.htm . Also, they are approved refiner as per IBMA’s website. Based on what I was told by Jalan Jewelers, they supply in part to MMTC, Muthoot Finance, etc. Their premium is about 10%
If you want trust and brand, then MMTC is also good. They charge 35% premium, which is more than what Karur Vyasya Bank charges, yet Karur’s silver is 9999 while MMTC is 999, and I feel Karur’s silver is more aesthetically pleasing than MMTC. Also Muthoot Finance sells silver, but the quality is similar to Jalan Jewelers.
So obviously for those who want to buy physical silver in their possession, Karur Vyasa Bank is the best option. For those in Delhi, Jalan Jewelers is the second option if wanting to save on premium.
In South India, especial Chennai, MNC Bullion is a good option. http://mncbullion.com/
In Mumbai and some other cities, RSBL is probable a great option. http://www.rsbl.co.in/
Karur Vysya Bank is also selling 50 gram & 100 gram silver bars imported from PAMP refinery in Switzerland. Check their website for more details. I have bought a couple of times and they are probably the best place to buy from in India right now. The premium over international market spot rate turned out to be 30%, which is very high, but compared to HDFC Bank which charges 50%-60%, Karur’s rate is much better. I think the 50 gram silver bar from Karur comes with a Lakshmi emboss, so if you don’t prefer that, make sure to tell the staff before the receipt is made to give without the embossing.
Dhanlakshmi bank is another one that has just recently started selling 50 gram & 100 gram silver bars. I bought one 50 gram bar, and BELIEVE ME it sucks aesthetically. Their rate is even worse than HDFC’s. Dhanlakshmi didn’t even make an invoice. The look of their silver bar makes me wonder why I paid that much premium. While I intend to buy one 50 gram silver bar from HDFC, just for collection’s sake, but I think Karur Vysya Bank is probably the best right now.
no, there is no mutual fund of silver as of now. however, for gold, many mutual funds are in the foray. birla mutual fund is planning for silver mutual fund purely to encash this untapped arena.
Hi,
I wanna know is their any mutual fund for silver wherein I could invest by a SIP in silver. Like there are for gold.
No piyush there isn’t any.
i found the following post ver useful.
http://www.onemint.com/2011/01/13/e-gold-and-e-silver-from-nsel/
one needs to open a demat account with National Spot Exchange to buy e-silver, which is available in multiples of 100 grams. rates are very competitive there. buying and selling bid difference is too low. presently rate is quote 5505.80 and 5506.30. so you seel, that margin is maximum 50 paiase only.
silver is going to be great in future. whole world is chasing gold. but in future, charm will be in silver.
am interested in buying silver. but it is not available in the shape of ETF. why dont any mutual fund like kotak, hdfc or icici float a silver ETF scheme. it will be a boon for poor investors.
You might find this silver ETF alternate post useful:
http://www.onemint.com/2010/11/16/silver-etf-alternatives-in-india/
Which way is safe for being gold and silver?
Sorry, but I don’t know the answer to that.
It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs. Out of the brokers listed on the website of national spot exchange, most of the phone nos do not work . Even if one gets thru, they are least interested in opening your account, even after calls or emails.
For retail investor ( individual citizen) life is really tough..
Yes, that’s so true – everything is just so difficult from getting customer support to trying to invest your own money for the common person.
What I’d say is try one of the bigger brokers there like Religare if it’s in your city – you have a better chance of getting some help from them.
Dear Mr Agarwal,
You can contact us in case you need to invest in E-Gold or E-Silver through NSEL. We are registered brokers and have recently started operations. You can chat with us on SKYPE or MSN or GTALK and our id is “mrktgonline”.
Feel free to contact us for any information you need. We will service you.
I want to buy silver certificates in India only. Please let me know the procedure.
What do you mean by a silver certificate?
If it is silver in the electronic format then read these two posts to get an idea of which product is of interest to you.
http://www.onemint.com/2011/01/13/e-gold-and-e-silver-from-nsel/
http://www.onemint.com/2010/11/16/silver-etf-alternatives-in-india/
hii, very helpful site. I needed some info as to where can I buy silver bars in India, can I buy bars from US website n Import them in…
I also wanted to share some info i researched few days back i saw some videos on you-tube which made me look negatively on ETF (like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEfLzZHDtBc , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb1n1X0Oqdw). ETFs may not be backed by any security, they may be just pure papers… Its US it decides how market run in world!!
Most imp keep the info going through these sorts of websites.
Sorry Mohinish – I don’t know of options where you can buy physical silver bars.
