Premium Coming Out Of Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV, SLV)

The Sprott Physical Silver Trust ETF

is trading at a large premium to its NAV, primarily because some investors are wary of investing in the larger, more liquid iShares Silver Trust ETF

because there has been some concern that the SLV does not have the silver it claims to possess. The PSLV's premium to NAV hit 23% at one point, which is incredible. We are seeing some of this dissipate, however, on Friday as the PSLV is trading down 2% at $17.02, versus the SLV which is up 0.17%. Over the last 3-months, the PSLV has returned 34.68% vs. the SLV which has returned 26.78%. This is entirely due to the premium which has built up in the PSLV due to heightened demand for the assurances of physical silver in the Sprott Trust. Over the last month, however, SLV is up 13.68% vs. 12.82% for the PSLV, and over the last 5 trading days, the SLV has gained 5.46% vs. 4.57% for the PSLV, so we are seeing some of this premium dissipate.