World Gold Trust - Quarter Report: 2019 December (Form 10-Q)

FORM

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Yes

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non-accelerated

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at December 31, 2019 (unaudited) and September 30, 2019

 

 

See notes to theunaudited financial statements.

 

 

For the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

 

 

For the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

 

 

For the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

 

 

at December 31, 2019 (unaudited) and September 30, 2019

 

 

 

 

For the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

 

 

For the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

See notes to the financial statements.

 

 

For the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

 

 

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The investment objective of GLDM is for its shares (the “Shares”) to reflect the performance of the price of gold, less its expenses. GLDM’s only ordinary recurring expense is the Sponsor’s annual fee of % of its net asset value (“NAV”). The Sponsor believes that, for many investors, the Shares represent a cost-effective investment in gold.

BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, a division of The Bank of New York Mellon, (“BNYM”) is the administrator (the “Administrator”) and transfer agent. BNYM also serves as the custodian of GLDM’s cash, if any. ICBC Standard Bank Plc (the “Custodian”) is responsible for custody of GLDM’s gold. State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC is the marketing agent (the “Marketing Agent”).

The Statement of Financial Condition and Schedule of Investment at December 31, 2019, and the Statements of Operations, Changes in Net Assets and Cash Flows for the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 have been prepared on behalf of GLDM without audit. In the opinion of management of the Sponsor, all adjustments (which include normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows as of and for the three months ended December 31, 2019 and for all periods presented have been made.

10-K

The Trust had no operations with respect to GLDM’s Shares prior to June 26, 2018 other than matters relating to its organization and the registration of the offer and sale of GLDM’s Shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

SPDR Long Dollar Gold Trust (“GLDW”) commenced operations on January 27, 2017 and on July 15, 2019, the Sponsor notified the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “NYSE Arca”) that it had determined to voluntarily close GLDW, delist GLDW, liquidate GLDW’s shares and withdraw GLDW’s shares from registration under the Exchange Act. GLDW ceased accepting creation and redemption orders after September 6, 2019 and trading of GLDW’s shares on the NYSE Arca ceased at the open of market on September 10, 2019. The NYSE Arca filed a Form 25 with the Commission on September 11, 2019 and on September 16, 2019, a Post-Effective Amendment deregistering GLDW’s unsold shares was declared effective and the final liquidation payments were made. The financial statements of the Trust for the year ended September 30, 2019 include GLDW for the period up to its liquidation.

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) requires those responsible for preparing financial statements to make estimates

and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by GLDM and the Trust.

GLDM is an investment company within the scope of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 946, Financial Services—Investment Companies, and therefore applies the specialized accounting and reporting guidance therein. It is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

The financial statements are presented for the Trust, as the SEC registrant, combined with GLDM and GLDW, until its liquidation, and for GLDM individually. The debts, liabilities, obligations and expenses incurred, contracted for or otherwise existing with respect to GLDM shall be enforceable only against the assets of GLDM and not against the assets of the Trust generally or any other series that the Trust may establish.

Gold is held by the Custodian on behalf of GLDM. During the three months ended December 31, 2019 and the year ended September 30, 2019, gold was held by a subcustodian.

GLDM creates and redeems Shares from time to time, but only in one or more Creation Units (a Creation Unit equals a block of 100,000 Shares). GLDM issues Shares in Creation Units to certain authorized participants (“Authorized Participants”) on an ongoing basis. The creation and redemption of Creation Units is only made in exchange for the amount of gold and any cash represented by the Creation Units being created or redeemed. This 

 

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amount will be based on the combined net asset value of the number of Shares included in the Creation Units being created or redeemed determined on the day the order to create or redeem Creation Units is properly received.

2018-13,

2018-13”).

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The Sponsor receives an annual fee equal to 0.18% of the NAV of GLDM, calculated on a daily basis. The Sponsor is responsible for the payment of all of GLDM’s ordinary fees and expenses, including but not limited to the following: fees charged by GLDM’s Administrator, Custodian, Marketing Agent and Trustee; exchange listing fees; typical maintenance and transaction fees of The Depository Trust Company; SEC registration fees; printing and mailing costs; audit fees and expenses; and legal fees not in excess of $100,000 per annum and expenses and applicable license fees. The Sponsor is not, however, required to pay any extraordinary expenses incurred in the ordinary course of GLDM’s business as outlined in the Sponsor’s agreement with the Trust.

