Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade Shares of the iShares® Gold Trust Micro Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E (Commodity-Based Trust Shares), 22996-23001 [2021-09019]
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22996
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 82 / Friday, April 30, 2021 / Notices
Washington, DC 20549 on official
business days between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change.
Persons submitting comments are
cautioned that we do not redact or edit
personal identifying information from
comment submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish
to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NASDAQ–2021–021, and
should be submitted on or before May
21, 2021.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.32
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021–09026 Filed 4–29–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–91669; File No. SR–
NYSEArca–2021–25]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE
Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed
Rule Change To List and Trade Shares
of the iShares® Gold Trust Micro Under
NYSE Arca Rule 8.201–E (CommodityBased Trust Shares)
April 26, 2021.
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Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) 1 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3
notice is hereby given that, on April 15,
2021, NYSE Arca, Inc. (‘‘NYSE Arca’’ or
‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
change as described in Items I and II
below, which Items have been prepared
by the self-regulatory organization. The
Commission is publishing this notice to
solicit comments on the proposed rule
change from interested persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to list and
trade shares of iShares® Gold Trust
Micro under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201–E.
The proposed rule change is available
on the Exchange’s website at
www.nyse.com, at the principal office of
32 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 15 U.S.C. 78a.
3 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
1 15
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the Exchange, and at the Commission’s
Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
self-regulatory organization included
statements concerning the purpose of,
and basis for, the proposed rule change
and discussed any comments it received
on the proposed rule change. The text
of those statements may be examined at
the places specified in Item IV below.
The Exchange has prepared summaries,
set forth in sections A, B, and C below,
of the most significant parts of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to list and
trade shares (‘‘Shares’’) of the iShares
Gold Trust Micro (the ‘‘Trust’’) under
NYSE Arca Rule 8.201–E.4 Under NYSE
Arca Rule 8.201–E, the Exchange may
propose to list and/or trade pursuant to
unlisted trading privileges (‘‘UTP’’)
‘‘Commodity-Based Trust Shares.’’ 5
The Trust will not be registered as an
investment company under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended.6 The Trust is not a
commodity pool for purposes of the
Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, as
amended (the ‘‘Commodity Exchange
Act’’).7
The sponsor of the Trust is iShares
Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC
(‘‘Sponsor’’). The trustee is The Bank of
New York Mellon (‘‘Trustee’’) and the
custodian is JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.,
London branch (‘‘Custodian’’).
On December 20, 2018, the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) issued a notice of filing
and effectiveness of the Exchange’s
proposal to list and trade shares of the
iShares® Gold Trust Micro under NYSE
Arca Rule 8.201–E.8 On January 30,
4 The Trust has filed a registration statement on
Form S–1 under the Securities Act of 1933 (15
U.S.C. 77a), dated February 26, 2021 (File No. 333–
253614) (the ‘‘Registration Statement’’). The
description of the operation of the Trust and the
Shares herein is based, in part, on the Registration
Statement.
5 Commodity-Based Trust Shares are securities
issued by a trust that represents investors’ discrete
identifiable and undivided beneficial ownership
interest in the commodities deposited into the
Trust.
6 15 U.S.C. 80a–1.
7 17 U.S.C. 1.
8 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 84881
(December 20, 2018), 83 FR 67400 (December 28,
2018) (SR–NYSEArca–2018–94).
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2020, the Trust withdrew its registration
statement on Form S–1 upon which the
Exchange’s previous filing (SR–
NYSEArca–2018–94) was based.9 The
Exchange, therefore, is submitting this
proposed rule change to permit listing
and trading of the Shares based on the
Trust’s Registration Statement dated
February 26, 2021. Shares of the Trust
have not commenced trading on the
Exchange.
The Commission has previously
approved listing on the Exchange under
NYSE Arca Rules 5.2–E(j)(5) and 8.201–
E of other precious metals and goldbased commodity trusts, including the
Wilshire wShares Enhanced Gold
Trust; 10 the United States Gold and
Treasury Investment Trust; 11
GraniteShares Gold MiniBAR Trust; 12
GraniteShares Gold Trust; 13 Merk Gold
Trust; 14 ETFS Gold Trust,15 ETFS
Platinum Trust 16 and ETFS Palladium
Trust (collectively, the ‘‘ETFS
Trusts’’); 17 APMEX Physical-1 oz. Gold
Redeemable Trust; 18 Sprott Gold
Trust; 19 SPDR Gold Trust (formerly,
streetTRACKS Gold Trust); iShares
Silver Trust; 20 iShares COMEX Gold
9 See iShares® Gold Trust Micro, Request to
Withdraw Registration Statement on Form S–1
(January 30, 2020) (File No. 333–228469).
10 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85 FR
67401 (October 16, 2020), 83 FR 48877 (October 22,
2020) (SR–NYSEArca–2020–59) (order approving
listing and trade shares of the Wilshire wShares
Enhanced Gold Trust under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201–
E under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201–E).
