iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust - Quarter Report: 2017 June (Form 10-Q)

Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

Commission file number: 001-32947

iShares® S&P GSCI™ Commodity-Indexed Trust

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

c/o iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC

400 Howard Street

San Francisco, California 94105

Attn: Product Management Team

iShares Product Research & Development

(Address of principal executive offices)

(415) 670-2000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

 (Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes  ☒ No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes  ☒ No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes  ☐ No  ☒   

Table of Contents

PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

iShares S&P GSCI™ Commodity-Indexed Trust

Statements of Assets and Liabilities (Unaudited)

At June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016

See notes to financial statements.

iShares S&P GSCI™ Commodity-Indexed Trust

Statements of Operations (Unaudited)

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016

See notes to financial statements.

iShares S&P GSCI™ Commodity-Indexed Trust

Statements of Changes in Net Assets (Unaudited)

For the six months ended June 30, 2017 and the year ended December 31, 2016

See notes to financial statements.

iShares S&P GSCI™ Commodity-Indexed Trust

Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)

For the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016

See notes to financial statements.

See notes to financial statements.

iShares S&P GSCI™ Commodity-Indexed Trust

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)

June 30, 2017

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

This information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes to financial statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this Form 10‑Q. The discussion and analysis that follows may contain statements that relate to future events or future performance. In some cases, such forward‑looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. None of the Trust, the Sponsor, the Advisor, the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee assumes responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable disclosure laws, none of the Trust, the Sponsor, the Advisor, the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee is under a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform such statements to actual results or to a change in expectations or predictions.

Introduction

The iShares S&P GSCI™ Commodity-Indexed Trust (the “Trust”) is a Delaware statutory trust that issues units of beneficial interest (“Shares”) representing fractional undivided beneficial interests in its net assets. The Trust holds long positions in exchange-traded index futures contracts of various expirations, or “Index Futures” on the S&P GSCI™ Excess Return Index (the “S&P GSCI-ER”), together with cash, U.S. Treasury securities or other short-term securities and similar securities that are eligible as margin deposits for the Trust’s Index Futures positions, referred to as “Collateral Assets.” The Index Futures held by the Trust are listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the “CME”). The Trust seeks to track the results of a fully collateralized investment in futures contracts on an index composed of a diversified group of commodities futures. The Trust seeks to track the investment returns of the S&P GSCI™ Total Return Index (the “Index”) before payment of the Trust’s expenses and liabilities.

iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, is the sponsor of the Trust (the “Sponsor”). BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. is the “Trustee” of the Trust. The Trust is a commodity pool, as defined in the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) and the applicable regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), and is operated by the Sponsor, a commodity pool operator registered with the CFTC. BlackRock Fund Advisors (the “Advisor”), an indirect subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc., serves as the commodity trading advisor of the Trust and is registered with the CFTC. The Trust is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The Trust has delegated day-to-day administration of the Trust to the Trustee. The Trustee has delegated certain day-to-day administrative functions of the Trustee to State Street Bank and Trust Company (the “Trust Administrator”). Wilmington Trust Company, a Delaware trust company, serves as the “Delaware Trustee” of the Trust.

The Trust intends to offer Shares on a continuous basis. The Trust issues and redeems Shares only in one or more blocks of 50,000 Shares (“Baskets”). Only institutions that enter into an agreement with the Trust to become “Authorized Participants” may purchase or redeem Baskets, in exchange for Index Futures and Collateral Assets with an aggregate value equal to the net asset value per Share (“NAV”) of the Shares being purchased or redeemed. Owners of beneficial interests in Shares (“Shareholders”) who are not Authorized Participants have no right to redeem their Shares. In order to liquidate their investment in the Shares, Shareholders who are not Authorized Participants must generally sell their Shares in the secondary market, assuming that demand for their Shares exists. The price obtained by the Shareholders for the Shares may be less than the NAV of those Shares.

Shares of the Trust trade on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) under the symbol GSG.

Valuation of Index Futures; Computation of the Trust’s Net Asset Value

The Sponsor has the exclusive authority to determine the net asset value of the Trust and the NAV, which it has delegated to the Trustee under the Trust Agreement. The Trustee determines the net asset value of the Trust and the NAV as of 4:00 p.m. (New York time), on each Business Day on which NYSE Arca is open for regular trading, as soon as practicable after that time. A “Business Day” is a day (1) on which none of the following occurs: (a) NYSE Arca is closed for regular trading, (b) the CME is closed for regular trading or (c) the Federal Reserve wire transfer system is closed for cash wire transfers, or (2) that the Trustee determines that it is able to conduct business.

