Silver’s rapid climb to record highs is reshaping precious‑metal strategies and forcing Canadian wealth advisors to reassess portfolio exposure
Silver’s surge is putting the white metal at the centre of the precious‑metals story, outpacing even gold’s historic rally and forcing portfolio managers to reassess how it should be deployed.
Spot silver has vaulted above US$100 an ounce, recently trading around US$109-110 after touching an all‑time high near US$118. Intraday moves of 5-6 per cent have become common as investors continue to buy on safe‑haven and momentum themes. Reuters data show the metal up more than 50 per cent so far in 2026 alone, after a breakneck run in 2025.
On a longer view, silver’s climb has been even more dramatic. Forbes reports that prices have risen roughly 250 per cent over the past year to about US$110 an ounce, while gold has gained a little more than 80 per cent to around US$5,100. That performance has driven the gold‑to‑silver ratio – a key relative‑value gauge for metals specialists – below 50 for the first time since 2012, signalling that silver is trading at its strongest level versus gold in nearly 14 years.
Historically, the gold‑to‑silver ratio has averaged about 70, according to Forbes. A sub‑50 reading has occurred on only a small fraction of trading days since the mid‑1980s, underscoring how rare the current configuration is. For allocators, that raises the question of whether silver has outrun fundamentals, or whether a structural repricing is under way.
The implications are two‑sided. On one hand, silver’s safe‑haven appeal has strengthened alongside gold’s as investors look for insurance against policy missteps and market stress. On the other, silver remains part industrial metal, with demand tied to solar panels, electronics and electric vehicles – sectors that can be sensitive to the global cycle and to trade frictions.
Using the long‑term average ratio of 70 and holding gold near US$5,100, silver would have to fall to the low‑US$70 range – a drop of roughly a third from recent prices – to revert to historical norms. If instead silver holds around US$110, gold would need to climb toward US$7,700 an ounce.
Last year, WP spoke with Brooke Thackray, research analyst at Global X to understand more about how gold and silver provide different investment opportunities.
For now, advisors are navigating a market in which silver has moved from a secondary precious‑metals exposure to a primary driver of risk and return. With volatility elevated and positioning crowded after an exceptional run, the key question for Canadian wealth professionals is whether silver remains a strategic hedge or has become a trade that demands tighter risk controls and shorter time horizons.
