How to Generate High Yields and Monthly Income from Silver ETFs

As of December 29, just days before the New Year, silver prices are squeezing hard. Year to date, the metal is up more than 141%, an eye-popping move even by precious-metals standards.

There’s no shortage of explanations floating around. Some point to tight physical supply, others to CME margin changes for futures, China’s evolving export rules, or rising industrial demand tied to photovoltaics and electric vehicles. The honest answer is that it’s likely a mix of all of the above, plus a healthy dose of animal spirits.

What matters for investors is not why silver is moving, but how volatile it has become. That volatility cuts both ways. Taking a simple long-only position means signing up for sharp swings that can test even seasoned investors. But it also opens the door to something silver normally does not offer: income.

You don’t need to take a strong directional view to participate. Options-based strategies can convert volatility into cash flow, effectively monetizing price swings rather than betting on them.

The trade-offs are real though. Some approaches cap upside, others introduce additional downside risk. But for income-focused investors, ETFs now make it possible to turn a traditionally non-yielding precious metal into a meaningful source of monthly cash flow.

With that in mind, here are two ways silver ETFs are currently being used to generate high yields and monthly income.

iShares Silver Trust (SLV)

Our first option for generating income from silver relies on SLV, the largest silver ETF by AUM at just over $30 billion. The fund tracks the LBMA silver price and holds roughly 527 million ounces of physical silver.

Liquidity is excellent. SLV trades around 56 million shares per day on a 30-day average, with a very tight 30-day median bid–ask spread of about 0.02%, making it well suited for options strategies.

SLV also has one of the deepest and most active options chains in the commodity ETF universe, with weekly expiries and a wide range of strike prices.

As of December 29, SLV is trading around $65 per share. Owning 100 shares requires about $65,000 in capital, which is the minimum needed to write covered calls.

If the goal is to generate monthly income, one approach would be to sell a slightly out-of-the-money call. Using the January 30, 2026 expiry as an example, selling the $70 strike generates roughly $3.20 per share in premium, or $320 per contract.

Against a $65,000 position, that represents a monthly yield of about 0.49%. If you annualize that income, it works out to roughly a 6% annualized yield, assuming similar premiums could be earned each month.

The key benefit here is flexibility. By choosing the $70 strike, you retain upside from today’s $65 price all the way up to $70, in addition to keeping the option premium.

However, investors who are more income-focused can sell calls at the money. Selling the $65 strike instead generates a much higher premium, roughly $4.88 per share, or $488 per contract.

That translates to a monthly yield of about 0.75% on the same $65,000 position, or roughly 9% on an annualized basis. The trade-off is obvious. By selling at-the-money calls, you give up essentially all upside beyond the current price level in exchange for higher immediate income.

These examples highlight the core decision every covered-call investor has to make. More income means less upside. Less income preserves more participation if silver continues to surge.

Premiums will also change from month to month as volatility and prices move, so these figures are not guaranteed. There is no free lunch here, only a set of trade-offs that need to be matched to your income goals and risk tolerance.

Kurv Silver Enhanced Income ETF (KSLV)

If you do not have $65,000 in idle capital to run covered calls on SLV, or you are simply not comfortable trading options yourself, there is a way to outsource the strategy through an ETF. That option is KSLV, which is designed specifically to generate income from silver using options.

KSLV is not a plain-vanilla covered call ETF. It does not mechanically sell the same at-the-money, 30-day SLV call each month. Instead, it is actively managed and can use a mix of SLV call and put options, including spreads and collars. The portfolio is backed primarily by Treasury bills, which serve as collateral.

This flexibility is both a strength and a risk. Unlike index-based covered call ETFs, KSLV is not systematic. That means it can potentially adapt to changing market conditions, but it also means outcomes depend heavily on manager skill. As a relatively new ETF, it does not yet have a long track record to judge how well that discretion translates into risk-adjusted results over a full market cycle.

The income profile is eye-catching. KSLV currently sports a distribution rate north of 21%. That level of yield comes with trade-offs. Investors should expect most capital appreciation in silver to be sacrificed in exchange for income. Moreover, a meaningful portion of distributions may be classified as return of capital that is not immediately taxable, but it reduces your adjusted cost base.

Fees are the main drawback. KSLV charges a 1.0% expense ratio, which is high even by active options ETF standards. While derivatives-based strategies do justify higher fees, this is still at the upper end of what income-focused investors should be willing to tolerate. A fee closer to 0.75% would make it more competitive with similar offerings from other options-focused ETF providers like NEOS.

Overall, KSLV may be suitable for investors who want hands-off silver income and understand that the headline yield comes at the expense of upside, higher fees, and reliance on active management.