11 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 84257
(September 21, 2018), 83 FR 48877 (September 27,
2018) (SR–NYSEArca–2018–55) (order approving
listing and trading shares of the GraniteShares Gold
MiniBAR Trust under NYSE Arca Equities Rule
8.201).
12 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 84257
(September 21, 2018), 83 FR 48877 (September 27,
2018) (SR–NYSEArca–2018–55) (order approving
listing and trading shares of the GraniteShares Gold
MiniBAR Trust under NYSE Arca Equities Rule
8.201).
13 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 81077
(July 5, 2017), 82 FR 24181 (July 11, 2017) (SR–
NYSEArca–2017–55) (order approving listing and
trading shares of the GraniteShares Gold Trust
under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.201).
14 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 71378
(January 23, 2014), 79 FR 4786 (January 29, 2014)
(SR–NYSEArca–2013–137).
15 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 59895
(May 8, 2009), 74 FR 22993 (May 15, 2009) (SR–
NYSEArca–2009–40).
16 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61219
(December 22, 2009), 74 FR 68886 (December 29,
2009) (SR–NYSEArca–2009–95).
17 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61220
(December 22, 2009), 74 FR 68895 (December 29,
2009) (SR–NYSEArca–2009–94).
18 Securities Exchange Act Release No 66930
(May 7, 2012), 77 FR 27817 (May 11, 2012) (SR–
NYSEArca–2012–18).
19 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61496
(February 4, 2010), 75 FR 6758 (February 10, 2010)
(SR–NYSEArca–2009–113).
20 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 58956
(November 14, 2008), 73 FR 71074 (November 24,
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Trust (now known as iShares Gold
Trust); 21 Long Dollar Gold Trust; 22
Euro Gold Trust, Pound Gold Trust and
Yen Gold Trust; 23 and The Gold
Trust.24 Prior to their listing on the
Exchange, the Commission approved
listing of the streetTRACKS Gold Trust
on the New York Stock Exchange
(‘‘NYSE’’) 25 and listing of iShares
COMEX Gold Trust and iShares Silver
Trust on the American Stock Exchange
LLC.26 In addition, the Commission has
approved trading of the streetTRACKS
Gold Trust and iShares Silver Trust on
the Exchange pursuant to UTP.27
The Exchange represents that the
Shares satisfy the requirements of NYSE
Arca Rule 8.201–E and thereby qualify
for listing on the Exchange.28
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Operation of the Trust 29
According to the Registration
Statement, the Trust will seek to reflect
generally the performance of the price of
2008) (SR–NYSEArca–2008–124) (order approving
listing on the Exchange of the iShares Silver Trust).
21 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 56224
(August 8, 2007), 72 FR 45850 (August 15, 2007)
(SR–NYSEArca–2007–76) (order approving listing
on the Exchange of the street TRACKS Gold Trust);
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 56041 (July 11,
2007), 72 FR 39114 (July 17, 2007) (SR–NYSEArca–
2007–43) (order approving listing on the Exchange
of iShares COMEX Gold Trust).
22 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 79518
(December 9, 2016), 81 FR 90876 (December 15,
2016) (SR–NYSEArca–2016–84) (order approving
listing and trading of shares of the Long Dollar Gold
Trust).
23 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 80840
(June 17, 2017) (SR–NYSEArca–2017–33) (order
approving listing and trading of shares of the Euro
Gold Trust, Pound Gold Trust, and the Yen Gold
Trust under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.201).
24 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 81918
(October 23, 2017), 82 FR 49884 (October 27, 2017)
(SR–NYSEArca–2017–98) (Order Approving a
Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment
No. 1 Thereto, to List and Trade Shares of The Gold
Trust under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201–E).
25 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 50603
(October 28, 2004), 69 FR 64614 (November 5, 2004)
(SR–NYSE–2004–22) (order approving listing of
street TRACKS Gold Trust on NYSE).
26 See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos.
51058 (January 19, 2005), 70 FR 3749 (January 26,
2005) (SR–Amex–2004–38) (order approving listing
of iShares COMEX Gold Trust on the American
Stock Exchange LLC); 53521 (March 20, 2006), 71
FR 14967 (March 24, 2006) (SR–Amex–2005–72)
(order approving listing on the American Stock
Exchange LLC of the iShares Silver Trust).
27 See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos.
53520 (March 20, 2006), 71 FR 14977 (March 24,
2006) (SR–PCX–2005–117) (order approving trading
on the Exchange pursuant to UTP of the iShares
Silver Trust); 51245 (February 23, 2005), 70 FR
10731 (March 4, 2005) (SR–PCX–2004–117) (order
approving trading on the Exchange of the
streetTRACKS Gold Trust pursuant to UTP).
28 With respect to the application of Rule 10A–
3 (17 CFR 240.10A–3) under the Act, the Trust
relies on the exemption contained in Rule 10A–
3(c)(7).
29 The description of the operation of the Trust,
the Shares and the gold market contained herein is
based, in part, on the Registration Statement. See
note 4, supra.
