FWP
Filed Pursuant To Rule 433
Registration No. 333-153150
March 4, 2009
Frequently Asked Questions
1. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF INVESTING IN GOLD?
Investors buy gold for both tactical and strategic reasons. Positive industry demand and supply
dynamics mean that investors have recently bought gold for price appreciation purposes.
However, many investors buy gold for strategic reasons. Chief among these is the role that gold can
play in portfolio diversification. Because the price of gold does not correlate with the price of
mainstream financial assets, it is an effective tool for diversifying ones portfolio.
Gold also has a history as an effective hedge against inflation and dollar weakness. Gold has also
proved to be a safe-haven in times of geopolitical or financial duress.
2. HOW VOLATILE IS THE GOLD PRICE?
The gold price is typically slightly less volatile than major stock market indices, such as the
S&P500, and is much less volatile than other commodities. For example, at the end of H1 2008, the
1-year volatilities of lead, copper, and brent crude oil were 48%, 30% and 29% respectively. The
corresponding volatility of the gold price was only 20%. Differences of this magnitude are typical.
There are good reasons why gold is less volatile than other commodities. First, the gold market is
deep and liquid, and is supported by the availability of large above-ground stocks. Because gold is
virtually indestructible, nearly all of the gold that has ever been mined still exists and, unlike
base metals or even other precious metals such as silver, much of it is in near-market form.
As a result, in the event of a sudden supply-side shock or rapid increase in demand, recycled gold
can, and frequently does, come back on to the market, hence dampening any brewing price spike.
The second reason rests in the geographical diversity of mine production and gold reserves. These
are much more diverse globally than other commodities, such as oil where production is highly
concentrated in the Middle East. This leaves gold much less vulnerable to a regional or
country-specific economic or political shock. Contrast this with oil, for example, where the price
will often move aggressively driven by economic or political events in the Middle East.
3. HOW MUCH GOLD SHOULD I HOLD IN MY PORTFOLIO TO ENHANCE RISK-ADJUSTED RETURNS?
A joint study by the World Gold Council and New Frontier Advisors found that gold may have a
comparable portfolio weight to asset classes such as small cap and emerging markets due to its
value as a diversifying asset. It also found that the appropriate allocation to gold is dependant
on the portfolio risk level. The study recommended a 1-2% allocation for low risk portfolios and
2-4% in a balanced risk portfolio.
4. HOW CAN I INVEST IN GOLD?
The gold market is highly liquid and there are a whole host of ways for investors to gain access.
These include: gold coins and bars, exchange-traded funds, futures and options, warrants, allocated
and unallocated gold accounts, gold accumulation plans, gold certificates, gold orientated funds
and structural gold products.
5. WHAT IMPACT WOULD A US RECESSION HAVE ON THE GOLD PRICE?
Regression and correlation analysis suggest there is no relationship between changes in US GDP
growth and changes in the gold price. Consequently, a US recession would not have negative
implications for the
gold price. This reflects the unique drivers of the gold price and underpins golds role as a
diversifying asset, even in times of recession. For more information see What does a US recession
imply for the gold price?, World Gold Council (www.gold.org).
6. IS GOLD CORRELATED TO OTHER METALS LIKE SILVER AND COPPER?
Gold exhibits a positive correlation to some of the other metals, particularly silver. At the end
of H1 2008, the correlation coefficient between gold and silver was 0.78. The correlation to other
commodities is weaker. For example, the correlation coefficient between the GSCI and gold was 0.52
at the end of H1 08. Gold is also positively correlated with inflation over the long-run. However,
is does not correlate with mainstream financial assets, like stocks and bonds, underpinning its
role as a portfolio diversifier.
7. CAN YOU TAKE PHYSICAL POSSESSION OF THE GOLD?
The Trustee, Bank of New York, does not deal directly with the public. The trust handles creation
and redemption orders for the shares with Authorized Participants, who deal in blocks of 100,000
shares. An individual investor wishing to exchange shares for physical gold would have to come to
the appropriate arrangements with his or her broker.
8. IS THE GOLD INSURED?
The Custodian, HSBC Bank (USA), will maintain such insurance for its business, including its
bullion and custody business, as it deems appropriate. The Trustee and the Sponsor, WGTS, may
review this insurance coverage periodically and upon notice, subject to confidentiality
restrictions.
The Custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the gold held on behalf of the Trust in
accordance with the terms of the Allocated Bullion Account Agreement and is required to exercise
reasonable care in the performance of its obligations. The Custodian is responsible for loss or
damage suffered by the Trust as a direct result of any negligence, fraud, or willful default in the
performance of its duties.
The Custodians liability is only for the market value of the gold held in the Trust Allocated
Account or Trust Unallocated Account, respectively, at the time such negligence, fraud or willful
default is discovered by the Custodian, provided that the Custodian notifies the Trustee promptly
of its discovery.
9. WHERE IS THE GOLD HELD? IS IT SAFE?
The gold that underlies Gold Shares is held in the form of allocated 400 oz. London Good Delivery
Bars in the London vaults of HSBC Bank USA. The safekeeping methods are essentially no different
from those that have operated without a problem in the London market for centuries.
Those safeguards have stood the test of time for both individuals and institutions (including many
governments) that store their gold in London vaults. We have tremendous confidence in the
Custodians efforts to ensure the safety of the Trusts gold bullion.
10. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE GOLD IF THERE IS A TERRORIST ATTACK AND IT IS STOLEN OR DAMAGED?
Though damage or loss as a result of such events is unlikely, should the gold be destroyed or
damaged in a terrorist attack, the Custodian is not liable for any delay in performance or
non-performance of any of its obligations under the Custody Agreements. See Force Majeure section
of the prospectus. Should the gold in the Trust Allocated Account or Trust Unallocated Account be
stolen or damaged, the Custodian would only be liable for the market value of the gold held in the
Trust Allocated Account or Trust Unallocated Account if it were determined that such loss or damage
were the result of negligence, fraud or willful default.
These are the legal considerations governing the operations of the Custodian. Actual experience in
the aftermath of the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York was that
there was effectively no disruption to the operations of a custodian whose vault was unavailable
for months, until it was eventually recovered undamaged. The Custodian was able to carry on more or
less normal operations
by using gold deposited at other locations, or by borrowing gold in the market, and did not have to
default on a single transaction.
11. HOW IS GLD TREATED FROM A TAX STANDPOINT?
The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) treats gold as a collectible for long-term capital
gains tax purposes. As such, gains recognized by individuals from the sale of SPDR Gold Shares are
subject to a capital gains rate of 28% if held for more than one year.
This rule extends to all gold held by the Trust. Although there are some restrictions applicable to
retirement plans such as IRAs and 401ks investing in collectibles, SPDR Gold Shares received a
private letter ruling permitting investment by such retirement plans.
12. WHERE DO YOU GET THE SPOT PRICE FOR GOLD?
The spot price for gold is determined by market forces in the 24-hour global over-the-counter (OTC)
market for gold. The OTC market accounts for most global gold trading, and prices quoted reflect
the information available to the market at any given time. The spot price can be found on:
www.thebulliondesk.com.
The London Bullion Market Association has about 60 full members, as well as a lot of associates.
The London Fix is set by five of those member firms and is based upon actual buy and sell orders
for gold in the global OTC market. A good analogy for the London Fix versus OTC trading would be to
consider the London Fixes similar to opening/closing prices for stocks and to consider the spot
price for gold as the continuous market price throughout the trading day.
The COMEX division of the New York Merantile Exchange is a derivatives exchange that acts as a
marketplace to trade futures and options contracts on metals, including gold. Typically, gold
futures contracts trade at a premium to the spot price. Further discussion can be found in the
prospectus.
13. HOW DO I FIND THE INTRA-DAY NAV OF GLD?
The indicative intra-day NAV of GLD can be found at www.spdrgoldshares.com. The indicative
intra-day value is calculated on the mid point of the bid/offer gold spot price.
14. HOW OFTEN IS THE TRUST AUDITED, AND DO THE AUDITORS HAVE ACCESS TO THE VAULT TO PHYSICALLY
COUNT THE GOLD?
Agreements among the Trustee, Bank of New York and the Custodian, HSBC USA, NA allow for the
Trustees to visit and inspect the Trusts holdings of gold held by the custodian twice a year. In
addition, The Trusts independent auditors may audit the Gold holdings in the vault as part of
their audit of the Financial Statements of the Trust.
Gold Custody FAQs
Following are responses to frequently asked questions concerning the custody of the gold
transferred to the SPDR® Gold Trust, or the Trust. For further information about the custody of the
Trusts gold, including information about the duties and obligations of the custodian of the
Trusts gold and certain risks associated with the custody of the Trusts gold, please refer to the
Trusts most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Prospectus filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. For your convenience, the Trusts website (www.spdrgoldshares.com)
provides links to the Trusts most recent Annual Report and Prospectus.