GLDM’s only ordinary recurring operating expenses are the Sponsor’s annual fee of 0.18% of the NAV of GLDM. The Sponsor’s fee is payable monthly in arrears.

Expenses payable will reduce the NAV of GLDM.

GLDM’s primary business activities are the investment in gold and the issuance and sale of Shares.

Various factors could affect the price of gold including: (i) global gold supply and demand, which is influenced by such factors as forward selling by gold producers, purchases made by gold producers to unwind gold hedge positions, central bank purchases and sales, and production and cost levels in major gold-producing countries such as China, Australia, South Africa and the United States; (ii) investors’ expectations with respect to the rate of inflation; (iii) currency exchange rates; (iv) interest rates; (v) investment and trading activities of hedge funds and commodity funds; (vi) other economic variables such as income growth, economic output, and monetary policies; and (vii) global or regional political, economic or financial events and situations. In addition, while gold is used to preserve wealth by investors around the world, there is no assurance that gold will maintain its long-term value in terms of purchasing power in the future. In the event that the price of gold declines, the Sponsor expects the value of an investment in the Shares to decline proportionately. Each of these events could have a material effect on GLDM’s financial position and results of operations.

The Sponsor and each of its shareholders, members, directors, officers, employees, affiliates and subsidiaries will be indemnified by the Trust and held harmless against any losses, liabilities or expenses incurred in the performance of its duties under the Declaration of Trust without gross negligence, bad faith or willful 

 

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misconduct. The Sponsor shall in no event be deemed to have assumed or incurred any liability, duty, or obligation to any shareholder or to the Trustee other than as expressly provided for in the Declaration of Trust. Such indemnity includes payment from the Trust of the costs and expenses incurred in defending against any indemnified claim or liability under the Declaration of Trust.

This information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in Item 1 of Part I of this Quarterly Report. This Quarterly Report, including the exhibits hereto and the information incorporated by reference herein, contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Except for historical information, statements about future gold prices, gold bullion sales, foreign currencies (including the Reference Currencies), foreign currency exchange rates, costs, plans, or objectives are forward-looking statements based on our estimates, beliefs, assumptions and projections. Words such as “could,” “would,” “may,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” and “predict,” and variations on such words, and similar expressions that reflect our current views with respect to future events and fund performance, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control, and actual results could differ materially from those discussed. Important factors that we believe could affect performance and cause results to differ materially from our expectations are described in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Annual Report on Form for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019, as updated from time to time in the Trust’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

The World Gold Trust (the “Trust”) was formed as a Delaware statutory trust on August 27, 2014. The Trust consists of multiple series (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”). Each Fund issues common units of beneficial interest that represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of such Fund. The term of the Trust and each Fund is perpetual (unless terminated earlier in certain circumstances). The Trust was organized in separate series as a Delaware statutory trust rather than as separate statutory trusts to achieve certain administrative and other efficiencies. The Trust is sponsored by WGC USA Asset Management Company, LLC (the “Sponsor”).

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Gold is held by ICBC Standard Bank Plc (the “Custodian”) on behalf of GLDM.

Investing in the Shares does not insulate the investor from risks, including price volatility. The following chart illustrates the movement in the market price of the Shares and NAV of the Shares against the corresponding gold price (per 1/100 of an oz. of gold) since the day the Shares first began trading on the NYSE Arca:

 

 

GLDM values the investment in gold bullion at fair value. BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, a division of The Bank of New York Mellon (the “Administrator”), will value any gold bullion held by GLDM on the basis of the price of an ounce of gold as determined by ICE Benchmark Administration Limited. In determining the NAV, the Administrator will value the gold bullion held by GLDM on the basis of the LBMA Gold Price PM. The Administrator will calculate the NAV on each day the NYSE Arca is open for regular trading, at the earlier LBMA Gold Price PM for the day or 12:00 PM New York time. If no LBMA Gold Price (AM or PM) is made on a particular evaluation day or if the LBMA Gold Price PM has not been announced by 12:00 PM New York time on a particular evaluation day, the next most recent LBMA Gold Price AM or PM will be used in the determination of the NAV, unless the Sponsor determines that such price is inappropriate to use as the basis for such determination. Gold held by GLDM is reported at fair value on the Statement of Financial Condition.