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gold before payment of the Trust’s
expenses and liabilities. The Trust will
issue Shares which represent units of
fractional undivided beneficial interest
in the net assets of the Trust.
The Trust will not trade in gold
futures, options or swap contracts on
any futures exchange or over the
counter (‘‘OTC’’). The Trust will not
hold or trade in commodity futures
contracts, ‘‘commodity interests’’, or any
other instruments regulated by the
Commodity Exchange Act. The Trust
will take delivery of physical gold that
complies with the London Bullion
Market Association (‘‘LBMA’’) gold
delivery rules.
The Shares are intended to constitute
a simple and cost-effective means of
making an investment similar to an
investment in gold. Although the Shares
are not the exact equivalent of an
investment in gold, they are intended to
provide investors with an alternative
that allows a level of participation in the
gold market through the securities
market.
Operation of the Gold Market
The global trade in gold consists of
OTC transactions in spot, forwards, and
options and other derivatives, together
with exchange-traded futures and
options.
The OTC gold market includes spot,
forward, and option and other
derivative transactions conducted on a
principal-to-principal basis. While this
is a global, nearly 24-hour per day
market, its main centers are London,
New York, and Zurich.
According to the Registration
Statement, most OTC market trades are
cleared through London. The LBMA
plays an important role in setting OTC
gold trading industry standards. A
London Good Delivery Bar (as described
below), which is acceptable for
settlement of any OTC transaction, will
be acceptable for delivery to the Trust
in connection with the issuance of
Baskets.
The most significant gold futures
exchange in the U.S. is COMEX,
operated by Commodities Exchange,
Inc., a subsidiary of New York
Mercantile Exchange, Inc., and a
subsidiary of the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange Group (the ‘‘CME Group’’).
Other commodity exchanges include the
Tokyo Commodity Exchange
(‘‘TOCOM’’), the Multi Commodity
Exchange Of India (‘‘MCX’’), the
Shanghai Futures Exchange, ICE Futures
US (the ‘‘ICE’’), and the Dubai Gold &
Commodities Exchange. The CME
Group and ICE are members of the
Intermarket Surveillance Group (‘‘ISG’’).
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22997
Although the Trust will not invest in
gold futures, information about the gold
futures market is relevant as such
markets contribute to, and provide
evidence of, the liquidity of the overall
market for gold.
The London Gold Bullion Market
According to the Registration
Statement, most trading in physical gold
is conducted on the OTC market,
predominantly in London. LBMA
coordinates various OTC-market
activities, including clearing and
vaulting, acts as the principal
intermediary between physical gold
market participants and the relevant
regulators, promotes good trading
practices and develops standard market
documentation. In addition, the LBMA
promotes refining standards for the gold
market by maintaining the ‘‘London
Good Delivery List,’’ which identifies
refiners of gold that have been approved
by the LBMA.
In the OTC market, gold bars that
meet the specifications for weight,
dimensions, fineness (or purity),
identifying marks (including the assay
stamp of an LBMA-acceptable refiner)
and appearance described in ‘‘The Good
Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars’’
published by the LBMA are referred to
as ‘‘London Good Delivery Bars.’’ A
London Good Delivery Bar (typically
called a ‘‘400 ounce bar’’) must contain
between 350 and 430 fine troy ounces
of gold (1 troy ounce = 31.1034768
grams), with a minimum fineness (or
purity) of 995 parts per 1,000 (99.5%),
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 refiners identified
on the London Good Delivery List.
Following the enactment of the
Financial Markets Act 2012, the
Prudential Regulation Authority of the
Bank of England is responsible for
regulating most of the financial firms
that are active in the bullion market,
and the Financial Conduct Authority is
responsible for consumer and
competition issues. Trading in spot,
forwards and wholesale deposits in the
bullion market is subject to the NonInvestment Products Code adopted by
market participants.
Creation and Redemption of Shares
According to the Registration
Statement, the Trust will create and
redeem Shares on a continuous basis in
‘‘Baskets’’ of 50,000 Shares. Only
‘‘Authorized Participants’’, which are
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registered broker-dealers who have
entered into written agreements with
the Sponsor and the Trustee, can
deposit gold and receive Baskets in
exchange. Upon the deposit of the
corresponding amount of gold with the
Custodian, and the payment of the
Trustee’s applicable fee and of any
expenses, taxes or charges, the Trustee
will deliver the appropriate number of
Baskets to the DTC account of the
depositing Authorized Participant. The
Sponsor and the Trustee will maintain
a current list of Authorized Participants.
Gold deposited with the Custodian must
meet the specifications for weight,
dimensions, fineness (or purity),
identifying marks and appearance of
gold bars as set forth in ‘‘The Good
Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars’’
published by the LBMA. Orders to
create or redeem Shares must be placed
by 3:59 p.m. Eastern Time (‘‘ET.’’).
