AuAg Funds Founder Eric Strand Explains Silver’s Unique Qualities and Substitutability
Nordic Funds Jul 13, 2026
Summary
Silver's electrical and thermal conductivity leads all metals, and that performance gap is what makes it hard to displace.
Strand argues gold stays in electrical contacts because it resists reacting with air, despite ranking third on conductivity.
Copper carries the bulk demand where silver runs short on volume or cost, though he says it is not an equal substitute.
Persistent competition among manufacturers to build the best products keeps top-end industrial silver demand durable.
Eric Strand's takeaways
- Top takeaway Strand ranks silver as the best conductor of electricity and heat of all metals, with copper second and gold third, making silver the top pick for the highest-performance contacts and components.
- He says gold holds its place in electrical contacts not for conductivity — it conducts less — but because it does not react with air, so demand for each metal is tied to a different functional requirement rather than to a single ranking.