SPDR GOLD TRUST (GLD)

SPDR Gold Trust is an investment trust formed on November 12, 2004 under New York law pursuant to a trust indenture. It holds gold bullion and issues SPDR Gold Shares in exchange for deposits of gold, distributing gold when those shares are redeemed. Its investment objective is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the Trust's expenses. The Trust is not managed like a corporation or an active investment vehicle. It sells gold only to pay expenses, on termination and liquidation, or as required by law. It does not hold derivatives or trade commodity futures, and it is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The Trust's only product is the Shares, each a unit of fractional undivided beneficial interest in the Trust. Its assets consist of allocated gold bullion, gold receivable when recorded, and occasionally cash used to pay expenses. Shares are created and redeemed only in Baskets of 100,000 Shares, in exchange for gold and any cash based on net asset value. NAV is determined using the LBMA Gold Price PM administered by ICE Benchmark Administration. The amount of gold per Share gradually declines as gold is sold to pay Trust expenses. Authorized Participants pay a $2,000 transaction fee per creation or redemption order.

The Shares are aimed at institutional and retail investors who want exposure to gold without the logistics of buying, storing and insuring physical bullion. They trade on NYSE Arca and are also listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange, the Singapore Exchange, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Only Authorized Participants may create or redeem Baskets. These are registered broker-dealers or other market participants who are DTC participants, have signed a Participant Agreement, and hold an unallocated gold account. Current Authorized Participants include Goldman Sachs, HSBC Securities (USA), J.P. Morgan Securities, Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing, Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets, UBS Securities and Virtu Americas. The filing describes the global gold market, which is mostly over-the-counter and centered in London, New York and Zurich, with futures trading on exchanges such as COMEX. Gold demand is led by jewelry, investment, industry and central banks.

The Sponsor is World Gold Trust Services, LLC, the Trustee is The Bank of New York Mellon, and the Marketing Agent is State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC. HSBC Bank plc and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. serve as Custodians, holding the Trust's gold bars in allocated form in London, New York or Zurich. Storage and insurance costs are built into the price of the Shares. The Trust has no employees or manufacturing operations. Its holdings and NAV are published each business day on the Sponsor's website, www.spdrgoldshares.com.