2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES In preparing financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”), management of the Sponsor makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amount of revenue and expenses reported during the period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Trust. 2.1. Basis of Presentation The Sponsor has determined that the Trust falls within the scope of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 946, Financial Services-Investment Companies, and has concluded that solely for reporting purposes (and not for any other purpose), the Trust is classified as an Investment Company (as defined in ASC 946). The Trust is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is not required to register under such act. The Trust follows the provisions of ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements (“ASC 820”). ASC 820 provides guidance for determining fair value and requires increased disclosure regarding the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. ASC 820 defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. On each business day that the Cboe BZX Exchange is open for regular trading, as promptly as practicable after 4:00 p.m. New York City time, the Trustee will value the gold held by the Trust and will determine the Net Asset Value of the Trust. The Net Asset Value of the Trust is the aggregate value of gold and other assets, if any, of the Trust (other than any amounts credited to the Trust’s reserve account, if any) including cash, if any, less liabilities of the Trust, which include estimated accrued but unpaid fees, expenses and other liabilities. The reserve account, if established, will be a separate non-interest bearing account with the Trustee or such other banking institution specified by the Sponsor, or if the Sponsor fails so to specify, as selected by the Trustee, in the name, and for the benefit, of the Trust, subject only to draft or order by the Trustee acting pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement. All gold is valued based on its fine troy ounce (“Fine Ounce”) content, calculated by multiplying the weight of gold by its purity. The same methodology is applied independent of the type of gold held by the Trust; similarly, the value of up to 430 Fine Ounce of unallocated gold the Trust may hold is calculated by multiplying the number of Fine Ounce with the price of gold determined by the Trustee. The Trustee values the gold held by the Trust based on the LBMA Gold Price PM. The LBMA Gold Price PM is set at 3:00 p.m. London time via an auction independently operated and administered by ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”). The price is set in U.S. dollars per Fine Ounce. If no LBMA Gold Price PM is available for the required day, the Trustee uses the LBMA Gold Price AM. If no LBMA Gold Price PM or LBMA Gold Price AM is available for the day, the Trustee values the Trust’s gold based on the most recently announced LBMA Gold Price PM or LBMA Gold Price AM. If the Sponsor determines that such price is inappropriate to use, it must identify an alternate basis for evaluation to be employed by the Trustee. The Sponsor may instruct the Trustee to use a different price which is reasonably available to the Trustee at no cost to the Trustee that the Sponsor determines to represent fairly the commercial value of the Trust’s gold. U.S. GAAP defines the fair value of a financial instrument as the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (i.e., the exit price); the Trust’s policy is to use the market approach. GAAP establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). The level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement in its entirety falls shall be determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The levels used for classifying investments are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in these investments. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below: Level 1: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities; Level 2: Quoted prices in markets that are not active or financial instruments for which significant inputs are observable (including, but not limited to, quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, volatility and credit spreads), either directly or indirectly; Level 3: Prices or valuations that require significant unobservable inputs (including Sponsor’s assumptions in determining fair value measurement). The Trustee categorizes the Trust’s investment in gold as a Level 1 asset within the ASC 820 hierarchy. 2.3. Expenses, Realized Gains and Losses The Trust’s only ordinary recurring fee is expected to be the fee paid to the Sponsor, which will accrue daily at an annualized rate equal to 0.18% of the daily Net Asset Value of the Trust, paid monthly in arrears (the “Sponsor Fee”). The Sponsor Fee accrues daily based on the prior business day’s Net Asset Value and is payable in cash from the Trust property or the sale of gold in accordance with the Trust Agreement. Realized gains and losses result from the transfer of gold for Share redemptions and the sale of gold for the payment of Trust expenses and are recognized on a trade date basis as the difference between the fair value and cost of gold transferred or between the sale price and cost of gold sold. The cost of gold is determined using the specific identification method. 2.4. Gold Receivable and Payable Gold receivable or payable represents the quantity of gold covered by contractually binding orders for the creation or redemption of Shares respectively, where the gold has not yet been transferred to or from the Trust’s account. Generally, ownership of the gold is transferred within a business day of the trade date. 2.5. Creations and Redemptions of Shares The Trust issues and redeems Shares in one or more blocks of at least 25,000 Shares (a block of 25,000 Shares is called a “Basket”) only to Authorized Participants. The creation and redemption of Baskets will only be made in exchange for the delivery to the Trust or the distribution by the Trust of the amount of gold represented by the Baskets being created or redeemed, the amount of which will be based on the combined fine ounces represented by the number of Shares included in the Baskets being created or redeemed determined on the day the order to create or redeem Baskets is properly received. Orders to create or redeem Baskets may be placed only by Authorized Participants. To become an Authorized Participant, a person must enter into an Authorized Participant Agreement with the Sponsor and the Trustee. The Authorized Participant Agreement provides the procedures for the creation and redemption of Baskets and for the delivery of the gold required for such creations and redemptions. The Authorized Participant Agreement and the related procedures attached thereto may be amended by the Trustee and the Sponsor, without the consent of any investor or Authorized Participant. A transaction fee of $500 will be assessed on all creation and redemption transactions and paid to the Trustee. Authorized Participants who make deposits with the Trust in exchange for Baskets will receive no fees, commissions or other form of compensation or inducement of any kind from either a Sponsor or the Trust, and no such person has any obligation or responsibility to a Sponsor or the Trust to affect any sale or resale of Shares. Changes in the Shares during the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 are:
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Beginning Share Balance |
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31,306,000 |
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33,190,000 |
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Creations (representing 123 and – baskets, respectively) |
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3,085,000 |
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— |
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Redemptions (representing 19 and 197 baskets, respectively) |
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(475,000 |
) |
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(4,920,000 |
) |
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Ending Share Balance |
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33,916,000 |
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28,270,000 |
| Changes in the Shares during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 are:
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Beginning Share Balance |
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31,006,000 |
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|
24,300,000 |
|
Creations (representing 237 and 732 baskets, respectively) |
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|
5,935,000 |
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|
18,290,000 |
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Redemptions (representing 121 and 573 baskets, respectively) |
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(3,025,000 |
) |
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(14,320,000 |
) |
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Ending Share Balance |
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33,916,000 |
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28,270,000 |
| The Trust is classified as a “grantor trust” for United States federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Trust itself is not subject to United States federal income tax. Instead, the Trust’s income, gain, losses, and expenses will “flow through” to the shareholders, and the Trustee reports these to the Internal Revenue Service on that basis. The Sponsor has analyzed applicable tax laws and regulations and their application to the Trust as of September 30, 2024 and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.
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