What Is the Best Precious Metals ETF?
The best precious metals ETF depends on what an investor actually wants. For a single-ticker, diversified basket of all four major precious metals, GLTR (abrdn Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares) is the standard choice. For single-metal exposure, the best option is the lowest-cost physically-backed fund in each category: GLDM for gold, SIVR for silver, PPLT for platinum, PALL for palladium.
A case can be made for a DIY basket using individual metal ETFs. This approach typically produces lower total expense ratios and allows custom allocation across metals, at the cost of more complexity and four trades instead of one. For investors who want ongoing control over metal allocation weights, DIY wins. For investors who want simplicity and a single position, GLTR wins.
All of these funds are taxed as collectibles in US taxable accounts. Long-term capital gains face a maximum federal rate of 28%. This applies equally to GLTR and to individual metal ETFs.
How Do the Best Precious Metals ETFs Compare?
| Ticker | Fund | Expense Ratio | AUM (approx.) | Composition | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLTR | abrdn Physical Precious Metals Basket | 0.60% | $1B+ | Gold, silver, platinum, palladium | Grantor trust |
| PPLT | abrdn Physical Platinum Shares | 0.60% | $1.2B+ | 100% platinum | Grantor trust |
| PALL | abrdn Physical Palladium Shares | 0.60% | $300M+ | 100% palladium | Grantor trust |
| SPPP | Sprott Physical Platinum & Palladium | 1.00% | $150M | Platinum + palladium | Closed-end trust |
The individual metal ETFs for gold and silver are covered in detail in our best gold ETFs and best silver ETFs guides.
GLTR: The One-Ticker Basket
abrdn Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares ETF (GLTR) holds all four major precious metals in a single fund. The approximate allocation by value:
| Metal | Target Allocation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | ~57% | Monetary/store of value |
| Silver | ~27% | Monetary + industrial |
| Platinum | ~10% | Industrial + automotive |
| Palladium | ~6% | Automotive catalysts |
These weights drift with market prices. When silver outperforms gold, silver’s allocation percentage rises. The fund does not rebalance actively, so allocations reflect the compounding market values of the underlying metals rather than a fixed target.
GLTR’s 0.60% expense ratio is higher than any single-metal ETF in this category, but the fund provides four-metal exposure without requiring four separate trades. For an investor wanting a single precious metals position, the incremental cost is often justified by simplicity.
The physical metal backing GLTR is held in London vaults under JPMorgan custody. Each share represents a proportional claim on the underlying gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Authorized participants can create and redeem shares, keeping the market price close to NAV.
GLTR’s chart data across all four metals tracks the basket weighted by current holdings. An investor holding GLTR gets diluted exposure to each individual metal’s moves. A large silver rally with a stagnant gold price produces a moderate GLTR gain, not a full silver gain.
Best for: Investors seeking one-ticker precious metals exposure, portfolios where precious metals is a single allocation category rather than four separate positions.
PPLT: Physical Platinum
abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF (PPLT) holds allocated platinum bars in London vaults. AUM of approximately $1.2 billion makes PPLT the standard way to access platinum price exposure through a US brokerage account.
Platinum’s role in a portfolio differs from gold or silver. Roughly 40-45% of annual platinum demand comes from automotive catalytic converters, with additional demand from jewelry, industrial applications, and investment. Platinum’s price tends to correlate more with industrial activity than with monetary debasement, though it retains some precious metal character during major gold rallies.
The 0.60% expense ratio applies whether an investor holds PPLT in isolation or indirectly through GLTR. The fund structure, custody, and tax treatment are identical. Isolating platinum exposure makes sense for investors with a specific thesis on platinum-to-gold convergence or automotive supply/demand dynamics.
Platinum has traded at a significant discount to gold since the mid-2010s, reversing decades of the opposite pattern. This discount reflects the shift toward electric vehicles (which do not require catalytic converters) and the relative surplus of platinum supply. Some investors view the platinum/gold ratio as a mean-reversion opportunity.
