Gold or silver? Physical ETCs compared (TER, risk and taxes)

Gold and silver are having a moment: gold closed 2025 up roughly +65% (its best year since 1979) and silver up a spectacular +144%. But before getting carried away by the numbers, it's worth understanding how to invest in metals efficiently, what it costs and what the risks are — because these same assets have also had years with drops of more than 25%.

What a physical ETC is (and why it's the usual route)

An ETC (Exchange Traded Commodity) is a listed security that tracks the price of a commodity. Physically replicated ETCs are backed by real bullion held in vaults (typically London or Zurich): buying a share is equivalent to owning a fraction of that metal, without dealing with storage or insurance. They trade on an exchange just like an ETF.

What separates one from another is mostly the annual cost (TER): in our commodities catalog, gold ETCs range from 0.12% (iShares, Invesco or WisdomTree Core) to 0.40%, and silver ETCs from 0.19% to 0.49%. Tracking the same metal, they replicate the same thing — so the TER is the real, measurable difference: see them head to head in comparisons like Invesco vs iShares Physical Gold or Invesco vs iShares Physical Silver.

Gold and silver are not the same asset

Although they usually move in the same direction, they behave differently:

• Gold is the classic safe haven: demand comes mostly from investors and central banks. In 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, it rose while stock markets sank.
• Silver has strong industrial demand (solar, electronics), which makes it more cyclical and considerably more volatile: in 2008 it fell 27% while gold rose, in 2010 it jumped 80%, and in 2013 it lost 36%.

You can see that difference in temperament year by year in our gold vs silver comparison with historical data, or simulate a specific investment in the gold historical simulator and the silver one.

What metals don't give you

Neither gold nor silver produces income: no dividends, no interest. All of their return depends on someone paying more for them in the future. That's why spectacular years like 2025 coexist with rough stretches — between 2013 and 2015 gold posted three negative years in a row. Past figures guarantee nothing about future ones, and most diversified portfolios that include metals do so as a minor complement, not as the core.

Taxes in Spain: no tax-deferred switching

One important nuance: unlike traditional index funds, ETCs (like ETFs) don't qualify for tax-deferred switching in Spain. Every sale at a gain is taxed in the savings base of your income tax. If that mechanism matters to you, we explain it in the tax guide and the switching simulator.

How to get started

Browse the available ETCs in the commodities catalog — each factsheet includes ISIN, TER and a link to the official documentation — and compare any pair with our comparator. Remember: this is educational content, not an investment recommendation.