15. WHO IS THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TRUSTS GOLD?
HSBC Bank USA, N.A., or the Custodian, serves as the custodian of the Trusts gold. The Custodian
is a national banking association organized under U.S. federal law. The Custodian is subject to
supervision by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The Custodians London custodian office is located at 8 Canada Square, London, E14 5HQ, United
Kingdom. In addition to supervision and examination by the U.S. federal banking authorities, The
Custodians London custodian operations are subject to supervision by the U.K. Financial Services
Authority. The Custodian is also a market-maker, clearer and approved weigher under the rules of
the London Bullion Market Association, or the LBMA.
The global parent company of the Custodian is HSBC Holdings plc, a public limited company
incorporated in England.
16. WHERE IS THE TRUSTS GOLD PHYSICALLY HELD?
The Trusts gold bars are physically stored by the Custodian at its London, England vaults. The
Custodian holds all of the Trusts gold bars, although the Custodian may temporarily use
subcustodians to hold gold bars received by the Trust in connection with creation orders made by
Authorized Participants pending transfer of the gold bars to the Custodians London vault premises.
The Custodian will seek to promptly transport any gold bars held by a subcustodian to the
Custodians London vault premises. More information about the subcustodians used by the Custodian
is described below.
17. HOW IS GOLD TRANSFERRED TO OR WITHDRAWN FROM THE TRUST?
The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee of the Trust, or the Trustee, and the Custodian have
entered into agreements which establish the Trusts unallocated account and the Trusts allocated
account. The Trusts unallocated account is principally used to facilitate the transfer of gold
between Authorized Participants and the Trust in connection with the creation and redemption of
Baskets (a Basket equals a block of 100,000 SPDR® Gold Shares). The Trusts Authorized
Participants are the only persons that may place orders to create and redeem Baskets and, in
connection with the creation of Baskets, are solely responsible for the delivery of gold to the
Trust. The Trust never purchases gold in connection with the creation or redemption of Baskets or
for any other reason. All gold transferred in and out of, and held by, the Trust must comply with
the rules, regulations, practices and customs of the LBMA, including The Good Delivery Rules for
Gold and Silver Bars. The specifications of a London Good Delivery Bar are discussed below. The
Trusts unallocated account is also used to facilitate the monthly sales of gold made by the
Trustee to pay the Trusts expenses.
Except when gold is transferred in and out of the Trust or when a small amount of gold remains
credited to the Trusts unallocated account at the end of a business day (which the Custodian is
directed to limit to no more than 430 ounces), the gold transferred to the Trust is held in the
Trusts allocated account in bar form.
When Baskets are created or redeemed, the Custodian transfers gold in and out of the Trust through
the unallocated accounts it maintains for each Authorized Participant and the unallocated and
allocated gold accounts it maintains for the Trust. After gold has been first credited to an
Authorized Participants unallocated account in connection with the creation of a Basket, the
Custodian transfers the credited
amount from the Authorized Participants unallocated account to the Trusts unallocated account.
The Custodian then allocates specific bars of gold from unallocated bars which the Custodian holds,
or instructs a subcustodian to allocate specific bars of gold from unallocated bars held by or for
the subcustodian, so that the total of the allocated gold bars represents the amount of gold
credited to the Trusts unallocated account to the extent such amount is representable by whole
bars. The amount of gold represented by the allocated gold bars is debited from the Trusts
unallocated account and the allocated gold bars are credited to and held in the Trusts allocated
account. The process of withdrawing gold
from the Trust for a redemption of a Basket follows the same general procedure as for transferring
gold to the Trust for a creation of a Basket, only in reverse.
The Custodian updates its records at the end of each business day (London time) to identify the
specific bars of gold allocated to the Trust and provides the Trustee with regular reports
detailing the gold transfers in and out of the Trusts unallocated account and the Trusts
allocated account. The Trusts website includes a list of the gold bars held in the Trusts
allocated account. The list identifies each bar by bar number, brand, weight, fineness and fine
weight and is updated once a week.
18. WHO ARE THE TRUSTS AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANTS AND WHAT IS THEIR FUNCTION?
Authorized Participants are the only persons that may place orders to create and redeem Baskets;
the Trust does not deal directly with individual investors. Authorized Participants must be (1)
registered broker-dealers or other securities market participants, such as banks and other
financial institutions, which are not required to register as broker-dealers to engage in
securities transactions and (2) Depository Trust Company (DTC) participants. Each Authorized
Participant must establish an unallocated account with the Custodian in order to be able to process
the gold transfers associated with creating and redeeming Baskets. Authorized Participants can
place an order to create or redeem one or more Baskets on every day the NYSE Arca is open for
trading. The Trust issues new Baskets to Authorized Participants in exchange for their delivery of
gold to the Trust upon a creation and transfers gold to Authorized Participants in exchange for
their delivery of Baskets to the Trust upon a redemption. In creating or redeeming Baskets,
Authorized Participants may act for their own accounts or as agents for broker-dealers, custodians
and other securities market participants that wish to create or redeem Baskets. An order for one or
more Baskets may be placed by an Authorized Participant on behalf of multiple clients. A list of
the Trusts current Authorized Participants may be found in the Annual Report or Prospectus of the
Trust most recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
19. WHAT IS AN UNALLOCATED ACCOUNT?
An unallocated account is an account with a bullion dealer, which may also be a bank, to which a
fine weight amount of gold is credited. Transfers to or from an unallocated account are made by
crediting or debiting the number of ounces of gold being deposited or withdrawn. As gold held in an
unallocated account is not segregated from the bullion dealers assets, credits to an unallocated
account represent only the bullion dealers obligation to deliver gold and do not constitute
ownership of any specific bars of gold. The account holder is entitled to direct the bullion dealer
to deliver an amount of physical gold equal to the amount of gold standing to the credit of the
account holder. When delivering gold, the bullion dealer allocates physical gold from its general
stock to the account holder with a corresponding debit being made to the amount of gold credited to
the unallocated account.
The Trusts unallocated account is only used for the transfer of gold to and from the Trusts
allocated account.
20. WHAT IS AN ALLOCATED ACCOUNT?
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 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. The account
holder has full ownership of the gold bars.
The Trusts allocated account is only used for holding the allocated gold bars of the Trust.
21. WHEN IS GOLD NOT HELD IN THE TRUSTS ALLOCATED ACCOUNT?
All of the gold owned by the Trust is held in the Trusts allocated account in bar form, with three
exceptions:
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Gold involved in creation or redemption activity on any given day will pass through the
Trusts unallocated account before being allocated to the Trusts allocated account or
transferred to an Authorized Participants unallocated account, as the case may be. The
quantity of gold involved in creation or redemption activity on any given day has, over the
life of the Trust, generally been small in comparison with the total gold holdings of the
Trust. Additionally, creation and redemption activity has not taken place every trading day. |
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Because gold is allocated or deallocated by the Custodian only in multiples of whole bars
(each bar must be between 350 and 430 fine troy ounces), each transfer of gold between the
Trusts allocated account and the Trusts unallocated account connected with a creation or
redemption of a Basket may result in a small amount of gold being held in the Trusts
unallocated account after the completion of the transfer. The Custodian has been instructed to
hold no more than 430 ounces of gold in the Trusts unallocated account at the close of each
business day (London time). 430 ounces is the maximum weight allowed for a London Good
Delivery Bar under the rules of the LBMA. |
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The Trustee sells a small quantity of gold every month in order to pay the Trusts expenses.
In connection with these sales, the Custodian deallocates gold bars from the Trusts allocated
account sufficient to meet the monthly expenses and credits this amount to the Trusts
unallocated account. The appropriate quantity of gold is then sold from the Trusts
unallocated account. Over the life of the Trust, the amounts of gold involved in these monthly
sales have been very small in comparison to the total holdings of the Trust. |
22. WHAT STANDARDS MUST BE MET BY THE GOLD TRANSFERRED TO THE TRUST?
All gold represented by a credit to any Authorized Participants unallocated account and to the
Trusts unallocated account and all gold bars held in the Trusts allocated account with the
Custodian must be of at least a minimum fineness (or purity) of 995 parts per 1,000 (99.5%) and
otherwise conform to the rules, regulations practices and customs of the LBMA, including the
specifications for a London Good Delivery Bar. Typically referred to as 400-ounce bars, a London
Good Delivery Bar must contain between 350 and 430 fine troy ounces of gold, be of good appearance
and be easy to handle and stack. The fine gold content of a gold bar is calculated by multiplying
the gross weight of the bar (expressed in units of 0.025 troy ounces) by the fineness of the bar. A
London Good Delivery Bar must also bear the stamp of one of the melters and assayers who are on the
LBMA approved list. Additional specifications for a London Good Delivery Bar are described in The
Good Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars published by the LBMA. For more information about the
LBMA, please see the LBMAs website at www.lbma.org.uk.
