Best ETCs for UK investors
Physically-backed ETCs hold the same metal in the same vaults and track the same price, so the choice comes down almost entirely to the annual fee. Here are the numbers — and the bigger question underneath them.
The short answer
The ETCs UK investors actually use are a short list: physical gold, physical silver, and a broad commodity basket. Within each, the products are near-identical — they hold the same metal in the same vaults and track the same price — so the choice comes down almost entirely to the annual fee. The bigger decision is whether you want a commodity at all.
Gold
| ETC | Ticker | TER | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| iShares Physical Gold | SGLN | 0.12% | Largest and most widely available; GBP-denominated on the LSE |
| Invesco Physical Gold | SGLD | 0.12% | Established 2009; base currency USD, unhedged |
| Royal Mint Physical Gold | RMAU | 0.25% | Metal held in the Royal Mint's UK vault |
| WisdomTree Physical Gold | PHAU | 0.39% | Long-established, more expensive |
SGLN and SGLD are tied on cost and functionally interchangeable. SGLN has the larger asset base and broader platform coverage; SGLD has the longer history. Both hold LBMA Good Delivery bars with a third-party custodian.
Worth knowing: gold has returned roughly 13.4% a year over the past ten years measured in sterling — a strong number, and one flattered by where the decade ends, since gold surged through 2025 and 2026 to record levels. Its long-run real return is close to zero.
Silver
| ETC | Ticker | TER |
|---|---|---|
| iShares Physical Silver | SSLN | 0.20% |
| WisdomTree Physical Silver | PHSP | 0.49% |
The difference looks trivial and isn't: 0.29 percentage points on £10,000 held for ten years is roughly £290 of extra cost for an identical exposure. SSLN has been listed since April 2011 and tracks the London Silver PM Fix.
Silver behaves differently from gold. Roughly 60% of demand is industrial — solar panels, electric vehicles, electronics — so it carries an economic cycle on top of its monetary role, and it is considerably more volatile. It reached an all-time high above $120 an ounce in January 2026.
Broad commodities
Products tracking a basket — energy, industrial and precious metals, agriculture — are a different proposition again, and many are structured as futures-based ETFs rather than physical ETCs. Futures-based products carry roll cost: when a contract expires it must be replaced with a longer-dated one, which in some markets is systematically more expensive and quietly erodes returns even when the spot price is flat. Check whether a broad commodity product is physically backed or futures-based before assuming it tracks the commodity.
What to check before buying any ETC
The fee, first and mostly
Two physically-backed gold ETCs hold the same metal and track the same price. After that, cost is close to the only durable difference.
Physical or synthetic
Physically-backed means allocated bars in a vault with a named custodian and a published daily entitlement per security. Synthetic means a swap with a counterparty. Both exist under similar names.
Currency
SGLN trades in pounds on the LSE, avoiding a conversion charge, but the underlying metal is priced in dollars either way — so sterling movements affect your return regardless of the trading currency. A GBP ticker is not currency hedging.
Limited recourse
ETC prospectuses state that claims are payable only from the secured property. In practice, for a physically-backed product with allocated metal, that risk is small — but it's a structural feature a fund doesn't have.
Tax wrapper
Physical gold and silver ETCs listed on the LSE are generally eligible for a stocks and shares ISA and a SIPP, which shelters gains from UK tax. Check your provider lists the specific product.
The harder question
All of the above is about picking between near-identical products. The decision that actually matters is whether to hold a commodity at all — and the honest answer is that a commodity produces nothing. There are no cash flows to discount, so no intrinsic value to compare a price against and no margin of safety to be had. The only return comes from someone later paying more.
That doesn't make it a bad holding. It makes it insurance rather than an investment — sized accordingly, and not expected to compound. See gold vs gold mining stocks for the fuller argument, and why gold moves for the forces that set the price.
Assets that produce something
Oak Growth values roughly 1,000 companies across eight markets and shows the gap against today's price — because a business generates cash you can discount, and a commodity doesn't.
Explore Oak GrowthCommon questions
What are the best ETCs for UK investors?
The commonly used ones are physical gold, physical silver and broad commodity products. Within gold, iShares SGLN and Invesco SGLD both charge 0.12% and are functionally interchangeable, ahead of Royal Mint RMAU at 0.25% and WisdomTree PHAU at 0.39%. For silver, iShares SSLN at 0.20% is materially cheaper than WisdomTree PHSP at 0.49%.
What is the cheapest gold ETC in the UK?
iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) and Invesco Physical Gold (SGLD) are tied at 0.12%, meaningfully below Royal Mint at 0.25% and WisdomTree at 0.39%. Since physically-backed gold ETCs hold the same metal and track the same price, the fee is close to the only durable difference between them.
Are ETCs eligible for a stocks and shares ISA?
Physical gold and silver ETCs listed on the London Stock Exchange are generally eligible for both ISAs and SIPPs, which shelters any gains from UK tax. Check that your specific provider lists the product before assuming it is available.
Is a gold ETC the same as a gold ETF?
No. European fund rules require diversification, which a single-commodity product cannot satisfy, so these are issued as secured debt securities backed by allocated metal rather than as fund shares. In practice they trade the same way, but the legal structure differs and claims are limited to the secured property.
Also see: What is an ETC? → · ETF vs ETC → · Gold vs gold mining stocks →