The ‘‘Basket Gold Amount’’ necessary
for the creation of a Basket will change
from day to day.30 On each day that
NYSE Arca is open for regular trading,
the Trustee will adjust the quantity of
gold constituting the Basket Gold
Amount as appropriate to reflect sales of
gold, any loss of gold that may occur,
and accrued expenses. The computation
is made by the Trustee as promptly as
practicable after 4:00 p.m., E.T. The
Trustee will determine the Basket Gold
Amount for a given day by multiplying
the net asset value (‘‘NAV’’) by the
number of Shares in each Basket
(50,000) and dividing the resulting
product by that day’s LBMA Gold Price
PM.
The Trustee intends to make available
on each business day through the same
channels used to disseminate the actual
Basket Gold Amount determined by the
Trustee as indicated above an indicative
basket gold amount (‘‘Indicative Basket
Gold Amount’’) for the next business
day. Authorized Participants may use
that Indicative Basket Gold Amount as
guidance regarding the amount of gold
that they may expect to have to deposit
with the Custodian in respect of
purchase orders placed by them on such
next business day and accepted by the
Trustee. The agreement entered into
with each Authorized Participant
provides, however, that once a purchase
order has been accepted by the Trustee,
the Authorized Participant will be
required to deposit with the Custodian
the Basket Gold Amount determined by
30 The Basket Gold Amount is the amount of gold
(measured in fine ounces), determined on each
business day by the Trustee, which Authorized
Participants must transfer to the Trust in exchange
for a Basket, or will receive in exchange for each
Basket surrendered for redemption.
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the Trustee on the effective date of the
purchase order.
Redemption of Baskets; Withdrawal of
Gold
According to the Registration
Statement, Authorized Participants,
acting on authority of the registered
holder of Shares, may surrender Baskets
in exchange for the corresponding
Basket Gold Amount announced by the
Trustee. Upon the surrender of such
Shares and the payment of the Trustee’s
applicable fee and of any expenses,
taxes or charges, the Trustee will deliver
to the order of the redeeming
Authorized Participant the amount of
gold corresponding to the redeemed
Baskets. The amount of gold necessary
for the creation of a Basket, or to be
received upon redemption of a Basket,
will decrease over the life of the Trust,
due to the payment or accrual of fees
and other expenses or liabilities payable
by the Trust.
Unless otherwise agreed to by the
Custodian, gold is delivered to the
redeeming Authorized Participants in
the form of physical bars only (except
that any amount of less than 430 ounces
may be transferred to an unallocated
account of or as ordered by, the
redeeming Authorized Participant).
Net Asset Value
According to the Registration
Statement, the NAV of the Trust will be
obtained by subtracting all accrued fees,
expenses and other liabilities of the
Trust on any day from the total value of
the gold and all other assets of the Trust
on that day; the NAV per Share will be
obtained by dividing the NAV of the
Trust by the number of Shares
outstanding on the date the computation
is made. On each day on which NYSE
Arca is open for regular trading, the
Trustee will determine the NAV as
promptly as practicable after 4:00 p.m.,
E.T. The Trustee will value the Trust’s
gold on the basis of that day’s LBMA
Gold Price PM. If there is no LBMA
Gold Price PM on any day, the Trustee
is authorized to use the most recently
announced LBMA Gold Price AM
unless the Trustee, in consultation with
the Sponsor, determines that such price
is inappropriate as a basis for
evaluation.
Availability of Information Regarding
Gold
Currently, the ‘‘Consolidated Tape
Plan’’ does not provide for
dissemination of the spot price of a
commodity such as gold over the
consolidated tape. However, there will
be disseminated over the consolidated
tape the last sale price for the Shares. In
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Sfmt 4703
addition, there is a considerable amount
of information about gold and gold
markets available on public websites
and through professional and
subscription services.
Investors may obtain gold pricing
information on a 24-hour basis based on
the spot price for an ounce of gold from
various financial information service
providers, such as Reuters and
Bloomberg.
Reuters and Bloomberg, for example,
provide at no charge on their websites
delayed information regarding the spot
price of gold and last sale prices of gold
futures, as well as information about
news and developments in the gold
market. Reuters and Bloomberg also
offer a professional service to
subscribers for a fee that provides
information on gold prices directly from
market participants. Complete real-time
data for gold futures and options prices
traded on the COMEX are available by
subscription from Reuters and
Bloomberg. There are a variety of other
public websites providing information
on gold, ranging from those specializing
in precious metals to sites maintained
by major newspapers. In addition, the
LBMA Gold Price is publicly available
at no charge at www.lbma.org.uk.
Availability of Information
The intraday indicative value (‘‘IIV’’)
per Share for the Shares will be
disseminated by one or more major
market data vendors. The IIV will be
calculated based on the amount of gold
held by the Trust and a price of gold
derived from updated bids and offers
indicative of the spot price of gold.31
The website for the Trust
(www.ishares.com) will contain the
following information, on a per Share
basis, for the Trust: (a) The prior
business day’s NAV per Share; (b)
Basket Gold Amount; (c) the Official
Closing Price; 32 (d) the present day’s
Indicative Basket Gold Amount; (e)
midpoint of the national best bid and
the national best offer (‘‘NBBO’’) as of
the time the NAV is calculated (‘‘BidAsk Price’’); 33 (f) calculation of the
31 The IIV on a per Share basis disseminated
during the ‘‘Core Trading Session’’, as defined in
NYSE Arca Rule 7.34–E, should not be viewed as
a real-time update of the NAV, which is calculated
once a day.
