While only being the eighth most valuable asset on Earth, and the second commodity by market cap, silver is, unlike gold which has – apart from being shiny – for most of history been utterly useless – a true jack of all trades.
Still, along with being used in fields as diverse as medicine, water treatment, textile manufacturing, and electronics, silver shares one trait with the world’s foremost precious metal – it has been used as a store of value for many centuries.
Additionally, silver is one of the favored investments of Robert Kiyosaki – a prominent investor and author of the best-selling personal finance book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ – along with gold itself and the world’s premier cryptocurrency – Bitcoin (BTC).
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Even though Kiyosaki described the commodity as the best bargain on the market as recently as March 20, the question of how good of an investment silver actually is remains unanswered – particularly when compared with gold, or other asset types.
How much did silver gain since 1999?
Unlike for gold, 1999 wasn’t a particularly major year for silver, but, in the spirit of fairly comparing the two assets commonly lumped together, Finbold decided to calculate just how much a $1,000 investment in the precious metal made in the year’s lows would be worth by March 2024.
Silver’s 1999 low came on April 15 when it stood at $4.88 per ounce while its press time price on March 22 was $24.59.
This means that a $1,000 investment in silver made 25 years ago would have returned 403.89% and grown to $5,038,93 making any investor or trader who made such a purchase $4,038.93.
While the growth is significant given silver’s primary role as a safe harbor for wealth, it is notably weaker than the 770.25% gold would have returned in the same timeframe.
Perhaps surprisingly, along with fulfilling their role as safe harbors for wealth well, both commodities would actually outclass the same investment made at the same time in a fund that tracks the S&P 500 index – the type of investment Warren Buffett believes is the best choice for most people.
A 1999 investment in the S&P 500 in 1999 would have grown 332.40% to $4,324.02 – approximately $1,000 less than silver and nearly $4,500 less than gold.
On the other hand, a 1999 purchase of a highly successful stock such as the semiconductor giant Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) would have grown 111,470.37% to $1.1 million meaning that engaging with the stock market is still more than worth it for any investor seeking significant growth.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