Best for: Investors with a specific platinum thesis, those diversifying precious metals exposure beyond gold and silver.
PALL: Physical Palladium
abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF (PALL) holds allocated palladium in London vaults. AUM of approximately $300 million makes PALL smaller than PPLT but still the primary US-listed vehicle for direct palladium exposure.
Palladium’s price dynamics are extreme. Automotive catalytic converter demand dominates the market, with roughly 80% of palladium consumption going to this single application. Russian and South African mines produce over 80% of global supply. This concentration on both sides produces volatility that far exceeds gold or silver.
Palladium traded near $3,000/oz in early 2022 before collapsing to the $900-1,100 range as electric vehicle adoption accelerated and internal combustion vehicle sales plateaued. PALL’s returns reflect these moves directly.
The 0.60% expense ratio matches PPLT and GLTR. The fund is a grantor trust with standard authorized participant creation and redemption. Liquidity is lower than gold or silver ETFs, with wider bid-ask spreads, but sufficient for retail trades.
Palladium exposure is a tactical position, not a core holding for most investors. The commodity is too concentrated in its end-use and its supply geography to serve as a diversifying asset in the way gold does. An allocation in PALL, if held at all, should reflect a specific view on internal combustion vehicle demand or Russian supply disruption.
Best for: Investors with specific palladium theses, tactical positions based on auto sector or supply views.
SPPP: Sprott Platinum and Palladium
Sprott Physical Platinum and Palladium Trust (SPPP) holds both metals in a single closed-end trust structure, with allocated storage at the Royal Canadian Mint. The split is approximately 65% platinum, 35% palladium by value, though this drifts with market movements.
The 1.00% management expense ratio is the highest in the category. This reflects the closed-end structure, smaller AUM, and Sprott’s allocated-custody model. SPPP also trades at premiums and discounts to NAV, similar to its sister fund PSLV in silver.
SPPP appeals to investors who want platinum and palladium exposure with the same structural features that PSLV offers in silver: allocated custody, Royal Canadian Mint storage, and physical redemption at large share counts. The cost premium over PPLT and PALL is substantial (approximately 40 basis points), so the structural features need to matter enough to justify the expense.
For most investors, the combination of PPLT and PALL at 0.60% each is a cheaper way to get platinum and palladium exposure than SPPP at 1.00%, unless the Sprott custody structure is specifically preferred.
Best for: Investors who prefer Sprott’s allocated custody model across multiple precious metals.
Building a DIY Precious Metals Basket
An investor who wants custom allocation across precious metals can construct a basket using individual ETFs. A typical DIY basket might use:
| Metal | ETF | Expense Ratio | Sample 60/25/10/5 Allocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | GLDM | 0.10% | 60% |
| Silver | SIVR | 0.30% | 25% |
| Platinum | PPLT | 0.60% | 10% |
| Palladium | PALL | 0.60% | 5% |
The weighted expense ratio of this basket is approximately 0.24%, less than half of GLTR’s 0.60%. Over a 10-year hold on a $50,000 basket, the cost savings exceed $1,800 relative to GLTR.
The tradeoffs are meaningful. DIY requires four trades to establish the position and rebalance periodically as allocations drift. It requires monitoring four separate holdings in the portfolio. It requires choosing allocation weights, which introduces decision fatigue and the potential to mistime allocation changes.
GLTR eliminates all of these. One ticker, one position, one decision. For investors who want a hands-off precious metals allocation, GLTR’s 0.60% is the price of simplicity. For investors comfortable with basic portfolio management, the DIY basket is usually the more efficient choice.
A hybrid approach works for some investors: use GLTR for the core precious metals allocation, then add a single-metal ETF for a specific tactical view (a larger silver position during industrial demand rallies, or a platinum position betting on supply disruption).