23. IS THE TRUSTS GOLD EVER TRADED, LEASED OR LOANED?
Gold held in the Trusts allocated account in bar form or credited to the Trusts unallocated
account is the property of the Trust and is not traded, leased or loaned under any circumstances.
24. WHEN DOES THE CUSTODIAN EMPLOY SUBCUSTODIANS FOR THE HOLDING OF THE TRUSTS GOLD?
The Custodian may employ subcustodians to provide temporary custody and safekeeping of gold bars
until transported to the Custodians London vault premises. These subcustodians may in turn select
other subcustodians to perform such temporary custody and safekeeping. The Custodian will seek to
promptly transport gold bars that have been allocated in the vault of a subcustodian to the
Custodians London vault. The transport of the gold bars is at the Custodians cost and risk. The
sub-custodians selected and available for use by the Custodian as of September 30, 2008 are: The
Bank of England, Brinks Ltd., Via Mat International and LBMA market-making members that provide
bullion vaulting and clearing services to
third parties. The Custodian will notify the Trustee if it selects any additional subcustodians or
stops using any subcustodian it has previously selected.
25. WHAT EFFECT WOULD THE INSOLVENCY OF THE CUSTODIAN HAVE ON THE TRUSTS ALLOCATED ACCOUNT AND THE
TRUSTS UNALLOCATED ACCOUNT?
The Trust has full ownership rights to the specific bars of gold allocated to the Trusts allocated
account. In the case of the insolvency of the Custodian, a liquidator may seek to freeze access to
the gold held in all of the accounts maintained by the Custodian, including the Trusts allocated
account. Although the Trust would own the properly allocated gold bars, the Trust could incur
expenses in connection with asserting control over such gold bars and the actions of the liquidator
could delay creations and redemptions of Baskets.
Gold which is transferred to or from the Trust in connection with the creation or redemption of
Baskets will be held for a time in the Trusts unallocated account and, previously or subsequently,
in the unallocated account of the purchasing or redeeming Authorized Participant. During those
times, the Trust and the Authorized Participant, as the case may be, will have no proprietary
rights to any specific bars of gold held by the Custodian and will each be an unsecured creditor of
the Custodian with respect to the amount of gold held in such unallocated accounts. In the event
the Custodian becomes insolvent, the Custodians assets might not be adequate to satisfy a claim by
the Trust or the Authorized Participant for the amount of gold held in their respective unallocated
accounts.
26: WHEN CAN THE TRUSTEE OR THE SPONSOR REMOVE OR REPLACE THE CUSTODIAN OR HIRE ADDITIONAL
CUSTODIANS?
If the Trustee determines that maintaining gold with the Custodian is not in the best interests of
the Trusts shareholders, the Trustee will so advise World Gold Trust Services, LLC, the sponsor of
the Trust, or the Sponsor. The Trustee will then take such reasonable action as the Sponsor may
direct concerning the Custodian. In the absence of such instruction, the Trustee may initiate
action to remove the gold bars from the Custodian or take such other action as the Trustee
determines appropriate to safeguard the interests of the Trusts shareholders.
In addition, the Sponsor may direct the Trustee to employ one or more other custodians in addition
to or in replacement of the Custodian. The Trustee, with the Sponsors approval, may employ one or
more other custodians selected by the Trustee for the safekeeping of gold and for services in
connection with the deposit and delivery of gold. Before gold bars may be placed with any
additional or successor custodian, the Trustee will determine that the custody agreements and any
related custody arrangements applicable to the additional or successor custodian substantially
satisfy specified requirements set forth in the Trust Indenture.
State Street Global Markets, LLC
State Street Financial
Center
One Lincoln Street
Boston, MA 02111
866.320.4053
spdrgoldshares.com
The SPDR® trademark is used under license from The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. No
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sold or promoted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (McGraw-Hill). McGraw-Hill makes no
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member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in
financial products particularly or the ability of the index on which financial products are based
to track general stock market performance. McGraw-Hill is not responsible for and has not
participated in any determination or calculation made with respect to issuance or redemption of
financial products. McGraw-Hill has no obligation or liability in connection with the
administration, marketing or trading of financial products.
