GDX vs. SIL: The Pros and Cons of Gold and Silver Miner ETFs

Core Insights - The Global X - Silver Miners ETF (SIL) and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) provide targeted access to mining companies, differing in metal focus and portfolio construction [2][9] - SIL is silver-centric with a higher recent return and drawdown, while GDX is gold-focused, lower cost, and more diversified [1][4] Cost & Size Comparison - SIL has an expense ratio of 0.65% and AUM of $6.2 billion, while GDX has a lower expense ratio of 0.51% and AUM of $30.5 billion [3][4] - The one-year return for SIL is 167.2% compared to GDX's 136.8%, with SIL offering a higher dividend yield of 1.0% versus GDX's 0.6% [3][4] Performance & Risk Metrics - Over five years, SIL has a max drawdown of 55.63% while GDX has a max drawdown of 46.52% [5] - Growth of $1,000 over five years is $2,169 for SIL and $2,765 for GDX, indicating GDX's superior performance [5] Portfolio Composition - GDX tracks 55 companies in the gold mining industry, with top holdings including Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (9.25%), Newmont Corp (8.88%), and Barrick Mining Corp (6.79%) [6] - SIL focuses on the silver mining sector with 39 holdings, heavily weighted towards Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (21.80%), indicating a more concentrated portfolio [7][12] Investment Implications - Both ETFs provide diversification and have a high correlation to the prices of their respective metals, with GDX having more holdings and a lower expense ratio [9][13] - SIL offers a higher dividend yield, and recent performance indicates that silver has outperformed gold [13][11]