Year of Prosperity: Gold for Wealth, Silver for Growth!

19 Feb 2026

As we step into the Lunar New Year, prosperity takes centre stage. Gold jewellery is gifted, gold ornaments decorate homes, and we exchange red packets (Ang Pao) symbolising good fortune, but how are we positioning our own wealth?

During the Lunar New Year festive period, physical demand for gold is evident, meanwhile watching Gold’s younger cousin, Silver, could be a game changer. Gold has traditionally been the ultimate store of value. In 2025, it surged on the back of central bank buying, geopolitical uncertainty, robust inflows in Gold-backed ETFs, and a softer US dollar. Amid Trump’s tariff threats and Geopolitical chaos, investors sought safety, and Gold delivered.

Yet, historically in bull run cycles, Silver often begins to outperform Gold once momentum picks up. Why? Because Silver is not just a precious metal, it also enjoys the industrial allure. It is currently driven by renewable energy demand, electronics manufacturing, and recovery in global trends. When investor sentiment turns optimistic towards precious metals, Silver tends to move faster and steeper than Gold.

Given the extensively supportive macro backdrop where markets are largely convinced of further rate cuts, Gold’s haven-appeal continues to flourish. With recent Inflation data pointing to a steady downtrend, expectations of a softer dollar will continue to support Gold despite the recent sideways consolidation. And not to forget, bets are well placed in favour of continued gold purchases by global central banks, reinforcing Gold’s image as a hedge against uncertainty.

But as an investor, the choice between these metals relies on whether one is positioning only for preservation or also for acceleration. In our view, given the steady recovery in industrial demand, especially in emerging Asia, Silver could benefit from both monetary and industrial tailwinds. This Lunar New Year, while many will gift physical gold bars and coins, sophisticated investors should be exploring more dynamic avenues. Afterall, in Chinese culture, prosperity is not just receiving and passing good fortune, it’s about cultivating and multiplying it too.

Smart investing isn’t about riding the wave or trading trends, it is also about capturing the volatility, positioning for capital appreciation, and balancing between preservation of wealth (Gold) and high-beta acceleration (Silver). Trading the 1-Ounce Gold Futures (1OZ) and the 100-Ounce Silver Futures (SIC) futures, or spot contracts allows investors to participate in both rising and falling markets, with leverage and flexibility. These are ideal tools for those who are seeking to actively manage and grow their wealth. For those who are seeking to passively grow, Gold and Silver ETFs – like the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) look like ideal vehicles for long-term growth.

Take a view via the COMEX 1-Ounce Gold and the 100-Ounce Silver Futures now. Learn more now!

Or take a view on precious metals via ETFs, mining Stocks and Spot now!

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An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is a marketable security that is formed to track nearly anything, ranging from a specific index, sector, commodity, or increasingly, theme. They are most commonly used to track a basket of stocks, and can typically be accessed through the same channels as regular stocks. ETFs are typically separated into passively-managed ETFs that simply mirror the security they are tracking (e.g. the STI), and actively managed ones that attempt to deliver higher returns or specific investment objectives, often with a pre-specified theme in mind (e.g. ARK Invest’s Innovation ETF).

Why should I trade in ETF CFDs?

ETFs have been growing in popularity over the years. 2020 was the best year for ETFs yet, with global equity ETFs seeing more than $1T in inflows within a 12-month period. Using CFDs to gain exposure to ETFs allows for greater capital efficiency because only a portion of the contract value is required as margin to establish a position.
ETFs are particularly popular with investors seeking a relatively hassle-free investing experience, while desiring exposure to a range of specific and relatively understandable securities. Trading ETF CFDs brings greater convenience by eliminating the need for traders to hold multiple currencies in order to access global ETFs.
An investor wanting exposure to the post-pandemic economic recovery could open a position in the well-known SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the performance of the S&P 500. Another investor that may be convinced of the future importance of Environmental, Social and Governance concerns (ESG) may find the increasing selection of ESG-themed ETFs that track a basket of high ESG-rating companies to be a good investment, rather than cherry-picking individual equities by hand. ETF CFDs can act as a powerful tool for traders can profit from both directions of the market by taking on long or short positions.

A look at two ETF CFDs we offer:

1) Has the ARKK been sunk?

ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) ARKK is an actively managed ETF by ARK Invest that invests in a range of companies based on their innovative and industry-disrupting potential. ARKK’s largest holdings are in companies such as Tesla, Square, and Zoom. ARKK is down around -33% from peaking on 12^th Feb and is currently in the red for the year to date as the market experiences a risk-off outflow of funds. Superstar fund manager Cathie Wood has however been consistently doubling down on her bets, buying even more shares in growth stocks that are going through their own tumultuous periods such as DraftKings, Peloton, Teladoc, and Tesla. In her view, ARKK is playing the long game, and remains steadfastly convinced in the long-term prospects of these growth stocks beyond this current bout of volatility. Similarly on outflows, investors are still betting big on ARKK as ARK Invest has only lost about $1.2B in assets this year across all its six funds, compared to seeing an inflow of $15.1B during the same period. Recently, investors have been nervously eyeing ARKK’s basket of tech stocks as their future earnings potential remain vulnerable to erosion through high inflation – the dominant concern of the market in recent weeks. As commodities – the major contributor to the recent heightened inflation fears – drops sharply from record highs, are investor concerns over hyperinflation overblown?

2) Searching for exposure to Asian equities?

iShares MSCI Asia ex Japan ETF (AAXJ) The AAXJ is currently trading -10.6% adrift of all-time highs seen in February, giving up gains in tandem with an Asia-wide equity sell-off at the time. Given that slightly over 40% of the ETF’s holdings are based in China, the ongoing tumult seen in Chinese equities currently have carried over nearly perfectly in the AAXJ, as Chinese investors take a breather after the stellar gains made over the past year. Looking ahead, Asia – and particularly China, is steaming ahead with its economic recovery. China is widely expected to be one of the best-performing major economies this year, providing a major boost to the outlook for corporate earnings. As the rest of Asia and the world gradually opens up their own economies, AAXJ is likely to again benefit from strong Asian outperformance amidst a strengthening trade outlook.

CFD is available for trading on Phillip MetaTrader 5 (MT5).

Features of trading CFD:

Trade in both the bull and the bear markets
The ability to enter a long and/or short position allow traders to take advantage of both rising and falling markets.
Smaller barrier to entry
Flexible and smaller contract sizes. This means that traders will be able to enter into a contract with a modest amount of capital.
No expiration date or risk of delivery
Unlike futures which commonly have a fixed expiration date, CFD allows traders to perpetually hold the position(s). CFD is cash settled, no need to worry about the delivery of the underlying asset.

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