XAG vs NVDA: Returns, Risk & Volatility (2025)

Written by Gale Finance Team

Reviewed by Sid Kalla CFA Charterholder

Analysis period: 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31

XAG Total Return

↑ +142.3%

NVDA Total Return

↑ +34.9%

Relative Performance of XAG vs NVDA (Normalized to 100)

XAG NVDA

Normalized to 100 at start date for comparison

Key Takeaways

Total Return: XAG delivered a +142.3% total return, while NVDA returned +34.9% over the same period. XAG outperformed on total returns.
Risk-Adjusted Return (Sharpe Ratio): XAG had a higher Sharpe (2.78 vs 0.77), indicating better risk-adjusted performance.
Volatility (Annualized): NVDA was more volatile, with 49.6% annualized volatility, versus 31.6% for XAG.
Maximum Drawdown: XAG's maximum drawdown was -13.6%, while NVDA experienced a deeper drawdown of -36.9%.
Tail Risk (VaR & Expected Shortfall): At the 5% level (daily log returns), XAG's VaR was -2.32% and its Expected Shortfall (CVaR) was -4.51%; NVDA's were -4.62% and -7.58%. VaR is the cutoff; Expected Shortfall is the average move on the worst days.
Skew & Kurtosis: Skew: XAG -0.41 vs NVDA -0.53. Excess kurtosis: XAG 3.82 vs NVDA 7.83. Negative skew leans downside; higher excess kurtosis means fatter tails.
Tail Days & Extremes: 2σ tail days (down/up): XAG 6/5, NVDA 7/2. Worst day: XAG -8.02% (2025-12-29) vs NVDA -16.97% (2025-01-27). Best day: XAG +9.18% (2025-12-26) vs NVDA +18.72% (2025-04-09).
Risk ratios: Sortino - XAG: 4.38 vs. NVDA: 1.10 , Calmar - XAG: N/A vs. NVDA: N/A , Sterling - XAG: N/A vs. NVDA: N/A , Treynor - XAG: N/A vs. NVDA: N/A , Ulcer Index - XAG: N/A vs. NVDA: N/A

Silver vs Nvidia Correlation

0.13 Average Correlation

Silver and Nvidia were weakly correlated in 2025. With a correlation of 0.13, these assets showed meaningful independence, offering diversification benefits when held together.

For portfolio construction, this weak correlation suggests that combining XAG and NVDA could reduce overall portfolio variance. However, correlations can increase during market stress.

Metric	Value
Current (30-day)	0.18
Average (full period)	0.13
Minimum	-0.34
Maximum	0.60

Correlation measures how closely two assets move together. Values near +1 indicate strong co-movement, near 0 indicates independence, and negative values indicate inverse movement.

Investment Comparison

If you invested $10,000 in each asset on January 1, 2025:

XAG $24,227.536 +142.3%

NVDA $13,487.808 +34.9%

Difference: $10,739.728 (XAG ahead)

Silver and Nvidia: Risk Analysis

Silver experienced its maximum drawdown of -13.6% from 2025-03-27 to 2025-04-04. It has not yet recovered to its previous peak.

Nvidia experienced its maximum drawdown of -36.9% from 2025-01-06 to 2025-04-04. It has not yet recovered to its previous peak.

Smaller drawdowns and faster recoveries indicate lower downside risk and greater resilience during market stress.

Sharpe Ratio of XAG and NVDA

XAG Sharpe Ratio

↑ 2.78

NVDA Sharpe Ratio

↑ 0.77

Sharpe ratio measures return per unit of risk (volatility). A higher Sharpe indicates better risk-adjusted performance. XAG had a higher Sharpe (2.78 vs 0.77), indicating better risk-adjusted performance.

A Sharpe above 1.0 is generally considered good, above 2.0 is excellent. Negative Sharpe means the asset underperformed the risk-free rate. Calculated on each asset's full 365-day lookback of available prices and annualized using the asset calendar (365 for crypto, 252 trading days for equities/ETFs/metals).