The Trustee values the Trust’s long positions in Index Futures on the basis of that day’s announced CME settlement prices for the Index Futures held by the Trust. The value of the Trust’s positions in any particular Index Futures contract equals the product of (1) the number of such Index Futures contracts owned by the Trust, (2) the settlement price of such Index Futures contract on the date of calculation and (3) the multiplier of such Index Futures contract. If there is no announced CME settlement price for a particular Index Futures contract on a Business Day, the Trustee uses the most recently announced CME settlement price unless the Trustee, in consultation with the Sponsor, determines that such price is inappropriate as a basis for valuation. The daily settlement price for each Index Futures contract currently held by the Trust is established on each trading day by the CME shortly after the close of trading for such Index Futures contract, which is generally 2:40 p.m. (New York time).

The Trustee values all other holdings of the Trust at (a) its current market value, if quotations for such property are readily available, or (b) its fair value, as reasonably determined by the Trustee, if the current market value cannot be determined.

Once the value of the Index Futures, Collateral Assets, other assets of the Trust and interest earned on the Trust’s Collateral Assets has been determined, the Trustee subtracts all accrued expenses and liabilities of the Trust as of the time of calculation in order to calculate the net asset value of the Trust.

Once the net asset value of the Trust has been calculated, the Trustee determines the NAV by dividing the net asset value of the Trust by the number of Shares outstanding at the time the calculation is made. Any changes to the NAV that may result from creation and redemption activity are not reflected in the NAV calculations for purposes of the Trust’s operations until the Business Day following the Business Day on which they occur, but are reflected in the Trust’s financial statements as of such first Business Day. Creation and redemption orders received after 2:40 p.m. (New York time) are not deemed to be received, and the related creation or redemption will not be deemed to occur, until the following Business Day. Subject to the approval of the Trustee, Baskets may be created solely for cash, but the related creation orders will be deemed received as of the following Business Day unless received by 10:00 a.m. (New York time). Orders are expected to settle by 11:00 a.m. (New York time) on the Business Day following the Business Day on which such orders are deemed to be received.

Results of Operations

The Quarter Ended June 30, 2017

The Trust’s net asset value increased from $1,066,414,605 at March 31, 2017 to $1,085,995,659 at June 30, 2017. The increase in the Trust’s net asset value resulted primarily from a net increase in the number of outstanding Shares, which rose from 72,000,000 Shares at March 31, 2017 to 77,800,000 Shares at June 30, 2017, a consequence of 9,400,000 Shares (188 Baskets) being created and 3,600,000 Shares (72 Baskets) being redeemed during the quarter. The increase in the Trust’s net asset value was partially offset by a net decrease in net assets resulting from operations.

The 5.74% decrease in the Trust’s NAV from $14.81 at March 31, 2017 to $13.96 at June 30, 2017 is directly related to the 5.71% decrease in the settlement price for the Index Futures. The Trust’s NAV decreased slightly more than the settlement price for the Index Futures on a percentage basis due to the Sponsor’s fees and brokerage commissions.

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 was $56,184,811, resulting from a net investment loss of $308,565 and a net realized and unrealized loss of $55,876,246. For the quarter ended June 30, 2017, the Trust had a net realized and unrealized gain of $30,643 on short-term investments and a net realized and unrealized loss of $55,906,889 on futures contracts. Other than the Sponsor’s fees of $1,905,690 and brokerage commissions and fees of $311,842, the Trust had no expenses during the quarter.

The Six Months Ended June 30, 2017

The Trust’s net asset value increased from $1,035,799,565 at December 31, 2016 to $1,085,995,659 at June 30, 2017. The increase in the Trust’s net asset value resulted primarily from a net increase in the number of outstanding Shares, which rose from 66,300,000 Shares at December 31, 2016 to 77,800,000 Shares at June 30, 2017, a consequence of 15,650,000 Shares (313 Baskets) being created and 4,150,000 Shares (83 Baskets) being redeemed during the period. The increase in the Trust’s net asset value was partially offset by a net decrease in net assets resulting from operations.

The 10.63% decrease in the Trust’s NAV from $15.62 at December 31, 2016 to $13.96 at June 30, 2017 is directly related to the 10.51% decrease in the settlement price for the Index Futures. The Trust’s NAV decreased slightly more than the settlement price for the Index Futures on a percentage basis due to the Sponsor’s fees and brokerage commissions.

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $114,398,777, resulting from a net investment loss of $1,237,785 and a net realized and unrealized loss of $113,160,992. For the six months ended June 30, 2017, the Trust had a net realized and unrealized gain of $25,078 on short-term investments and a net realized and unrealized loss of $113,186,070 on futures contracts. Other than the Sponsor’s fees of $3,893,578 and brokerage commissions and fees of $639,978, the Trust had no expenses during the six months.   

