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Is it better to own silver or gold?

Silver is more volatile, cheaper and more closely linked to the industrial economy. Gold is more expensive and better for diversifying your overall portfolio. One or both of them may have a place in your wallet, and investing in a Physical Gold IRA can be an excellent way to mitigate portfolio risk. Both silver and gold can function as safe haven assets, but gold tends to have a better track record over longer periods of time. That said, in shorter periods, the specific dynamics of each market end up being more important for their respective returns.

Regardless of the asset you buy, remember that neither asset generates cash flow, so the best thing for long-term investors would be to take a buy-and-hold approach with a profitable and growing portfolio of stocks. Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions achieve financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper columns, radio programs and premium investment services. Gold can be prohibitively expensive if you want to buy physical metal. Let's look at the gold-silver ratio, which tells you how many ounces of silver you would need to buy a single ounce of gold.

Just remember that both gold and silver can be risky assets. As a general rule, they shouldn't represent more than 10% of your total portfolio. Since our founding in 1935, Morgan Stanley has always offered first-class business in a first-class manner. Everything we do is based on five core values.

While both gold and silver have attractive features, gold is the best investment for the average investor in precious metals. Gold has a much larger liquid market, driven mainly by investment and demand for jewelry. The price of gold is also less volatile than that of silver. Demand for gold and silver comes from different sources, with gold being primarily an investment asset and silver an industrial asset.

While gold and silver have similar boom-bust cycles, there are some key differences to consider when deciding whether to invest in gold or.