32 The term ‘‘Official Closing Price’’ is defined in
NYSE Arca Rule 1.1(ll) as the reference price to
determine the closing price in a security for
purposes of Rule 7–E Equities Trading, and the
procedures for determining the Official Closing
Price are set forth in that rule.
33 The Commission has issued a notice of filing
and immediate effectiveness for an Exchange
proposed rule change relating to website
dissemination of information regarding Official
Closing Price and midpoint of the NBBO for other
Exchange-listed trusts of the Sponsor. See
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premium or discount of the Official
Closing Price against such NAV
expressed as a percentage of such NAV;
(g) a table showing the number of days
the Shares of the Trust traded at a
premium or discount during the most
recently complete calendar year and the
most recently completed calendar
quarters since that year; (h) a line graph
showing the Shares’ premiums or
discounts for the most recently
completed calendar year and the most
recently completed calendar quarters
since that year (or the life of the
exchange-traded fund, if shorter); 34 (i)
the prospectus; and (j) other applicable
quantitative information.
In addition, information regarding
market price and trading volume of the
Shares will be continually available on
a real-time basis throughout the day on
brokers’ computer screens and other
electronic services. Information
regarding the previous day’s closing
price and trading volume information
for the Shares will be published daily in
the financial section of newspapers.
Criteria for Initial and Continued Listing
The Trust will be subject to the
criteria in NYSE Arca Rule 8.201–E(e)
for initial and continued listing of the
Shares.
A minimum of two Baskets or 100,000
Shares will be required to be
outstanding at the start of trading,
which is equivalent to 1,000 fine ounces
of gold. The Exchange believes that the
anticipated minimum number of Shares
outstanding at the start of trading is
sufficient to provide adequate market
liquidity.
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Trading Rules
The Exchange deems the Shares to be
equity securities, thus rendering trading
in the Trust subject to the Exchange’s
existing rules governing the trading of
equity securities. Trading in the Shares
on the Exchange will occur in
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90547
(December 2, 2020), 85 FR 79060 (December 8,
2020) (SR–NYSEArca–2020–99) (Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule
Change Regarding the Availability of Information
for the iShares Gold Trust and the iShares Silver
Trust under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201–E (CommodityBased Trust Shares) and iShares S&P GSCI
Commodity-Indexed Trust under Rule 8.203–E
(Commodity Index Trust Shares)).
34 The Commission has approved an Exchange
proposed rule change relating to website
dissemination of information regarding
dissemination of premium or discount information
for other Exchange-listed trusts of the Sponsor. See
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 91031
(February 1, 2021), 86 FR 8464 (February 5, 2021)
(SR–NYSEArca–2020–98) (Order Approving a
Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment
No. 1, Regarding the Availability of Information for
the iShares Gold Trust, the iShares Silver Trust, and
the iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust).
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19:58 Apr 29, 2021
Jkt 253001
accordance with NYSE Arca Rule 7.34–
E(a). The Exchange has appropriate
rules to facilitate transactions in the
Shares during all trading sessions. As
provided in NYSE Arca Rule 7.6–E, the
minimum price variation (‘‘MPV’’) for
quoting and entry of orders in equity
securities traded on the NYSE Arca
Marketplace is $0.01, with the exception
of securities that are priced less than
$1.00 for which the MPV for order entry
is $0.0001.
Further, NYSE Arca Rule 8.201–E sets
forth certain restrictions on ETP Holders
acting as registered Market Makers in
the Shares to facilitate surveillance.
Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201–E(g), an
ETP Holder acting as a registered Market
Maker in the Shares is required to
provide the Exchange with information
relating to its trading in the underlying
gold, related futures or options on
futures, or any other related derivatives.
Commentary .04 of NYSE Arca Rule
11.3–E requires an ETP Holder acting as
a registered Market Maker, and its
affiliates, in the Shares to establish,
maintain and enforce written policies
and procedures reasonably designed to
prevent the misuse of any material
nonpublic information with respect to
such products, any components of the
related products, any physical asset or
commodity underlying the product,
applicable currencies, underlying
indexes, related futures or options on
futures, and any related derivative
instruments (including the Shares).
As a general matter, the Exchange has
regulatory jurisdiction over its ETP
Holders and their associated persons,
which include any person or entity
controlling an ETP Holder. A subsidiary
or affiliate of an ETP Holder that does
business only in commodities or futures
contracts would not be subject to
Exchange jurisdiction, but the Exchange
could obtain information regarding the
activities of such subsidiary or affiliate
through surveillance sharing agreements
with regulatory organizations of which
such subsidiary or affiliate is a member.
With respect to trading halts, the
Exchange may consider all relevant
factors in exercising its discretion to
halt or suspend trading in the Shares.