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Trust’s assets as of June 30, 2017 consist of Index Futures and Collateral Assets used to satisfy applicable margin requirements for those Index Futures positions. The Trust does not anticipate any further need for liquidity, because creations and redemptions of Shares generally occur in-kind and ordinary expenses are met by cash on hand. Interest earned on the assets posted as collateral is paid to the Trust and is used to pay the Sponsor’s fees and purchase additional Index Futures and Collateral Assets, or, in the discretion of the Sponsor, distributed to Shareholders. In exchange for a fee based on the net asset value of the Trust, the Sponsor has assumed most of the ordinary expenses incurred by the Trust. In the case of an extraordinary expense and/or insufficient interest income to cover ordinary expenses, however, the Trust could be forced to liquidate its positions in Index Futures and Collateral Assets to pay such expenses. As of June 30, 2017, the market for Index Futures had not developed significant liquidity and the Trust represented substantially all of the long-side open interest in Index Futures. In addition, it is expected that Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC or its accountholders may represent, directly or indirectly, a substantial portion of the short-side interest in such market. The existence of such a limited number of market participants could cause or exacerbate losses to the Trust if the Trust were required to liquidate its Index Futures positions.

The Sponsor is unaware of any other trends, demands, conditions or events that are reasonably likely to result in material changes to the Trust’s liquidity needs.

Because the Trust trades Index Futures, its capital is at risk due to changes in the value of the Index Futures or other assets (market risk) or the inability of counterparties to perform (credit risk).

Market Risk

The Trust holds Index Futures positions and Collateral Assets to satisfy applicable margin requirements on those Index Futures positions. Because of this limited diversification of the Trust’s assets, fluctuations in the value of the Index Futures are expected to directly affect the value of the Shares. The value of the Index Futures is expected to track generally the S&P GSCI-ER, although this correlation may not be exact. The S&P GSCI-ER, in turn, reflects the value of a diversified group of commodities. The Trust’s exposure to market risk will be influenced by a number of factors, including the lack of liquidity of the Index Futures market and activities of other market participants.

Credit Risk

When the Trust purchases or holds Index Futures, it is exposed to the credit risk of a default by the CME’s clearing house, which serves as the counterparty to each Index Futures position, and of a default by its clearing futures commission merchant. In the case of such a default, the Trust may be unable to recover amounts due to it on its Index Futures positions and Collateral Assets posted as margin. The Trust is also exposed to credit risk as a result of its ownership of U.S. Treasury bills.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Contractual Obligations

The Trust does not use and is not expected to use special purpose entities to facilitate off-balance sheet financing arrangements. The Trust does not have and is not expected to have loan guarantee arrangements or other off-balance sheet arrangements of any kind other than agreements entered into in the normal course of business, which may include indemnification provisions related to certain risks service providers undertake in performing services that are in the interest of the Trust. While the Trust’s exposure under such indemnification provisions cannot be estimated, these general business indemnifications are not expected to have a material impact on the Trust’s financial position.

Critical Accounting Policies

The financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements relies on estimates and assumptions that impact the Trust’s financial position and results of operations. These estimates and assumptions affect the Trust’s application of accounting policies. In addition, please refer to Note 2 to the financial statements of the Trust for further discussion of the Trust’s accounting policies.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Quantitative Disclosure

The Trust is exposed to commodity price risk through the Trust’s holdings of Index Futures. The following table provides information about the Trust’s futures contract positions, which are sensitive to changes in commodity prices. As of June 30, 2017, the Trust’s open Index Futures positions (long) were as follows:

The notional amount is calculated using the settlement price for the Index Futures on the CME on June 30, 2017, which was $208.76 per contract, and the $100 multiplier applicable under the contract terms.

The Trust has non-trading market risk as a result of investing in short-term U.S. Treasury bills and such market risk is expected to be immaterial.

Qualitative Disclosure

As described herein, the Trust seeks to track the results of a fully collateralized investment in futures contracts on an index composed of a diversified group of commodities futures. The Trust seeks to track the investment returns of the Index before payment of the Trust’s expenses and liabilities. The Index itself is intended to reflect the performance of a diversified group of physical commodities, including energy commodities, precious and industrial metal commodities, agricultural commodities and livestock commodities. The Trust obtains this exposure to commodity prices through the Trust’s Index Futures positions. As a result, fluctuations in the value of the Trust’s Index Futures are expected to directly affect the value of the Shares.

The Trust will not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the level of the Index or the S&P GSCI‑ER, or the value of any Collateral Assets. The Trust’s exposure to market risk may be influenced by a number of factors, including the lack of liquidity of the Index Futures market and activities of other market participants.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures 

The duly authorized officers of the Sponsor performing functions equivalent to those a principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Trust would perform if the Trust had any officers, with the participation of the Trustee, have evaluated the effectiveness of the Trust’s disclosure controls and procedures, and have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures of the Trust were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports that the Trust files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the applicable rules and forms, and that it is accumulated and communicated to the duly authorized officers of the Sponsor performing functions equivalent to those a principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Trust would perform if the Trust had any officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures.

There were no changes in the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting.

PART II – OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

None.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

There have been no material changes to the Risk Factors last reported under Part I, Item 1A of the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 24, 2017.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

a) None.

b) Not applicable.

c) 3,600,000 Shares 72 (Baskets) were redeemed during the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information

None.

Item 6. Exhibits

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned in the capacities* indicated, thereunto duly authorized.

iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC,

Sponsor of the iShares S&P GSCI™ Commodity-Indexed Trust (registrant)

16