India, Oct. 16 -- Silver is a better buy than gold, although most of the media and experts are focused on the yellow metal. In terms of returns this year, from January to mid-October, global silver prices are up 70 per cent compared to 55 per cent for gold. In the past 12 months, spot prices more than doubled to $53 per ounce. The situation in India is similar, with the current price at over Rs1,60,000 per kg in Delhi. The white metal is possibly this year's biggest investment story.

What is interesting, though, is the way that experts analyse the future of the two metals. Three of the largest Indian mutual funds, including Kotak Securities and SBI, have paused accepting lump-sum inflows into silver-backed Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). A...