See below a sample of what i get when i search for ‘Silver’. I am sure you will find a lot more. See SLV, I Silver Trust etc in the list below.
Regards
5000 oz Silver Future December 2010 /ZIZ0
5000 oz Silver Future December 2012 /ZIZ2
5000 oz Silver Future December 2013 /ZIZ3
5000 oz Silver Future December 2014 /ZIZ4
5000 oz Silver Future January 2011 /ZIF1
5000 oz Silver Future January 2012 /ZIF2 ?????
5000 oz Silver Future July 2011 /ZIN1 ?????
5000 oz Silver Future July 2014 /ZIN4 ?????
5000 oz Silver Future March 2011 /ZIH1 ?????
5000 oz Silver Future May 2011 /ZIK1 ?????
5000 oz Silver Future November 2010 /ZIX0 ?????
5000 oz Silver Future September 2011 /ZIU1 ?????
American Silver Mining Co ASLM OTC
Arian Silver Corporation Ordinary Shares ASLRF OTC
Athena Silver Corporation AHNR OTCBB
Aura Silver Resources Ltd Common Shares AUSVF OTC
Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. Common Sh ASGMF OTCBB
Canyon Silver Mines Inc Unclassified CANY OTC
Columbus Silver Corporation Ordinary Sha CSLVF OTC
Del Toro Silver Corp. DTOR OTCBB
Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Silver In ^DBSLIX AMEX
Dow Jones-UBS Silver Sub-Index 3 Month F ^DJUBSSI3 DOW
Dow Jones-UBS Silver Total Return Sub-In ^DJUBSI3T DOW
Dow Jones-UBS Silver Total Return Sub-In ^DJUBSITR DOW
E-TRACS UBS BLOOMBERG CMCI SILVER ETN USV PSE
ECU Silver Mining, Inc. WT EXP (Canada) ESUMF OTC
ETFS SILVER TRUST SIVR PSE
Ecu Silver Mining Inc Ordinary Shares ECUXF OTC
First American Silver Corp FASV OTCBB
First Majestic Silver Corp. Ordinary Sha FRMSF OTC
First Majestic Silver Corp. Wt Exp 03/05 FTMWF OTC
First Majestic Silver Corp. Wt Exp 12/31 FTMVF OTC
Fortuna Silver Mines Inc Ordinary Shares FVITF OTC
Great Panther Silver Limited Ordinary Sh GPRLF OTC
ISHARES SILVER TRUST SLV PSE
Impact Silver Corp Ordinary Shares (Cana ISVLF OTC
International Silver Ridge Resource Inc ISRJF OTC
International Silver, Inc. ISLV OTC
Liberty Silver Corp LBSV OTCBB
MAG SILVER CORP. MVG AMEX
Mascot Silver Lead Mines MSLM OTC
Maya Gold & Silver Inc. Ordinary Shares MYAGF OTC
Minco Silver Corp Common Shares (Canada) MISVF OTC
Mini Silver Future December 2010 /YIZ0 ?????
Mini Silver Future December 2012 /YIZ2 ?????
Mini Silver Future December 2013 /YIZ3 ?????
Mini Silver Future January 2011 /YIF1 ?????
Mini Silver Future July 2011 /YIN1 ?????
Mini Silver Future July 2012 /YIN2 ?????
Mini Silver Future July 2013
Thanks Venkat! This is great information. Appreciate the time you spent to share this. Thanks!
You can also invest in ETF’s in US/Overseas market through ICICI Direct or any other brokerage firm willing to offer this service. (ICICI Direct currently offers this service and so do quiet a few otehr brokers). Overseas investment will be under the liberalised scheme of RBI wherein one can invest upto $ 200,000 for any capital or current account requirements.
See below link – http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/FAQView.aspx?Id=66
Thanks for the tip Venkat. Which ETFs are available for trade? Anything from this list present? http://www.onemint.com/2009/06/22/silver-etf-list/
Thanks again!
Very useful artilcal, i was looking for silver investment funds available in India.
cheers!!!!!
silver ETF is now available in India thru’ national spot exchange. See the link below for full details.
http://www.nationalspotexchange.com//NSELUploads/MediaCoverage/2010/August/English/187/e-Gold_and_e-Silver_are_unique_products_for_retail.pdf
Thanks for the link…I have a post lined up for tomorrow for another option of investing, and then one in the future for this as well.
Great article! ETF’s and Certificates for precious metals just may be the next big scam. Those in the know realize that there is not enough metal out there to cover these pieces of paper if investors called their metal home.
We say, be careful with precious metal ETF’s and Certificates, they are not much different from a fiat currency in certain situations