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When markets take a downturn, when economic stability is met with uncertainty and when investors look for so-called ‘safe havens’ to protect their capital, it’s the metal’s market that tends to gain traction. Gold and silver are the dominant choices, due to their global popularity and the idea that precious metals are a well-known store of value. Inflation plays a particular part in the gold and silver market. When the economy gets tighter, investors look towards the golden-age staples as a defence mechanism. The precious metals market is defective of harsh government announcements or monetary developments. There are numerous ways to buy silver, and they don’t necessarily require the large bankroll you might expect; here are some of the best ways.

Go Old School

Sure, the industry has come leaps and bounds from physically trading goods in the markets of bustling cities and exchanges, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still buy and sell physical investments. The gold market, for example, is always booming, in the physical and digital space. Given the current market uncertainty, we’ve seen a lot of attention towards the safe havens of precious metals; but the recent wave of investors tends to focus on the digital space – investing in gold futures, ETFs etc.

Buying physical silver coins or bullion bars can be a satisfying and reassuring way of investing in silver. You personally have possession of the asset, rather than anxiously checking in on the digital ether. In the US, coins made before 1964 contain roughly about 90% silver, and can all be purchased at the value of the silver content.

Hoarding silver coins might be a cheap way to invest in silver, but it’s probably not the most profitable. Investing in larger amounts – silver bullions – will be a quicker route to profit due to the slight changes in spot price, an amount that might seem negligible for a few silver coins.

Be careful about purchasing physical silver, it can be easy to overpay if purchasing from a dealer or local broker. Be fully aware of the current spot price of silver to ensure you’re paying the going rate, and getting the best value for money on your investment.

Using Leveraged Futures

This method of buying silver has slowly become the most popular way of trading silver as the digital revolution took hold of the investment landscape. Buying silver futures is an easy and often affordable way of betting on the price of rising or falling silver, subsiding the need to actually own the physical asset. Futures contracts are a popular option with those with limited capital, due to the appealing notion of leverage. Leverage allows investors to trade contracts on silver without putting up the complete required capital, only a margin. Trading with leverage is a good way for traders to get involved in the silver market without any large capital stress, but as any trader knows – leverage can be dangerous in uninformed hands. Whilst it can maximise wins from limited capital, it can do the exact opposite: it’s easy to lose a lot of money, and fast.

Track a Wider Fund

Everyone has a different risk strategy. For more protective, lower-risk investors, silver-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) might be a more appealing avenue. These funds, such as the iShares Silver Trust, offer the potential to own silver should the price rise, but it should also be noted that a silver ETF will deliver the return of silver prices minus the expense ratio of your chosen ETF. A pull factor for ETFs? The ability to sell your silver at the current market value with high fund liquidity provides sellers with a highly competitive price should they wish to sell.

Try The Miners

It’s more of a niche approach, but it can prove to be incredibly lucrative should you invest at the pinnacle moment. This might mean investing in fledgling silver mining companies boasting a prized location, or picking one of the larger groups with a positive track record. Generally speaking, if you invest cheaply in a silver mining company via the stock market; the value of the stock should increase along with improving company earnings if the price of silver does.

By expanding and increasing capabilities, companies can increase profits and thus increase the value of their owned shares. Bear in mind that there are always risks associated with investing in company shares. It’s key to carry out in-depth analytical research before trusting your capital with any company. There are heaps of mining companies to choose from, so pick carefully when it comes to your silver investment!