The 4 Best Silver Investments of 2017

The best silver investments of 2017 belong to these four types of assets...

  • Physical silver
  • Silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
  • Silver trusts
  • Silver stocks

Today, we're going to show you one specific investment from each asset class that could hand you generous double-digit returns this year. These picks are courtesy of Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald, who believes silver is absolutely essential for every investor to own.

"Silver is not traditionally an investment that will offer quick, explosive gains over a short period," Keith told Money Morning Members. "However, looking ahead, silver has the real potential to see double-digit gains in 2017 fueled by a number of key factors that will bolster demand in the coming months."

One of the biggest catalysts for silver this year will be rising demand. Here's one of the biggest reasons silver demand will climb higher this year...

This Is Why Long-Term Silver Demand Will Rise

silver price

Simply put, silver is a metallic conductor of electricity. Its conductive qualities have made it the second most industrially used commodity after crude oil. Silver is a critical component of semiconductors, tableware, batteries, and dental alloys, among dozens of other important tools.

"The versatility of the metal makes it one of the top conductors of electricity and the second best reflector of light after rhodium," Keith said.

Its light-reflective qualities make silver perfect for solar energy. In fact, the solar energy market is the biggest industrial consumer of silver.

About 90% of all photovoltaic (PV) cells in solar panels use silver paste. According to the Silver Institute's World Silver Survey 2017, 76.6 million ounces of silver were used in the production of PV cells last year. This was up 33.9% from 57.2 million in 2015 - the strongest annual growth since 2010. Not to mention 2016's PV silver demand made up 13.6% of total industrial demand, which was 561.9 million ounces.

And soaring solar panel demand this year will only increase demand for silver. Energy analytics firm GTM Research forecasts the global solar market to grow by 9.5% in 2017 to 85.4 gigawatts (GW). That's up from 78 GW of solar energy capacity in 2016.

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Silver's growing use in the solar sector is one of the biggest reasons silver is essential to own this year. That's why Keith just recommended these silver investments to make in 2017.

These investment vehicles encompass all four major types of silver assets: physical silver, silver ETFs, silver trusts, and silver stocks...

Here Are the 4 Best Silver Investments of 2017

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The Best Physical Silver to Invest In

Keith advises investors to consider buying Silver American Eagle and Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coins. These are the most popular types of silver bullion coins in the United States and Canada, respectively, with Silver Eagle sales of 10.35 million already this year.

These coins are good investments because they're easier to store and maintain than gold and are also much more affordable. Silver Eagles, which are made of 99% pure silver, cost about $20 for a one-ounce coin. Canadian Maple Leafs cost about $27 Canadian dollars.

The Best Silver ETF to Invest In

The iShares Silver Trust ETF (NYSE Arca: SLV) is one of the top silver funds to own in 2017.

With a market cap of $5.83 billion, SLV is considered one of the most popular silver funds on the market. It closely tracks the price of silver and also backs its shares with roughly $6 billion worth of silver bullion stored in London and New York vaults.

Despite it following the price of silver, SLV has actually slightly outperformed silver prices in 2017. Shares of the fund are up 6% to $16.01 this year, while the silver price has climbed 5.7%. As prices continue higher this year thanks to growing demand, shares of SLV will continue rallying as well.

The Best Silver Trust to Invest In

The Sprott Physical Silver Trust (NYSE Arca: PSLV) allows you to indirectly own and reap the benefits of silver bullion. That means this fund is just as much of a store-of-value investment as physical Silver Eagle or Canadian Maple Leaf coins.

However, you should note that PSLV charges you a premium fee above the spot price of silver. This premium can be volatile given certain swings in the underlying spot price.

Still, the trust's discount price and year-to-date return are enticing enough to offset any potential premium. Shares of PSLV have climbed 6.3% to $6.46 so far in 2017. That gain beats both the silver price and SLV's returns over the same period.

The Best Silver Stock to Invest In

Formerly Silver Wheaton Corp., the Canada-based firm changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE: WPM) on May 10. Regardless, WPM is our pick for the best silver stock to buy in 2017.

Keith keeps his eye on Wheaton because it's the world's biggest precious metals streaming company. A silver streamer is a company that makes a deal with a silver mining company to buy its production at a fixed price. That kind of agreement can give streaming companies like Wheaton the upper hand because they can buy silver at a discount if the price of silver suddenly jumps before they receive the miner's supply.

The WPM stock price is already up 11% to $21.47 this year, and we expect it to hand you more profits in 2017.

Up Next: The Essential Guide to Buying Silver and Gold in 2017

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