The FLEX Options that the Fund will hold through the Subsidiary that reference the Underlying ETF will give the Fund the right to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying ETF on the option expiration date at a strike price, depending on whether the option is a put or call option and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option. The FLEX Options held by the Fund are European style options, which are exercisable at the strike price only on the FLEX Option expiration date.
The Fund, through the Subsidiary, will generally, under normal conditions, hold three kinds of FLEX Options for each Target Outcome Period. The Fund, through the Subsidiary, will purchase a call option (giving the Fund the right to receive shares of the Underlying ETF), while simultaneously selling (i.e., writing) a call option (giving the Fund the obligation to deliver shares of the Underlying ETF) and a put option (giving the Fund the right to deliver shares of the Underlying ETF). The Fund intends to structure the FLEX Options so that any amount owed by the Fund on the written FLEX Options will be covered by payouts at expiration from the purchased FLEX Options and the U.S. Treasury securities and cash and cash equivalents. As a result, the FLEX Options will be fully covered and no additional collateral will be necessary during the life of the Fund. The Fund receives premiums in exchange for the written FLEX Options and pays premiums in exchange for the purchased FLEX Options. The OCC and securities exchanges on which the FLEX Options are listed do not charge ongoing fees to writers or purchasers of the FLEX Options during their life for continuing to hold the option contracts, but may charge transaction fees. Each of the FLEX Options purchased and sold throughout the Target Outcome Period will have the same terms, such as strike price and expiration date, as the FLEX Options purchased and sold on the first day of the Target Outcome Period.
On the FLEX Option’s expiration date, the Fund, through the Subsidiary, intends to sell the FLEX Options prior to their expiration and use the resulting proceeds to purchase new FLEX Options for the next Target Outcome Period.
The Underlying ETF
The Underlying ETF is an exchange-traded investment trust that holds physical gold bars. World Gold Trust Services, LLC (“WGTS”) serves as the Underlying ETF’s sponsor and HSBC Bank plc serves as the Underlying ETF’s custodian. The Underlying ETF's custodian may utilize subcustodians that hold the Underlying ETF's gold on its behalf. The Underlying ETF is not expected to pay dividends. You can find the Underlying ETF’s prospectus and other information about the ETF, including the most recent reports to shareholders, online at spdrgoldshares.com.
The summary information below regarding the Underlying ETF comes from its filings with the SEC. You are urged to refer to the SEC filings made by the Underlying ETF and to other publicly available information (e.g., the ETF’s annual reports) to obtain an understanding of the ETF’s business and financial prospects.
The following description of the Underlying ETF’s principal investment strategies was taken directly from the Underlying ETF’s prospectus, dated October 4, 2022 (“GLD” refers to the Underlying ETF; other defined terms have been modified).
The investment objective of GLD is for its shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less GLD’s expenses. WGTS believes that, for many investors, GLD's shares represent a cost-effective investment in gold. GLD’s shares represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of GLD and trade under the ticker symbol “GLD” on the NYSE Arca.
GLD is treated as a “grantor trust” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, GLD itself is not subject to U.S. federal income tax. Instead, GLD’s income and expenses “flow through” to the shareholders, and the Trustee will report the GLD’s income, gains, losses and deductions to the Internal Revenue Service on that basis.
At August 31, 2022 the amount of gold owned by GLD and held by CLD's custodian in its vault was 31,582,529 ounces, 100% of which is allocated gold in the form of London Good Delivery gold bars with a market value of $53,698,529,317 based on the London Bullion Market Association Gold Price PM on August 31, 2022 (cost— $50,824,771,861).
An allocated account is an account with a bullion dealer, which may also be a bank, to which individually identified gold bars owned by the account holder are credited. The gold bars in an allocated gold account are specific to that account and are identified by a list which shows, for each gold bar, the refiner, assay or fineness, serial number and gross and fine weight. All of the GLD’s gold is fully allocated at the end of each business day. GLD’s custodian provides the trustee with regular reports detailing the gold transfers in and out of GLD’s allocated account at the custodian and identifying the gold bars held in GLD’s allocated account at the custodian. Gold held in GLD’s allocated account is the property of GLD and is not traded, leased or loaned under any circumstances.
Subsequent Target Outcome Periods
The Fund will alert existing shareholders to the new cap at the beginning of each new Target Outcome Period in the following manner: