UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-Q

QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2020

or

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Transition Period from ___________ to _____________

Commission File Number: 001-34441

ABERDEEN STANDARD GOLD ETF TRUST

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(844) 383-7289

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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 x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 such files).

Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a 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.

o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes o No x

As of May 6, 2020, Aberdeen Standard Gold ETF Trust had 111,800,000 Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold Shares ETF outstanding.

ABERDEEN STANDARD GOLD ETF TRUST

FORM 10-Q

FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2020

INDEX

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

Statements of Assets and Liabilities
‎At March 31, 2020 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2019

(1)Authorized share capital is unlimited with no par value per Share. Shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2020 were 94,800,000 and at December 31, 2019 were 82,000,000. Net asset values per Share at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 were $15.48 and $14.58, respectively.

See Notes to the Financial Statements

‎

Schedules of Investments
‎At March 31, 2020 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2019

See Notes to the Financial Statements

‎

Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
‎For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019

(1)After the close of markets on November 1, 2019, the Trust effected a ten-for-one forward share split of the Shares issued by the Trust (the “Split”). The information presented attributable to periods prior to the Split has been adjusted to reflect the effects of the Split.

See Notes to the Financial Statements

‎

Statements of Changes in Net Assets (Unaudited)
‎For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019

(1)After the close of markets on November 1, 2019, the Trust effected a ten-for-one forward share split of the Shares issued by the Trust (the “Split”). The information presented attributable to periods prior to the Split has been adjusted to reflect the effects of the Split.

See Notes to the Financial Statements

‎

Financial Highlights (Unaudited)
‎For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019

⁽¹⁾Annualized for periods of less than one year.

⁽²⁾Total return is not annualized.

⁽³⁾After the close of markets on November 1, 2019, the Trust effected a ten-for-one forward share split of the Shares issued by the Trust (the “Split”). The information presented attributable to periods prior to the Split has been adjusted to reflect the effects of the Split.

Amounts listed as “–” are $0 or round to $0.

See Notes to the Financial Statements

1. Organization

2. Significant Accounting Policies

In accordance with the provisions set forth in FASB ASC 855-10, Subsequent Events, the Trust’s management has evaluated the possibility of subsequent events impacting the Trust’s financial statements through the filing date. During this period, no material subsequent events requiring adjustment to or disclosure in the financial statements were identified.

3. Related Parties

4. Concentration of Risk

The Trust’s sole business activity is the investment in gold and substantially all the Trust’s assets are holdings of gold, which creates a concentration of risk associated with fluctuations in the price of gold. Several factors could affect the price of gold, including: (i) global gold supply and demand, which is influenced by factors such 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; (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; and (vi) global or regional political, economic or financial events and situations. In addition, 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 the Trust’s financial position and results of operations.

5. Indemnification

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the Trustee (and its directors, employees and agents) and the Sponsor (and its members, managers, directors, officers, employees and affiliates) are indemnified by the Trust against any liability, cost or expense it incurs without gross negligence, bad faith, willful misconduct or willful malfeasance on its part and without reckless disregard on its part of its obligations and duties under the Trust’s organizational documents. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Trust that have not yet occurred.

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 the financial statements included in Item 1 of Part 1 of this Form 10-Q. The discussion and analysis that follows may contain 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 within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These forward-looking statements may relate to the Trust’s financial condition, operations, future performance and business. These statements can be identified by the use of the words “may”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential” or similar words and phrases. These statements are based upon certain assumptions and analyses the Sponsor has made based on its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. Neither the Trust nor the Sponsor is under a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements, to conform such statements to actual results or to reflect a change in management’s expectations or predictions.

Introduction

The Trust is a common law trust, formed under the laws of the state of New York on September 1, 2009. The Trust is not managed like a corporation or an active investment vehicle. It does not have any officers, directors, or employees and is administered by the Trustee pursuant to the Trust Agreement. 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. It does not hold or trade in commodity futures contracts, nor is it a commodity pool, or subject to regulation as a commodity pool operator or a commodity trading adviser in connection with issuing Shares.

The Trust holds gold and is expected to issue Baskets in exchange for deposits of gold, and to distribute gold in connection with redemptions of Baskets. Shares issued by the Trust represent units of undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of the Trust. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold, less the Trust’s expenses. The Sponsor believes that, for many investors, the Shares will represent a cost effective investment relative to traditional means of investing in gold.

The Trust issues and redeems Shares only with Authorized Participants in exchange for gold and only in aggregations of 100,000 Shares, effective November 4, 2019, or integral multiples thereof. Prior to November 4, 2019, the Trust issued and redeemed Shares in aggregations of 50,000 Shares or integral multiples thereof. A list of current Authorized Participants is available from the Sponsor or the Trustee.

