GDX vs SLVR

GDXBVanEck Gold Miners ETF

SLVRDSprott Silver Miners & Physical Silver ETF

In short

GDX The original gold miner ETF, running since 2006. Roughly 60 mining companies in one ticker, for people who want equity exposure to gold's economics rather than a bar in a vault.

SLVR Most silver funds make you choose: the metal or the miners. SLVR holds both, tracking an index of silver-mining companies alongside physical-silver trusts, in a peer group where 'precious metals miners' usually means gold.

Stated mandate

GDX GDX seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MarketVector Global Gold Miners Index, which is designed to represent companies involved in gold mining.

SLVR The Fund seeks to track an index focused on silver-mining companies and physical-silver trusts. It normally invests at least 80% of total assets in securities of that index.

Why people hold it

• GDX Launched in 2006, this is the elder statesman of gold mining funds: a multi-billion-dollar portfolio that is very actively traded, which usually means easy entries and exits.
• Owns the diggers, not the metal. It tracks the MarketVector Global Gold Miners Index, roughly 60 companies whose profits swing on the gap between gold prices and mining costs.
• At a 0.51% expense ratio it sits right at the typical price for a precious-metals miner fund, and it grades in the top quartile of its 18-fund peer group.

• SLVR One wrapper, both sides of the silver trade: the index blends silver miners with physical-silver trusts, and at least 80% of assets normally sit in it.
• Genuinely silver-first. Much of its cohort (RING, GDX, GDXJ) is built around gold miners, with silver as an afterthought.
• The portfolio hews closely to the index it promises, with little style drift, and spreads across roughly 80 miners and metal trusts.

Worth knowing

• GDX Cheaper shelf-mates exist. RING covers global gold miners at 0.39%, so you are paying a bit extra here, largely for scale and trading depth.
• Miner stocks are not bullion. They carry operating costs, debt, labor and country risk on top of the gold price, so moves tend to be sharper in both directions.
• Distributions come annually or semiannually, so this is an equity growth vehicle rather than a steady income line.

• SLVR At 0.65% a year, it costs more than the typical fund in its group. AGMI (0.35%) and SLVP (0.39%) cover silver miners for less.
• One metal, one industry. Miner shares tend to amplify silver's swings in both directions, and this book is concentrated.
• Launched in 2025, so the track record is short. Volume is moderate rather than heavy, and cash comes back once or twice a year, not monthly.

Full GDX profile⁠

Full SLVR profile⁠