Recently the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the creation of a silver Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), similar to the gold ETFs which resulted in more than 11 million ounces of gold (worth approximately six billion dollars at early 2006 prices) being bought by investors. The silver ETF (which trades on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol SLV) created a great deal of investor interest in the metal. More than 61 million ounces of silver were purchased through the silver ETF within the first two weeks of its creation, marking an extremely significant shift in investor accumulation of physical silver held by investors on an allocated basis. This new security, should attract many new investors who previously had not invested in physical silver bullion, futures or options. Investor interest in silver may spawn other new silver investment vehicles which could be launched in the near future, as financial institutions seek to develop new financial instruments to meet investment demand.

Source: http://www.cpmgroup.com/