Global X Silver Miners ETF

Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) is an index fund that tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return Index, a global basket of companies in silver mining, exploration and refining. It owns mining stocks, not silver itself. It is heavily concentrated: Wheaton Precious Metals alone was about 22% of assets as of July 31, 2026. Its 0.65% expense ratio is above the 0.51% average of similar funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SIL returned +19.5%, 3rd of 6 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +15.3% and its 10-year +8.4%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 43.8% and regained its old high 1.8 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2013 (-49.6%); its best was 2025 (+166.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 82.5% (Apr 8, 2011 to Jan 19, 2016), recovered by Oct 15, 2025.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 48 securities; the ten largest made up 79.53% of assets.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $300.5M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -4.63%, -17.26%, +5.64%.

SIL is an index fund. It aims to match the Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return Index, before fees. Solactive AG builds the index and decides how much each company weighs in it. Solactive is independent of the fund's adviser, Global X Management Company. The index covers global companies in silver mining and closely related work, such as exploration and refining. As of December 31, 2025, the index had 39 members, and 29 of them were foreign companies.

The fund must keep at least 80% of its assets in the index's securities. These include American and Global Depositary Receipts, which are certificates that trade like shares and stand for stock in a foreign company. It must also keep at least 80% in companies tied to silver mining. The fund generally uses replication, which means it buys the index's stocks in about the same proportions. When buying every stock is impractical or too costly, it may hold a representative sample instead. It does not try to beat the index, and it does not turn defensive when markets fall. Portfolio turnover was 27.57%.

The fund is "non-diversified," so a few stocks can make up a large share of it. As of July 31, 2026, Wheaton Precious Metals, Pan American Silver and Coeur Mining together made up about 45% of assets. The fund also held a US Treasury bill worth about 7% of assets. It may lend out securities worth up to one-third of its total assets.

• SIL charges 0.65% a year, versus an average of 0.51% for the similar funds below (5th of 6, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $66 in the first year and $810 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

SIL is a narrow, concentrated bet on silver mining stocks that has swung far more than the broad market, so it fits as a small add-on rather than a foundation.

SIL could add a focused stake in silver mining companies, but its swings have been extreme. It launched in 2010, so it has no record from 2008. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 43.8% in about three weeks, then recovered by May 8, 2020. In 2022 it dropped 45.4% and took about two years to get back to its peak. Its worst calendar year was 2013, when it lost 49.6%. Its deepest drop, 82.5% from 2011 to 2016, took almost 10 years to recover. Anyone who had to sell shares during one of those slumps would have locked in heavy losses. The yield was 1.32% as of October 27, 2026, paid twice a year, so it adds little income. Under the SEC's standard example, the 0.65% fee comes to $810 over 10 years on $10,000. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.