While spot silver ETFs remain the simplest way to gain exposure to the metal, more aggressive investors often turn to silver mining ETFs for embedded leverage. Here’s what to know about the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) and the Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF (SILJ), advises Tony Dong, lead ETF analyst at ETF Central.
As with gold miners, silver miners tend to have relatively fixed operating costs. When silver prices rise sharply, revenues increase immediately while costs lag, leading to margin expansion, higher earnings, and amplified equity returns.
This is why SIL and SILJ were among the best-performing ETFs of 2025. Both are passive and track index benchmarks, but the similarities largely end there. While there is some overlap between their baskets, investors need to be careful when selecting.
SIL, SILJ (1-Year % Change)
Data by YCharts
SIL tracks the Selective Global Silver Miners Index. The fund holds 26 companies (overwhelmingly in the materials sector). Many holdings are not pure-play silver miners and often have meaningful gold exposure as well, which can dilute sensitivity to silver prices.
SILJ tracks the Nasdaq Metals Focus Silver Miners Index. While a portion of the portfolio still consists of firms with market capitalizations above $10 billion, more than half of the fund sits in the mid-cap range between $2 billion and $10 billion. About 15.2% of the portfolio falls between $300 million and $2 billion, adding a clear speculative tilt.
Neither fund is particularly diversified. In SIL, the top 15 holdings account for 91.3% of the portfolio. SILJ is slightly less concentrated, with the top 15 making up 79.9%. But both are best viewed as satellite allocations rather than core holdings.
Bottom line? SIL provides broad exposure across the silver mining industry, balancing scale and stability. SILJ adds more leverage through smaller and less established miners. That leverage can enhance returns in bull markets and deepen losses in bear markets. Personally, I think SIL is the better “all around” option.
