Forget Stocks – For 2026 I'm Investing in These Two Metals

Stocks are generally the most popular asset class for ordinary investors. But for the new year, I think a couple of commodities are even better bets. I'm talking about two metals, one industrial and one precious.

The first is copper, which you can invest in via the Global X Copper Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: COPX), a fund that provides investors with access to a broad range of copper mining companies. It's up 80% so far this year.

The second is silver. And a great way to invest in it is the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the silver spot price using silver bullion held in JPMorgan Chase bank vaults in New York and London. The ETF has more than doubled this year, up 119%.

Both silver and copper hit new all-time highs in 2025. And it appears there may be significantly more upside for them in 2026. Basically, supply and demand factors are pushing prices of the two metals higher.

Both supply and demand side factors are driving the metals' prices higher

Both are surging partly due to industrial demand. They're both excellent conductors of electricity, so they have critical roles in the build-out of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, electric vehicles (EVs), and renewable energy, among many other applications.

According to S&P Global, "Data center construction requires copious amounts of materials such as copper, cement and steel, which are subject to global supply chain constraints and tariffs."

As for silver, "the build-out of AI data centers is intensifying the demand for silver, and so is the ongoing production of EVs (which use more silver than combustion engines)," says Yardeni Research.

Image source: Getty Images.

That's the demand side. But the supply side of the equation is also extremely bullish for copper and silver because there's been a supply shortage of both this year. Partly in response to the need for silver and copper in the massive AI data center build-out, this year the U.S. Department of the Interior added silver and copper to its list of critical minerals.

The copper ETF is diversified

The Global X Copper Miners ETF currently has net assets of about $3.5 billion and holds 41 stocks. Its five largest positions are:

• Lundin Mining, a Canadian metals miner with operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the U.S., accounting for 5.6% of the fund.
• KGHM Polska Miedz, a Polish multinational miner with operations in Poland, Canada, the U.S., and Chile, accounting for 5.1% of the fund.
• Boliden AB, a Swedish miner with operations in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Portugal, and Ireland, accounting for 5% of the fund.
• Southern Copper, a U.S. company with mines in Peru and Mexico, accounting for 4.7% of the fund.
• Freeport-McMoRan, a global mining giant specializing in copper, gold, and molybdenum, accounting for 4.7% of the fund.

Other than the top three, no stock accounts for more than 5% of the fund's assets, which makes it well diversified, at least within the mining industry.

As for the iShares Silver Trust, its net assets are around $33.4 billion, and its holdings consist primarily of physical silver bullion stored in vaults. The fund is managed by investment giant BlackRock.

These commodities have become AI plays

Both copper and silver have become AI plays. And at the moment, both the global AI race and the consequent build-out of AI infrastructure remain at a fever pitch.

Analysts gauge AI data center growth by power consumption. Global data center electricity consumption is expected to rise from 2% of global demand today to 9% by 2050. Annual data center growth reached 19% in 2024 as measured by gigawatts of power demand, up from 8% in 2022. S&P Global expects annual growth of 19% to 21% over the next few years.

Soaring demand for copper and silver in those facilities is expected to continue. That's reason enough to make at least a small investment into these metals now.

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Matthew Benjamin has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.