I don't own it, but it is probably okay to buy if you want an investment in silver because Sprott is a respected firm. But keep in mind that it is a PFIC with special complex tax reporting requirements unless you own it in a tax deferred account.
I've heard nothing but good things. I do not own it. I own some SLV and CEF in my deferred account, the former the silver bullion ETF and the latter the Central Fund of Canada which consists of gold and silver bullion at about a 55/45 split. For miners I have some GDXJ - junior gold and some SIL - silver miners. Oh, and I own a few shares of SLW that I just cleared the fences for a home run. I bought it around $4 and it's at $44 or so right now. Never hit a home run before and doubt I ever will again. Oh, and I'm NOT sellling and am looking to add. peace, rono
Thanks, guys. I like the fact that its not just paper silver. There is actual, allocated silver with your name on it. Still not as good as physical possession, but I have mandatory 401k "profit sharing" contribution every month and Sprott seems like the closest thing to having possession.
Reading the webpage and prospectus, it seem there is a premium of 18% or so over NAV to purchase. If you decide to redeem , and you want silver bars, the minimum is 10 London Good Delivery Bars of silver each weighing 750-1100 tr. oz. fees and delivery estimated at $5000. Their estimate is that the transaction would be about $225,050. If you have less than that amount to redeem you get cash minus a 5% fee. They also seem to be protected in that if they can't produce enough silver, they can pay cash anyway. Just my impression. 18% entry and 5% on hopefully a higher outgo is a large margin. Read the prospectus carefully before committing IMHO. Jim
Yeah, Tommy, Jim makes a great point that I vaguely remember - the minimums are steep and it's not cheap. But it is apparently real bullion that you can go and visit. I've always really like CEF for this reason. Not that I could go visit it like with Sprott, but that as compared to our bullion ETF's, it appeared more sound. rono
I agree that it would not be prudent to take delivery from the trust, but there are offsetting advantages to the investor. First, there is a premium over spot for many other physical silver investments. Second, the investment is a closed end fund where the fund manager sells additional shares at a premium to buy more physical silver. This means that the number of ounces of silver per share is likely to increase over time for investors who buy and hold. The ETFs like SLV cannot do this, and actually have a decreasing number of ounces per share over time. So I would consider Sprott to be an overall acceptable way to invest.
From what Jim posted, it's probably not a plan for someone in my income bracket. I guess I prefer to invest in the type of physical silver you can buy any amount of without penalties, but have to physically store it yourself.