This material must be delivered with a prospectus. The prospectus contains material information
about the Trust and its Shares which is material and/or which may be important to you. You should
read the entire prospectus, including Risk Factors before making an investment decision about
the Shares.
SPDR® Gold Trust has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the
SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the
prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for
more complete information about the Trust and this offering. You may get these documents for free
by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Trust or any Authorized
Participant will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling toll free at
1-866-320-4053 or contacting State Street Global Markets, LLC, One Lincoln Street, Attn: SPDR Gold
Shares, 30th Floor, Boston, MA 02111.
STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This document includes forward-looking statements which generally relate to future events or
future performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such
as may, will, should, expect, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate,
predict, potential or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology.
All statements (other than statements of historical fact) included in this document that address
activities, events or developments that will or may occur in the future, including such matters as
changes in commodity prices and market conditions (for gold and the Shares), the Trusts
operations, the Sponsors plans and references to the Trusts future success and other similar
matters are forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that these statements are only
projections. Actual events or results may differ materially. These statements are based upon
certain assumptions and analyses the Sponsor made based on its perception of historical trends,
current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors believed appropriate
in the circumstances. Whether or not actual results and developments will conform to the Sponsors
expectations and predictions, however, is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties,
including, but not limited to fluctuations in the price of gold; reductions in the amount of gold
represented by each Share due to the payment of Trust expenses and the impact of the termination of
the fee reduction under the Trust Indenture; purchasing activity in the gold market associated with
the purchase of Baskets from the Trust; the lack of experience of the Sponsor and its management in
operating an investment vehicle such as the Trust; unanticipated operational or trading problems;
the lack of protections associated with ownership of shares in an investment company registered
under the Investment Company Act of 1940 or the protections afforded by the Commodity Exchange Act
of 1936; the lack of a market for the Shares; the level of support from the World Gold Council;
competition from other methods of investing in gold; the impact of large-scale distress sales of
gold in times of crisis; the impact of substantial sales of gold by the official sector; the effect
of a widening of interest rate differentials between the cost of money
and the cost of gold; the loss, damage, theft or restrictions on access to the Trusts gold; the
lack of adequate sources of recovery if the Trusts gold is lost, damaged, stolen or destroyed,
including a lack of insurance; the failure of gold bullion allocated to the Trust to meet the
London Good Delivery Standards; the failure of sub-custodians to exercise due care in the
safekeeping of the Trusts gold; the limited ability of the Trustee and the Custodian to take legal
action against sub-custodians; the insolvency of the Custodian; the Trusts obligation to reimburse
the Purchaser and the Market Agent for certain liabilities in the event the Sponsor fails to
indemnify them; competing claims over ownership of intellectual property rights related to the
Trust; and other factors identified in the
Risk Factors section of the Prospectus filed with the SEC and in other filings made by the Trust
from time to time with the SEC. Consequently, all the forward-looking statements made in this
material are qualified by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the
actual results or developments the Sponsor or Marketing Agent anticipates will be realized or, even
if substantially realized, that they will result in the expected consequences to, or have the
expected effects on, the Trusts operations or the value of the Shares. Neither the Sponsor,
Marketing Agent nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the
forward-looking statements. Neither the Trust, Marketing Agent 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 the Sponsors or Marketing Agents expectation or projections.
The value of the Shares relates directly to the value of the gold held by the Trust (less Trust
expenses) and fluctuations in the price of gold could materially adversely affect an investment in
the Shares.
Investors should be aware that 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 similarly decline.
Shareholders will not have the protections associated with ownership of shares in an investment
company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 or the protections afforded by the
Commodity Exchange Act of 1936. 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. Neither the Sponsor
nor the Trustee is subject to regulation by the CFTC. Shareholders will not have the regulatory
protections provided to investors in CEA-regulated instruments or commodity pools.
Not FDIC Insured No Bank Guarantee May Lose Value
For more information: State Street Global Markets, LLC, One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA, 02111
866.320.4053 www.spdrgoldshares.com
Marketed by State Street Global Markets, LLC, an affiliate of State Street Global Advisors, One
Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111-2900 IBG.GLD.FAQ.0808.v1
SPDR® GOLD TRUST has filed a registration statement
(including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to
which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should
read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents
the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the
Trust and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting
EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Trust or any
Authorized Participant will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request
it by calling toll free at 1-866-320-4053 or contacting State Street Global
Markets, LLC, One Lincoln Street, Attn: SPDR® Gold, 30th Floor, Boston, MA 02111.