Once the value of the gold has been determined, the Administrator subtracts all estimated accrued expenses and other liabilities of GLDM from the total value of the gold and all other assets of GLDM. The resulting figure is the NAV. The NAV is used to compute the Sponsor’s fee. The Administrator determines the NAV per Share by dividing the NAV of GLDM by the number of Shares outstanding as of the close of trading on NYSE Arca.

In the three months ended December 31, 2019, 7,100,000 Shares (71 Creation Units) were created in exchange for 70,827.1 ounces of gold, 3,400,000 Shares (34 Creation Units) were redeemed in exchange for 33,911.7 ounces of gold and 323.9 ounces of gold were sold to pay Sponsor fees. For accounting purposes, GLDM reflects creations and redemptions on the date of receipt of a notification of a creation but does not issue Shares until the requisite amount of gold is received. Upon a redemption, GLDM delivers gold upon receipt of Shares. These creations were completed in the normal course of business.

 

On September 19, 2019, Inspectorate International Limited concluded the annual full count of GLDM’s gold bullion held by the Custodian. On October 2, 2019, Inspectorate International Limited concluded reconciliation procedures from September 19, 2019 through September 30, 2019. The results can be found on www.spdrgoldshares.com.

At December 31, 2019, GLDM did not have any cash balances. When selling gold to pay expenses, GLDM endeavors to sell the exact amount of gold needed to pay expenses in order to minimize GLDM’s holdings of assets other than gold or any gold receivable. As a consequence, we expect that GLDM will not record any net cash flow from its operations and that its cash balance will be zero at the end of each reporting period.

As movements in the price of gold are expected to directly affect the price of the Shares, it is important to understand the recent movements in the price of gold. However, past movements in the price of gold are not indicators of future movements.

 

 

The following chart shows movements in the price of gold based on the LBMA Gold Price PM in U.S. dollars per ounce over the period from June 26, 2018 (the first date the Shares began trading on the NYSE Arca) to December 31, 2019.

end-of-period

 

 

GLDM is a passive investment vehicle. Fluctuations in the value of gold bullion will affect the value of Shares which are designed to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less GLDM’s expenses.

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, 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. Such disclosure controls and procedures are designed 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 (the “Exchange Act”), are recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time period specified in the applicable rules and forms, and that such information 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, and to the Audit Committee of the Sponsor, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

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, have evaluated the effectiveness of GLDM’s disclosure controls and procedures, and have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures of GLDM were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report. Such disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports that the Trust files or submits under the Exchange Act on behalf of GLDM are recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time period specified in the applicable rules and forms, and that such information 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, and to the Audit Committee of the Sponsor, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

There has been no change in the internal control over financial reporting of the Trust that occurred during the most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting.

There has been no change in the internal control over financial reporting of GLDM that occurred during the most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, GLDM’s internal control over financial reporting.

None.

 

 

10-K

10-K.

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Since GLDM commenced operations on June 26, 2018, and in the period from then to December 31, 2019, 81,900,000 Shares (819 Creation Units) were created in exchange for 818,002.2 ounces of gold and 7,300,000 Shares (73 Creation Units) were redeemed in exchange for 72,842.2 ounces of gold.

None.

Not applicable.

None.

The exhibits listed on the accompanying Exhibit Index, and such Exhibit Index, are filed or incorporated by reference as a part of this report.

 

 

Exhibit No.				Description of Exhibit
	4.1.1			Amendment No. 1 to the Fourth Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust of World Gold Trust dated February 6, 2020 between WGC USA Asset Management Company, LLC, as sponsor, and Delaware Trust Company, as trustee.
	31.1			Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to the Trust’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.
	31.2			Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to the Trust’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.
	32.1			Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, with respect to the Trust’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.
	32.2			Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, with respect to the Trust’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended to December 31, 2019.
	101.INS*			XBRL Instance Document
	101.SCH*			XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
	101.CAL*			XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
	101.LAB*			XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
	101.PRE*			XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
	101.DEF*			XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
	104.1			Cover Page Interactive Data File – The cover page interactive data file does not appear in the interactive data file because its XBRL tags are embedded within the inline XBRL document.

 

 

 

 

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.