Sortino Ratio of XAG and NVDA

XAG Sortino Ratio

↑ 4.38

NVDA Sortino Ratio

↑ 1.10

Sortino ratio measures return per unit of downside risk. Unlike Sharpe, it only counts downside deviation (returns below the target return). XAG had better downside-adjusted returns.

A higher Sortino is better. It's useful when upside volatility is common (crypto is the obvious example). Downside deviation: XAG 20.0% vs NVDA 34.9%. Calculated on each asset's full 365-day lookback of available prices, using the daily risk-free rate as the target return, and annualized using the asset calendar (365 for crypto, 252 trading days for equities/ETFs/metals).

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape (2025): Silver vs. Nvidia

This section looks at the shape of daily returns, not just the average. Tail stats are computed per asset on its own daily series (crypto includes weekends). We use daily log returns $\ln\left(\frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}}\right)$ so multi-day moves add cleanly.

Definitions: Value at Risk (VaR), Expected Shortfall, skew, kurtosis, and fat tails.

Metric (2025)	XAG	NVDA
5% VaR (daily log return)	-2.32%	-4.62%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-4.51% (worst 13 days)	-7.58% (worst 13 days)
Skew	-0.41	-0.53
Excess kurtosis	3.82	7.83
2σ tail days (down / up)	6 / 5	7 / 2
Worst day	-8.02% (2025-12-29)	-16.97% (2025-01-27)
Best day	+9.18% (2025-12-26)	+18.72% (2025-04-09)

Downside co-moves (2σ) — 2025

Computed on shared dates only (n=249). A “2σ downside move” means a shared-close log return more than 2 standard deviations below that asset’s own mean on this shared-date series. Dates below show simple returns (%) for readability.

When NVDA has a big down day, XAG also does

28.6%

2 / 7 days

When XAG has a big down day, NVDA also does

33.3%

2 / 6 days

Show downside tail dates

Dates below are shared-date observations. The “Date” is the period end (close). Tail thresholds are computed on log returns, but the table shows simple returns (%) for readability. Returns are computed from the previous shared close to this one (for example, Friday → Monday includes weekend moves).

Days when both XAG and NVDA had a big down day (2σ)

Date (interval)	XAG	NVDA
2025-04-03	-5.99%	-7.81%
2025-04-04	-6.64%	-7.36%

Days when XAG had a big down day

Date (interval)	XAG	NVDA
2025-04-03	-5.99%	-7.81%
2025-04-04	-6.64%	-7.36%
2025-10-17	-4.40%	+0.78%
2025-10-21	-7.10%	-0.81%
2025-12-26 → 2025-12-29	-8.02%	-1.21%
2025-12-31	-6.05%	-0.55%

Days when NVDA had a big down day

Date (interval)	XAG	NVDA
2025-01-07	+0.34%	-6.22%
2025-01-24 → 2025-01-27	-1.40%	-16.97%
2025-02-27	-1.86%	-8.48%
2025-02-28 → 2025-03-03	+1.87%	-8.69%
2025-04-03	-5.99%	-7.81%
2025-04-04	-6.64%	-7.36%
2025-04-16	+1.38%	-6.87%

Read this as “how ugly the ugly days get”, not as a precise forecast. One-year samples are small, so tail estimates are inherently noisy.

Full Comparison of Silver vs. Nvidia (2025)

Metric	XAG	NVDA
Total Return	+142.3%	+34.9%
Annualized Volatility	31.6%	49.6%
Sharpe Ratio	2.78	0.77
Sortino Ratio	4.38	1.10
Calmar Ratio	N/A	N/A
Sterling Ratio	N/A	N/A
Treynor Ratio	N/A	N/A
Ulcer Index	N/A	N/A
Max Drawdown	-13.6%	-36.9%
Avg Correlation to S&P 500	N/A	N/A
5% VaR (daily log return)	-2.32%	-4.62%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-4.51%	-7.58%
Skew	-0.41	-0.53
Excess kurtosis	3.82	7.83
2σ tail days (down / up)	6 / 5	7 / 2

Audit this calculation

Formulas, inputs, and conventions used to compute the metrics on this page.