Shares of the Trust trade on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) Arca under the symbol “SGOL”.

Valuation of Gold and Computation of Net Asset Value

On each day that the NYSE Arca is open for regular trading, as promptly as practicable after 4:00 p.m. New York time on such day (the “Evaluation Time”), the Trustee evaluates the gold held by the Trust and determines the NAV of the Trust.

At the Evaluation Time, the Trustee values the Trust’s gold on the basis of that day’s LBMA PM Gold Price (the afternoon session of the ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”) equilibrium auction). If no LBMA PM Gold Price is made on such day or has not been announced by the Evaluation Time, the next most recent LBMA PM Gold Price determined prior to the Evaluation Time will be used, unless the Sponsor determines that such price is inappropriate as a basis for evaluation. In the event the Sponsor determines that the LBMA PM Gold Price or such other publicly available price as the Sponsor may deem fairly represents the commercial value of the Trust’s gold is not an appropriate basis for evaluation of the Trust’s gold, it shall identify an alternative basis for such evaluation to be employed by the Trustee. Neither the Trustee nor the Sponsor shall be liable to any person for the determination that the LBMA PM Gold Price or such other publicly available price is not appropriate as a basis for evaluation of the Trust’s gold or for any determination as to the alternative basis for such evaluation provided that such determination is made in good faith.

Once the value of the gold has been determined, the Trustee subtracts all estimated accrued but unpaid fees (other than the fees accruing for such day on which the valuation takes place that are computed by reference to the value of the Trust or its assets), expenses and other liabilities of the Trust from the total value of the gold and all other assets of the Trust (other than any amounts credited to the Trust’s reserve account, if established). The resulting figure is the adjusted net asset value (the “ANAV”) of the Trust. The ANAV of the Trust is used to compute the Sponsor’s Fee.

All fees accruing for the day on which the valuation takes place that are computed by reference to the value of the Trust or its assets are calculated using the ANAV calculated for such day. The Trustee subtracts from the ANAV the amount of accrued fees so computed for such day and the resulting figure is the NAV of the Trust. The Trustee also determines the NAV per Share by dividing the NAV of the Trust by the number of the Shares outstanding as of the close of trading on the NYSE Arca (which includes the net number of any Shares created or redeemed on such evaluation day).

The Trustee’s estimation of accrued but unpaid fees, expenses and liabilities is conclusive upon all persons interested in the Trust and no revision or correction in any computation made under the Trust Agreement will be required by reason of any difference in amounts estimated from those actually paid.

The Quarter Ended March 31, 2020

The NAV of the Trust is obtained by subtracting the Trust’s liabilities on any day from the value of the gold owned and receivable by the Trust on that day; the NAV per Share is obtained by dividing the NAV of the Trust on a given day by the number of Shares outstanding on that day.

The Trust’s NAV increased from $1,195,896,624 at December 31, 2019 to $1,467,932,191 at March 31, 2020, a 22.75% increase for the quarter. The increase in the Trust’s NAV resulted primarily from an increase in the price per ounce of gold, which rose 6.22% from $1,514.75 at December 31, 2019 to $1,608.95 at March 31, 2020. There was an increase in outstanding Shares, which rose from 82,000,000 Shares at December 31, 2019 to 94,800,000 Shares at March 31, 2020, as a result of 18,500,000 Shares (185 Baskets) being created and 5,700,000 Shares (57 Baskets) being redeemed.

The NAV per Share increased 6.17% from $14.58 at December 31, 2019 to $15.48 at March 31, 2020. The Trust’s NAV per Share rose slightly less than the price per ounce of gold on a percentage basis due to the Sponsor’s Fee, which was $587,711 for the quarter, or 0.17% of the Trust’s ANAV on an annualized basis.

The NAV per Share of $16.21 at March 6, 2020 was the highest during the quarter, compared with a low of $14.19 at March 19, 2020.

The increase in net assets from operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 was $68,797,338, resulting from a realized gain of $88,563 on the transfer of gold to pay expenses, a realized gain of $9,417,390 on gold distributed for the redemption of Shares, and a change in unrealized gain on investment in gold of $59,879,096, offset by the Sponsor’s Fee of $587,711. Other than the Sponsor’s Fee, the Trust had no expenses during the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

The Quarter Ended March 31, 2019

The NAV of the Trust is obtained by subtracting the Trust’s liabilities on any day from the value of the gold owned and receivable by the Trust on that day; the NAV per Share is obtained by dividing the NAV of the Trust on a given day by the number of Shares outstanding on that day.