Trading on the Exchange in the Shares
may be halted because of market
conditions or for reasons that, in the
view of the Exchange, make trading in
the Shares inadvisable. These may
include: (1) The extent to which
conditions in the underlying gold
market have caused disruptions and/or
lack of trading, or (2) whether other
unusual conditions or circumstances
detrimental to the maintenance of a fair
and orderly market are present. In
addition, trading in Shares will be
PO 00000
Frm 00069
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
22999
subject to trading halts caused by
extraordinary market volatility pursuant
to the Exchange’s ‘‘circuit breaker’’
rule.35 The Exchange will halt trading in
the Shares if the NAV of the Trust is not
calculated or disseminated daily. The
Exchange may halt trading during the
day in which an interruption occurs to
the dissemination of the IIV, as
described above. If the interruption to
the dissemination of the IIV persists
past the trading day in which it occurs,
the Exchange will halt trading no later
than the beginning of the trading day
following the interruption.
Surveillance
The Exchange represents that trading
in the Shares will be subject to the
existing trading surveillances
administered by the Exchange, as well
as cross-market surveillances
administered by the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority (‘‘FINRA’’) on
behalf of the Exchange, which are
designed to detect violations of
Exchange rules and applicable federal
securities laws.36 The Exchange
represents that these procedures are
adequate to properly monitor Exchange
trading of the Shares in all trading
sessions and to deter and detect
violations of Exchange rules and federal
securities laws applicable to trading on
the Exchange.
The surveillances referred to above
generally focus on detecting securities
trading outside their normal patterns,
which could be indicative of
manipulative or other violative activity.
When such situations are detected,
surveillance analysis follows and
investigations are opened, where
appropriate, to review the behavior of
all relevant parties for all relevant
trading violations.
The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of
the Exchange, or both, will
communicate as needed regarding
trading in the Shares with other markets
and other entities that are members of
the ISG, and the Exchange or FINRA, on
behalf of the Exchange, or both, may
obtain trading information regarding
trading in the Shares from such markets
and other entities. In addition, the
Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in the Shares from
markets and other entities that are
members of ISG or with which the
35 See
NYSE Arca Rule 7.12–E.
conducts cross-market surveillances on
behalf of the Exchange pursuant to a regulatory
services agreement. The Exchange is responsible for
FINRA’s performance under this regulatory services
agreement.
36 FINRA
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jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Exchange has in place a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement.37
Also, pursuant to NYSE Arca Rule
8.201–E(g), the Exchange is able to
obtain information regarding trading in
the Shares and the underlying gold, gold
futures contracts, options on gold
futures, or any other gold derivative,
through Equity Trading Permit (‘‘ETP’’)
Holders acting as registered ‘‘Market
Makers’’, in connection with such ETP
Holders’ proprietary or customer trades
through ETP Holders which they effect
on any relevant market. In addition, the
Exchange also has a general policy
prohibiting the distribution of material,
non-public information by its
employees.
All statements and representations
made in this filing regarding (a) the
description of the portfolio, (b)
limitations on portfolio holdings or
reference assets, or (c) the applicability
of Exchange listing rules specified in
this rule filing shall constitute
continued listing requirements for
listing the Shares of the Trust on the
Exchange.
The issuer has represented to the
Exchange that it will advise the
Exchange of any failure by the Trust to
comply with the continued listing
requirements, and, pursuant to its
obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of the
Act, the Exchange will monitor for
compliance with the continued listing
requirements. If the Trust is not in
compliance with the applicable listing
requirements, the Exchange will
commence delisting procedures under
NYSE Arca Rule 5.5–E(m).
Information Bulletin
Prior to the commencement of
trading, the Exchange will inform its
ETP Holders in an Information Bulletin
of the special characteristics and risks
associated with trading the Shares.
Specifically, the Information Bulletin
will discuss the following: (1) The
procedures for purchases and
redemptions of Shares in Baskets
(including noting that Shares are not
individually redeemable); (2) NYSE
Arca Rule 9.2–E(a), which imposes a
duty of due diligence on its ETP Holders
to learn the essential facts relating to
every customer prior to trading the
Shares; (3) how information regarding
the IIV is disseminated; (4) the
requirement that ETP Holders deliver a
prospectus to investors purchasing
newly issued Shares prior to or
concurrently with the confirmation of a
transaction; (5) the possibility that
trading spreads and the resulting
37 For a list of the current members of ISG, see
www.isgportal.org.
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19:58 Apr 29, 2021
Jkt 253001
premium or discount on the Shares may
widen as a result of reduced liquidity of
gold trading during the Core Trading
Session and ‘‘Late Trading Session’’ (as
defined in NYSE Arca Rule 7.34–E) after
the close of the major world gold
markets; and (6) trading information.
For example, the Information Bulletin
will advise ETP Holders, prior to the
commencement of trading, of the
prospectus delivery requirements
applicable to the Trust. The Exchange
notes that investors purchasing Shares
directly from the Trust will receive a
prospectus. ETP Holders purchasing
Shares from the Trust for resale to
investors will deliver a prospectus to
such investors.
