Iran’s Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) plans to grant licenses by the end of this week for the public offering of three new commodity-based investment funds focused on silver, in a move aimed at broadening and deepening the country’s capital market.
The three funds will be managed by licensed portfolio management firms and will start with an initial subscription ceiling of 9 “hemats,” equivalent to 9 trillion tomans (around $69 million). If demand proves strong and the initial cap is fully subscribed, the total size of the funds could be doubled to 18 hemats, or about $138 million.
The SEO’s decision follows the successful launch of silver bullion deposit certificate trading on the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME). Market officials believe that introducing silver-backed investment funds will further deepen the silver market, improve liquidity and provide easier access for both retail and institutional investors without the need for physical storage.
Commodity-based investment funds have been regulated in Iran since 2017 and have generally delivered positive results. Gold-backed funds, in particular, have expanded rapidly. Currently, 29 gold funds are active with combined assets estimated at around 422 hemats—roughly $3.25 billion. In addition, two saffron-based funds with assets of about 2.5 hemats (nearly $19 million) and one energy-related fund are operating in the market.
The experience of gold funds has played a decisive role in encouraging regulators to extend the model to silver. Gold funds have attracted large volumes of retail savings and have performed strongly during periods of high inflation, sharp currency depreciation and economic uncertainty, offering investors a hedge against the loss of purchasing power without the risks of holding physical gold.
Silver is seen as having similar, and in some respects stronger, potential. Unlike gold, more than half of global silver demand comes from industrial uses, including renewable energy, electric vehicles, electronics and advanced technologies. This hybrid nature—part investment asset, part industrial metal—makes silver attractive both as a store of value and as a play on long-term structural demand.
Recent price movements reinforce this view. Silver prices in Iran have risen markedly in recent months, mirroring strong global trends driven by growing industrial demand, inflation concerns and currency volatility. International forecasts for 2026 remain largely positive, with analysts pointing to persistent supply deficits and continued investment inflows.
With subscriptions expected to begin in the coming weeks, the new silver funds are widely seen as a fresh opportunity for portfolio diversification and capital preservation, and potentially a turning point for Iran’s commodity-based investment market.
