iShares Physical Silver ETC

What this fund is

iShares Physical Silver ETC is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) from iShares, traded under the ticker ISLN (ISIN IE00B4NCWG09). It lets you buy a basket of holdings in a single trade, spreading your money across them rather than one company. In plain terms it is about tracking physical commodities like gold or oil, which often move differently from shares and are used to spread risk or hedge inflation, spread across its target market. It is typically held as a diversifier — a slice that behaves differently from mainstream shares — rather than as a portfolio's main engine.

Its ongoing charge (TER) is 0.2% a year — about €20 a year on a €10,000 holding, taken automatically from the fund. It is an accumulating share class: dividends are rolled straight back in, compounding your returns rather than landing in your account as cash. It holds the underlying investments directly (physical replication); it is domiciled in Ireland and trades in USD. Its price has swung about 76% over the past year — a gauge of how much the value moves, not a judgement of quality.

It launched in 2011. As with any investment, its value can go down as well as up, and past performance is not a guide to future results. (Fund data sourced from iShares.)