Both gold and silver have hit record highs this year amid tight demand, resource nationalism and geopolitical tensions.Angelika Warmuth/Reuters
The explosive rally in the price of silver has caught many investors off guard, raising the question of how much more shine is left in “poor man’s gold.”
Spot silver, which has been outpacing gold’s strong climb, hit a record high above US$94 an ounce on Monday. After surging 148 per cent in 2025, the white metal has gained more than 30 per cent this year so far.
Despite silver’s run-up, some investment experts still see more upside for the metal given strong industrial and investment demand, tight supply and the emergence of resource nationalism.
“We are positive on gold and, by extension, silver,” says Onno Rutten, vice-president of investments and portfolio manager with Toronto-based Mackenzie Investments, as the price of silver typically follows gold.
Gold’s bullish outlook stems from growing central bank purchases to diversify foreign reserves, and the metal is seen as a safe haven amid geopolitical tensions and challenges to the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, he says.
Spot gold hit a record high of US$4,689.39 an ounce on Monday amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland and slap tariffs on European goods. Among major U.S. financial institutions, Morgan Stanley already has a 2026 gold target of US$4,800 an ounce, Goldman Sachs’ target is US$4,900, and Bank of America’s is US$5,000.
Gold and silver can be portfolio diversifiers in hedging risks, says Mr. Rutten, whose Mackenzie Precious Metals Fund gained 177 per cent last year.
“Investors and jewelry buyers have been switching to silver from gold as the latter becomes expensive,” he says.
Silver’s industrial demand is also strong, especially for solar panels that use more than 20 per cent of the annual supply, and that’s “growing very fast,” Mr. Rutten says.
The deglobalization trend is also causing countries to hoard critical metals, he adds. On Jan. 1, China began restricting exports of silver. Last November, the U.S. added silver to its list of critical minerals, but has held off so far on slapping tariffs on them.
The Mackenzie fund has a 10-per-cent exposure to silver. Top silver-related holdings include Discovery Silver Corp. DSV-T, which is waiting for a key permit for its massive Mexican silver project.
The company, which also acquired the Porcupine gold complex near Timmins, Ont., last year, is led by Tony Makuch, who ran Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. before its merger with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. AEM-T. Management is key to why this stock is in the fund, Mr. Rutten says.
iShares Silver Trust SLV-A, an exchange-traded fund holding bullion, is also a top holding. Other securities include First Majestic Silver Corp. AG-T and Pan American Silver Corp. PAAS-T.
Dwindling stockpiles
Shree Kargutkar, senior portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management LP in Toronto, is bullish on silver as demand outstrips supply and above-ground stockpiles are dwindling.
“It is my belief that we are entering a new price paradigm for silver after its historic breakout above US$50 an ounce,” says Mr. Kargutkar, who co-manages Sprott Active Gold & Silver Miners ETF GBUG-Q, which launched in early 2025.
Although the metal could go through a digestion period given that its price tripled since early 2025, it’s “quite likely that silver is going to be well into triple-digit territory in the coming years,” he says.
Silver could follow a similar pattern to palladium’s rapid price climb over several years, he says. Palladium, which traded close to US$600 an ounce in 2016, hit a record high of around US$3,400 in 2022. However, its price collapsed as automakers substituted cheaper platinum in catalytic converters. Similarly, a risk to silver’s price is if a less expensive metal can be used in different products.
Two-thirds of silver demand stems from industrial sources ranging from solar panels to electronics, and it’s “one of the most critical metals for high-tech applications,” he says.
Few primary silver mines exist because the metal is usually found with lead, zinc or copper ores, he says. Most silver comes from South America, where it could take more than 10 years to build a mine.
The big story now is that China is clamping down on silver exports, while Shanghai silver trades at a significant premium to the western spot price, he says. “The Chinese are tripping over themselves to get their hands on the physical metal.”
Currently, the Sprott ETF has about a 15-per-cent exposure to silver. Its holdings include names such as Coeur Mining Inc. CDE-N, DPM Metals Inc. DPM-T, Discovery Silver, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. WPM-T and Vizsla Silver Corp. VZLA-T.
Last year, Pan American Silver bought MAG Silver Corp. and First Majestic acquired Gatos Silver Inc. There could be more mergers, Mr. Kargutkar says, as there are “several high-quality, inexpensively valued projects in the hands of the juniors.”
Fear and love
Frank Holmes, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors Inc. in San Antonio, Tex., is also upbeat on silver, saying it could reach US$150 an ounce amid geopolitical tensions.
“Silver is an industrial metal that is potentially being weaponized by China as a strategic mineral for solar panels, in addition to being a store of wealth,” says Mr. Holmes, whose firm manages U.S. Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF GOAU-A.
Global debt is growing at 6 to 8 per cent a year, partly to fund military spending, while currency devaluations are occurring as global gross domestic product isn’t growing at the same rate, he says.
“So, you want real assets, and that comes back to silver and gold,” he says. “You have these twin engines of fear and love buying up these precious metals, and then there is the scarcity element.”
His precious metals ETF, which has been tracking an index, has an almost 12-per-cent exposure to silver. Holdings include Wheaton Precious Metals, Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. SCZ-X and Metalla Royalty & Streaming Ltd. MTA-X.
However, this ETF became actively managed at the start of this year, which will allow for a bigger silver weighting, he says.
Despite market worries about a pullback in the silver price due to the recent annual rebalancing of major commodity indexes that include the metal, he dismissed it as short-term noise.
“If the price of silver falls a lot, it’s a buying opportunity,” Mr. Holmes insists. “Just buy the dip and hold on.”