The Trust’s NAV increased from $846,715,993 at December 31, 2018 to $880,417,280 at March 31, 2019, a 3.98% increase for the quarter. The increase in the Trust’s NAV resulted primarily from an increase in the price per ounce of gold, which rose 1.07% from $1,281.65 at December 31, 2018 to $1,295.40 at March 31, 2019 and an increase in outstanding Shares, which rose from 68,500,000 Shares at December 31, 2018 to 70,500,000 Shares at March 31, 2019, a result of 4,000,000 Shares (40 Baskets) being created and 2,000,000 Shares (20 Baskets) being redeemed⁽¹⁾.

The NAV per Share increased 1.03% from $12.36 at December 31, 2018 to $12.49 at March 31, 2019⁽¹⁾. The Trust’s NAV per Share rose slightly less than the price per ounce of gold on a percentage basis due to the Sponsor’s Fee, which was $373,202 for the quarter, or 0.17% of the Trust’s ANAV on an annualized basis.

The NAV per Share of $12.96 at February 20, 2019 was the highest during the quarter, compared with a low of $12.34 at January 23, 2019.

The increase in net assets from operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 was $8,684,877, resulting from a realized gain of $18,686 on the transfer of gold to pay expenses, a realized gain of $1,430,146 on gold distributed for the redemption of Shares, and a change in unrealized gain on investment in gold of $7,609,247, offset by the Sponsor’s Fee of $373,202. Other than the Sponsor’s Fee, the Trust had no expenses during the quarter ended March 31, 2019.

(1)After the close of markets on November 1, 2019, the Trust effected a ten-for-one forward share split of the Shares issued by the Trust (the “Split”). In addition, effective November 4, 2019, the number of Shares in a block that constitutes a Basket increased from 50,000 Shares to 100,000 Shares (the “Basket Size Change”). The information presented attributable to periods prior to the Split and the Basket Size Change has been adjusted to reflect the effects of the Split and the Basket Size Change.

‎

Liquidity & Capital Resources

The Trust is not aware of any trends, demands, commitments, events or uncertainties that are reasonably likely to result in material changes to its liquidity needs. In exchange for the Sponsor’s Fee, the Sponsor has agreed to assume most of the expenses incurred by the Trust. As a result, the only ordinary expense of the Trust during the period covered by this report was the Sponsor’s Fee.

The Trustee will, at the direction of the Sponsor or in its own discretion, sell the Trust’s gold as necessary to pay the Trust’s expenses not otherwise assumed by the Sponsor. The Trustee will not sell gold to pay the Sponsor’s Fee but will pay the Sponsor’s Fee through in-kind transfers of gold to the Sponsor. At March 31, 2020, the Trust did not have any cash balances.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

The Trust has no off-balance sheet arrangements.

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.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Not applicable.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

The Trust maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in its reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Sponsor, and to the audit committee, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Under the supervision and with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the Sponsor, the Sponsor conducted an evaluation of the Trust’s disclosure controls and procedures, as defined under Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e). Based on this evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the Sponsor concluded that, as of March 31, 2020, the Trust’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

There have been no changes in the Trust’s or Sponsor’s internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended March 31, 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Trust’s or Sponsor’s internal control over financial reporting.

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PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

None.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Except for the risk factor set forth below, there have been no material changes to the risk factors previously disclosed in the Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

Uncertainty regarding the effects of COVID-19

The respiratory illness COVID-19 caused by a novel coronavirus has resulted in a global pandemic and major disruption to economies and markets around the world, including the United States. Financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and severe losses, and trading in many instruments has been disrupted. Liquidity for many instruments has been greatly reduced for periods of time. Some interest rates are very low and in some cases yields are negative. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers have experienced particularly large losses. These circumstances may continue for an extended period of time, and may continue to affect adversely the value and liquidity of the Trust’s investments. The ultimate economic fallout from the pandemic, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, including Shares of the Trust, are not known. Governments and central banks, including the Federal Reserve in the U.S., have taken extraordinary and unprecedented actions to support local and global economies and the financial markets. The impact of these measures, and whether they will be effective to mitigate the economic and market disruption, will not be known for some time.

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

Item 2(a). None.

Item 2(b). Not applicable.

Item 2(c). For the three months ended March 31, 2020:

185 Baskets were created.

57 Baskets were redeemed.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information

None.

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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 thereunto duly authorized.

*The Registrant is a trust and the persons are signing in their capacities as officers of Aberdeen Standard Investments ETFs Sponsor LLC, the Sponsor of the Registrant.