iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is a bullion backed electronically traded fund that seeks to reflect the performance of the price of silver. The fund originated in 2006 and holds physical silver bars held in custodial vaults.
In a statement released recently from JP Morgan, they currently hold 459,485,125.800 troy ounces of fine silver on behalf of the silver trust.
According to recent shareholder reports from Blackrock, the fund is backed by 458,887,710.00 troy ounces of silver which is 597,415.8 less than what is reported by JPM.
That amount is divided between three of JP Morgan Chase’s vault location in London and New York.
Earlier records have shown that the custody of the silver bars that back the SLV investment trust were spread out across various companies and vaulting locations for diversity of holdings.
Precious metals investors frequently buy shares in the SLV as a way to hedge other investments that are typically thought to be riskier endeavors. By moving all of the silver bars into the possession of a single custodian, the trust may be exposed to some additional risk.
The best way to use precious metals as a hedge is to buy physical gold and silver and store it in your home where you know it will be safe, secure and there when you need it most. As the saying goes, if you don’t hold it, you don’t own it.
Silver futures have been trading down roughly 3% since the start of the year.
Meanwhile, central banks continue stockpiling gold during the first few months of the year as more nations around the world are trying to join the BRICS treaty while oil is now trading in currencies other than the dollar.
China bought up an additional 15 tons of gold in January bringing their total central bank holdings to over 2,025 tons, according to reports from gold.org.
With more and more pressure from climate change advocates on US industries to reduce fossil fuel dependence, Saudi Arabia is expecting China and India to become the largest buyers of Middle East oil.
Over the last two decades, a greenwashing propaganda campaign has been thrust upon the country to label the use of fossil fuels as the leading cause of pollution and worldwide climate change.
In recent years, the rhetoric is amplified by activist infiltration of hedge funds and other large financial institutions under the guise of the ESG movement.
As dedollarization continues throughout the world, financial experts remain bullish that precious metals will remain the basis for much of world trade and gold will play a large role in the BRICS currency basket.
