Inflation decreases purchasing power. It also increases the expenses of most companies. In general, it’s a bad thing.

But some companies will benefit from rising prices. This is the case for ones in the precious metals industry.

Some investors hedge against inflation by purchasing gold. Other investors buy silver or ETFs that invest in silver and silver-related companies. These ETFs include the iShares Silver Trust ETF SLV, the ProShares Ultra Silver ETF AGQ, and the Global X Silver Miners ETF SIL.

SLV is designed to follow the price of silver. If silver moves 10% higher, SLV will be up by about 10% as well.

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AGQ invests in silver, but it uses leverage. It’s designed to move twice the price of silver. If silver is up by 5%, AGQ will be up by about 10%.

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SIL doesn’t buy silver like SLV and AGQ do. Instead, it invests in companies that are in the silver mining industry. It currently holds more than 40 of them. If the price of silver rises, so should SIL.

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