Over the past year, precious metals such as gold and silver and industrial metals like copper have surged in price, reaching all-time highs just last week on geopolitical uncertainty. You may have wondered how to take advantage of this?
Visions of a pickup truck loaded up with silver bars or trunks of gold coins would probably come to mind. But there is an easier way to own silver and gold, and even industrial metals. There is an ETF for that. Consider SILVER.
There is an Exchange Traded Fund with an appropriate symbol SLV that trades on the stock exchange and captures the performance of the metal silver. As of December 2025, this ETF is up by 112% for the current year, just like the metal.
An ETF is an Exchange Traded Fund and like a mutual fund it owns a diversified portfolio of individual stocks or bonds or other types of securities, like silver mining companies in the example above. An ETF is also like an individual stock since it can be traded during the day. You could buy one in the morning and sell it in the afternoon, but we wouldn’t recommend it.
If you want to take advantage of the declining US dollar, you don’t have to trade on a currency exchange. There is an ETF for that. Invesco’s DB US Dollar Index Bearish Fund, symbol UDN, rises in value when the dollar drops. For 2025, it is up by 12%, almost exactly how much the dollar has declined against a basket of currencies. But ETF’s are not just for speculation on a hunch or trading on some real news.
Just as you can build a portfolio of stocks, or a portfolio of mutual funds, you can build a portfolio of Exchange Traded funds. Almost every asset class and sub asset class is represented by an ETF, many from multiple sources. Vanguard has ETF’s and Schwab has ETF’s. Blackrock, the largest asset manager, has ETF’s and many mutual fund companies have recently added ETF’s. There are ETF’s that passively capture the index, and there are ETF’s that are actively managed. Further, for the most part, ETF have low fees and generally are more tax advantageous than mutual funds. So whatever you are looking for as an investment or for trading, usually there is an ETF for that.
Source: Financial Times Jan 2026 – https://www.ft.com/
The opinions expressed in this Commentary are those of Baldwin Investment Management, LLC. These views are subject to change at any time based on market and other conditions, and no forecasts can be guaranteed. The reported numbers enclosed are derived from sources believed to be reliable. However, we cannot guarantee their accuracy. Past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend that you compare our statement with the statement that you receive from your custodian. A list of our Proxy voting procedures is available upon request. A current copy of our ADV Part 2A & Privacy Policy is available upon request or at www.baldwinmgt.com/disclosure.
Richard K. May, MBA , Managing Director
Richard founded his financial advisory firm in 1980, which was one of the early fee-only advisors in the industry. He received his B.A. from Princeton University and his M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.
In 2007, Richard founded the West Chester LLC, a private equity company that promoted and funded business start-ups and public projects in the Borough of West Chester. In 2011, he co-founded the Uptown! Entertainment Alliance and the Uptown! Bravo Theatre, LLC. Together they purchased and rehabilitated the National Guard Armory, and then opened the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center in 2016. Richard has served on the boards of many non-profits and community service organizations over the years.