In addition, the Information Bulletin
will reference that the Trust is subject
to various fees and expenses as will be
described in the Registration Statement.
The Information Bulletin will also
reference the fact that there is no
regulated source of last sale information
regarding physical gold, that the
Commission has no jurisdiction over the
trading of gold as a physical commodity,
and that the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission has regulatory
jurisdiction over the trading of gold
futures contracts and options on gold
futures contracts.
The Information Bulletin will also
discuss any relief, if granted, by the
Commission or the staff from any rules
under the Act.
2. Statutory Basis
The basis under the Act for this
proposed rule change is the requirement
under Section 6(b)(5) 38 that an
exchange have rules that are designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative
acts and practices, to promote just and
equitable principles of trade, to remove
impediments to, and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market
and, in general, to protect investors and
the public interest.
The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative
acts and practices in that the Shares will
be listed and traded on the Exchange
pursuant to the initial and continued
listing criteria in NYSE Arca Rule
8.201–E. The Exchange has in place
surveillance procedures that are
adequate to properly monitor trading in
the Shares in all trading sessions and to
deter and detect violations of Exchange
rules and applicable federal securities
laws. The Exchange may obtain
information via the ISG from other
exchanges that are members of ISG or
with which the Exchange has entered
38 15
PO 00000
U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
Frm 00070
Fmt 4703
into a comprehensive surveillance
sharing agreement.
The proposed rule change is designed
to promote just and equitable principles
of trade and to protect investors and the
public interest in that there is a
considerable amount of gold price and
gold market information available on
public websites and through
professional and subscription services.
Investors may obtain on a 24-hour basis
gold pricing information based on the
spot price for an ounce of gold from
various financial information service
providers. Investors may obtain gold
pricing information based on the spot
price for an ounce of gold from various
financial information service providers.
Current spot prices also are generally
available with bid/ask spreads from gold
bullion dealers. In addition, the Trust’s
website will provide pricing
information for gold spot prices and the
Shares. The Trust’s website will provide
reliable, accurate and up-to-date pricing
information for the Shares consistent
with the changes to disseminated
information for similar Exchange-listed
trusts of the Sponsor previously
approved by the Commission in SR–
NYSEArca–2020–98.39 Market prices for
the Shares will be available from a
variety of sources including brokerage
firms, information websites and other
information service providers. The NAV
of the Trust will be published by the
Sponsor on each day that the NYSE
Arca is open for regular trading and will
be posted on the Trust’s website. The
IIV relating to the Shares will be widely
disseminated by one or more major
market data vendors at least every 15
seconds during the Core Trading
Session. In addition, the LBMA Gold
Price is publicly available at no charge
at www.lbma.org.uk. The Trust’s
website will also provide the Trust’s
prospectus, as well as the two most
recent reports to stockholders. In
addition, information regarding market
price and trading volume of the Shares
will be continually available on a realtime basis throughout the day on
brokers’ computer screens and other
electronic services. Information
regarding the previous day’s closing
price and trading volume information
for the Shares will be published daily in
the financial section of newspapers.
The proposed rule change is designed
to perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and, in general, to protect
investors and the public interest in that
it will facilitate the listing and trading
of an additional type of exchange-traded
product that will enhance competition
among market participants, to the
39 See
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note 34, supra.
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benefit of investors and the marketplace.
As noted above, the Exchange has in
place surveillance procedures relating to
trading in the Shares and may obtain
information via ISG from other
exchanges that are members of ISG or
with which the Exchange has entered
into a comprehensive surveillance
sharing agreement. In addition, as noted
above, investors will have ready access
to information regarding gold pricing.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that
the proposed rule change will impose
any burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act. The
Exchange believes the proposed rule
change will enhance competition by
accommodating Exchange trading of an
additional exchange-traded product
relating to physical gold.
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to: Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NYSEArca–2021–25. This
file number should be included on the
subject line if email is used. To help the
Commission process and review your
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s
internet website (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed rule
change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for website viewing and
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, 100 F Street NE,
Washington, DC 20549 on official
business days between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change.
Persons submitting comments are
cautioned that we do not redact or edit
personal identifying information from
comment submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish
to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NYSEArca–2021–25 and
should be submitted on or before May
21, 2021.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited
or received with respect to the proposed
rule change.