Inputs & conventions

Shared window for pair metrics: 2025-01-01 → 2025-12-31 (last shared close).
Rolling correlation sample (shared closes): N/A
Annualization (days/year): XAG: 252 days/year; NVDA: 252 days/year.
Risk-free rate: Uses the 3-month U.S. Treasury yield (FRED: DGS3MO), averaged over each asset’s window:

XAG: 4.22%.

NVDA: 4.22%.
Volatility drag (rule of thumb): Estimated from annualized volatility (simple returns). For the log-return framing, see Log returns.

XAG: ≈ -5.0%/yr

NVDA: ≈ -12.3%/yr
Data alignment: No forward fill. Correlation and tail co-moves are computed on shared closes only.
For cross-calendar pairs (e.g., crypto vs stocks), weekend/holiday moves roll into the next shared close.
Return conventions: Volatility/Sharpe/Sortino use simple daily returns. Tail-risk uses daily log returns for distribution stats (but tables show simple returns). Log returns.

Formulas

Daily simple return

r_t = \frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}} - 1

Volatility

\sigma_{ann} = \sigma(r_t)\sqrt{A}

Volatility drag (approx.)

\text{drag} \approx \tfrac{1}{2}\sigma_{ann}^2

Sharpe Ratio

S = \frac{A\,\bar{r} - r_f}{\sigma(r_t)\sqrt{A}}

Sortino Ratio

So = \frac{A\,\bar{r} - r_f}{\sqrt{\mathbb{E}[\min(0,\,r_t - r_f/A)^2]}\,\sqrt{A}}

Maximum Drawdown

MDD = \min_t\left(\frac{P_t}{\max_{s \le t} P_s} - 1\right)

Average Correlation

\rho = \frac{\operatorname{cov}(r^A,\,r^B)}{\sigma_A\,\sigma_B}

Log returns

\ell_t = \ln\left(\frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}}\right)

Notation

$P_t$: Price on day t.
$r_t$: Simple daily return.
$\ell_t$: Log daily return.
$\bar{r}$: Average daily return.
$\sigma(r_t)$: Standard deviation of daily returns.
$A$: Annualization factor (days/year).
$r_f$: Annual risk-free rate.

Silver vs Nvidia: Frequently Asked Questions

Which had higher volatility: XAG or NVDA?

NVDA showed higher volatility at 49.6% annualized, compared to 31.6% for XAG During 2025. Higher volatility meant larger price swings in both directions.

Did XAG provide diversification when held with NVDA?

XAG and NVDA were weakly correlated in 2025, with an average correlation of 0.13. This weak correlation suggested meaningful diversification benefits when held together.

How bad are the worst 5% days for XAG vs NVDA?

During 2025, XAG's 5% VaR was -2.32% and its 5% Expected Shortfall was -4.51% (worst 13 days). NVDA's were -4.62% and -7.58% (worst 13 days).

Do XAG and NVDA crash together on bad days?

On shared dates (n=249), when NVDA has a 2σ down day, XAG also does 28.6% (2/7 days). In the other direction, when XAG has one, NVDA also does 33.3% (2/6 days).

Which had better risk-adjusted returns: XAG or NVDA?

XAG showed better risk-adjusted performance with a Sharpe ratio of 2.78 versus NVDA's 0.77 During 2025.

Could XAG and NVDA have been combined in a portfolio?

Yes, though allocation sizing mattered. Their weak correlation could have meaningfully reduced overall portfolio variance. NVDA's higher volatility (49.6%) meant even small allocations can materially impact overall portfolio risk.

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