Interesting Comments On Silver ETF From ETF Securities

ETF Securities, the ETF issuer most known for its offerings backed by holdings of precious metals, issued a statement today saying that its ETFS Physical Silver Trust (NYSE: SIVR), the primary rival to the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV), traded a record 5.25 million shares on May 5.

That probably won't surprise those that follow the silver market volume in silver-related ETFs has been swelling this month as prices for the white metal have plunged amid a spate of margin increases by the CME Group (NYSE: CME).

Average daily volume in SIVR surged 18.5 times to $148 million from $8 million as of May 6, ETF Securities said in a statement. The firm said SIVR traded $740 million in dollar terms during the week of May 2.

Introduced in July 2009, SIVR represents an interest in physical silver bullion held in a London Bullion Market Association. Over the past three months, the ETF has had average daily volume of almost 1.1 million shares compared to about 68.5 million shares for SLV.

“The week of May 2 was a ground breaking week for SIVR with product records set for both volume of shares traded and value. The transparent and liquid nature of the product provided investors who were sellers or buyers that week with the ability to access liquidity in an orderly and efficient manner, against a highly volatile market backdrop for silver prices,” William Rhind, Head of Sales and Marketing for ETF Securities, said in the statement.

With an expense ratio of 0.3%, SIVR has a lower fees than the 0.5% offered by SLV. ETF Securities issues seven ETFs in the U.S. and has over $4 billion in assets under management.