Cross-Checking Prices Across Metals
Investors managing diversified precious metals exposure benefit from live price data across all four metals. Minted Metal maintains chart pages for each:
Rhodium, the fifth precious metal, does not have a US-listed physically-backed ETF. Rhodium exposure can be obtained only through physical metal (typically 1 oz rhodium bars) or through mining equities with rhodium production. Rhodium’s market is thin, volatile, and dominated by automotive catalytic demand.
What Is the Tax Treatment for Precious Metals ETFs?
All physically-backed precious metals ETFs (GLTR, PPLT, PALL, SPPP) are taxed as collectibles under IRC Section 408(m). Long-term capital gains face a maximum federal rate of 28%. Short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income up to 37%.
This tax treatment applies to all four major metals held through ETFs: gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The rate is the same whether an investor holds GLTR (multi-metal basket) or individual metal ETFs.
Roth IRAs eliminate the collectibles tax entirely. Traditional IRAs defer taxation until withdrawal, at which point distributions are taxed as ordinary income. For long-term precious metals positions held in taxable accounts, the 8 percentage point penalty over equity capital gains rates is a significant consideration in allocation sizing.
Precious metals mining ETFs, including platinum mining or palladium mining funds, are taxed as standard equities at the 20% long-term rate rather than the 28% collectibles rate. This tax advantage is one argument for including miners alongside physical metal exposure in taxable accounts.
Diversified Baskets vs Single-Metal ETFs
Precious metals as a category includes assets with meaningfully different risk and return profiles. Gold is primarily a monetary asset. Silver has a monetary character but with substantial industrial demand. Platinum is primarily industrial with monetary overlay. Palladium is almost entirely industrial.
A diversified basket like GLTR averages these exposures. In environments favoring monetary metals (currency debasement, geopolitical stress), GLTR will underperform a pure gold position because platinum and palladium may not respond. In environments favoring industrial metals (manufacturing recovery, supply disruption), GLTR will underperform a pure platinum or silver position.
This averaging is a feature for investors who do not want to time specific metal moves. It is a cost for investors with conviction on a particular metal’s thesis.
The diversification benefit of a multi-metal basket is modest. All four metals are correlated to some degree, particularly during risk-off periods when all industrial and monetary metals tend to move together. The main diversification benefit emerges in specific environments: gold-only exposure misses platinum’s industrial recovery, while platinum-only exposure misses gold’s inflation-hedge function.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best diversified precious metals ETF?
GLTR (abrdn Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares) is the standard choice, holding gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in a single fund at a 0.60% expense ratio. It provides one-ticker exposure to all four major precious metals with allocated physical metal backing and a grantor trust structure.
Should I hold GLTR or individual metal ETFs?
GLTR for simplicity and one-ticker exposure. Individual ETFs (GLDM, SIVR, PPLT, PALL) for lower total expense ratios and custom allocation control. A DIY basket typically costs 0.20-0.30% annually versus GLTR’s 0.60%, but requires more active portfolio management and four trades instead of one.
What percentage of a portfolio should be in precious metals?
Most allocation frameworks suggest 5-15% of a long-term portfolio in precious metals, depending on macroeconomic outlook and investor risk tolerance. Within that allocation, gold typically represents 50-70%, silver 15-30%, and platinum/palladium 0-15% combined. These weights reflect the different roles each metal plays.
Are platinum and palladium ETFs taxed differently than gold?
No. PPLT, PALL, and SPPP are all taxed at the 28% maximum collectibles rate for long-term capital gains, identical to gold and silver ETFs. The IRS treats all four metals as collectibles when held through physically-backed trusts.
Does GLTR rebalance its metal allocations?
GLTR does not actively rebalance. The allocation percentages drift with market prices of the underlying metals. If silver outperforms gold, silver’s percentage of the basket rises naturally. Investors seeking fixed-weight precious metals exposure would need to use individual metal ETFs and rebalance manually.