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Silver could soon gain favour among investors, especially as global trade deals are formalised.

- SARBAJEET K SEN

While gold has dominated investor interest over the past year amid geopolitical tensions and trade conflicts, silver is beginning to emerge from its shadow.

For the three-year period, gold and silver funds have given an average return of 21.28 per cent and 14.78 per cent compounded annually, respectively. However, over the past month, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have fallen by 1.62 per cent while silver ETFs have gained 0.55 per cent on average. Experts believe gold remains a core component of diversified portfolios, but silver offers an attractive opportunity.

"Silver is still trading below its 2011 peak of $45, despite strong demand and a favourable gold-to-silver ratio. Historically, such conditions have led to silver outperforming gold. While gold may continue its run, silver could play catch-up, making this a good time to consider silver ETFs," says Niranjan Avasthi, senior vice president, Edelweiss Mutual Fund. "While gold will now continue to consolidate, we are relatively more bullish on silver," says Siddharth Srivastava, head-ETF product and fund manager, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India).