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the proposed rule change
does not: (i) Significantly affect the
protection of investors or the public
interest; (ii) impose any significant
burden on competition; and (iii) become
operative prior to 30 days from the date
on which it was filed, or such shorter
time as the Commission may designate,
if consistent with the protection of
investors and the public interest, the
proposed rule change has become
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)
of the Act 40 and Rule 19b–4(f)(6)
thereunder.41
At any time within 60 days of the
filing of such proposed rule change, the
Commission summarily may
temporarily suspend such rule change if
it appears to the Commission that such
action is necessary or appropriate in the
public interest, for the protection of
investors, or otherwise in furtherance of
the purposes of the Act.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rule-comments@
sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–
NYSEArca–2021–25 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.42
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021–09019 Filed 4–29–21; 8:45 am]
[Release No. 34–91672; File No. SR–GEMX–
2021–02]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq
GEMX, LLC; Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed
Rule Change To Delete the Exchange
Membership Rules and Incorporate by
Reference the Membership Rules of
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
April 26, 2021.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on April 13,
2021, Nasdaq GEMX, LLC (‘‘GEMX’’ or
‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or
‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
change as described in Items I, II, and
III below, which Items have been
prepared by the Exchange. The
Commission is publishing this notice to
solicit comments on the proposed rule
change from interested persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to delete the
Exchange’s membership rules currently
under the General 3 title, incorporate by
reference The Nasdaq Stock Market
LLC’s (‘‘Nasdaq’’) rules in the General 3
Rule 1000 Series, and other related
changes.
The text of the proposed rule change
is available on the Exchange’s website at
https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/
rulebook/gemx/rules, at the principal
office of the Exchange, and at the
Commission’s Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for
the proposed rule change and discussed
any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of these
statements may be examined at the
places specified in Item IV below. The
Exchange has prepared summaries, set
forth in sections A, B, and C below, of
the most significant aspects of such
statements.
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
41 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6).
40 15
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19:58 Apr 29, 2021
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42 17
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23001
PO 00000
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
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U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 82 (Friday, April 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22996-23001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09019]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-91669; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2021-25]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade
Shares of the iShares[supreg] Gold Trust Micro Under NYSE Arca Rule
8.201-E (Commodity-Based Trust Shares)
April 26, 2021.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby given
that, on April 15, 2021, NYSE Arca, Inc. (``NYSE Arca'' or
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I and
II below, which Items have been prepared by the self-regulatory
organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
\3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to list and trade shares of iShares[supreg]
Gold Trust Micro under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E. The proposed rule change
is available on the Exchange's website at www.nyse.com, at the
principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission's Public
Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization
included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the
proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at
the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared
summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most
significant parts of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to list and trade shares (``Shares'') of the
iShares Gold Trust Micro (the ``Trust'') under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-
E.\4\ Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E, the Exchange may propose to list
and/or trade pursuant to unlisted trading privileges (``UTP'')
``Commodity-Based Trust Shares.'' \5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ The Trust has filed a registration statement on Form S-1
under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a), dated February 26,
2021 (File No. 333-253614) (the ``Registration Statement''). The
description of the operation of the Trust and the Shares herein is
based, in part, on the Registration Statement.
\5\ Commodity-Based Trust Shares are securities issued by a
trust that represents investors' discrete identifiable and undivided
beneficial ownership interest in the commodities deposited into the
Trust.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Trust will not be registered as an investment company under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.\6\ The Trust is not a
commodity pool for purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, as
amended (the ``Commodity Exchange Act'').\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ 15 U.S.C. 80a-1.
\7\ 17 U.S.C. 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sponsor of the Trust is iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC
(``Sponsor''). The trustee is The Bank of New York Mellon (``Trustee'')
and the custodian is JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., London branch
(``Custodian'').
On December 20, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') issued a notice of filing and effectiveness of the
Exchange's proposal to list and trade shares of the iShares[supreg]
Gold Trust Micro under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E.\8\ On January 30, 2020,
the Trust withdrew its registration statement on Form S-1 upon which
the Exchange's previous filing (SR-NYSEArca-2018-94) was based.\9\ The
Exchange, therefore, is submitting this proposed rule change to permit
listing and trading of the Shares based on the Trust's Registration
Statement dated February 26, 2021. Shares of the Trust have not
commenced trading on the Exchange.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 84881 (December 20,
2018), 83 FR 67400 (December 28, 2018) (SR-NYSEArca-2018-94).
\9\ See iShares[supreg] Gold Trust Micro, Request to Withdraw
Registration Statement on Form S-1 (January 30, 2020) (File No. 333-
228469).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Commission has previously approved listing on the Exchange
under NYSE Arca Rules 5.2-E(j)(5) and 8.201-E of other precious metals
and gold-based commodity trusts, including the Wilshire wShares
Enhanced Gold Trust; \10\ the United States Gold and Treasury
Investment Trust; \11\ GraniteShares Gold MiniBAR Trust; \12\
GraniteShares Gold Trust; \13\ Merk Gold Trust; \14\ ETFS Gold
Trust,\15\ ETFS Platinum Trust \16\ and ETFS Palladium Trust
(collectively, the ``ETFS Trusts''); \17\ APMEX Physical-1 oz. Gold
Redeemable Trust; \18\ Sprott Gold Trust; \19\ SPDR Gold Trust
(formerly, streetTRACKS Gold Trust); iShares Silver Trust; \20\ iShares
COMEX Gold
[[Page 22997]]
Trust (now known as iShares Gold Trust); \21\ Long Dollar Gold Trust;
\22\ Euro Gold Trust, Pound Gold Trust and Yen Gold Trust; \23\ and The
Gold Trust.\24\ Prior to their listing on the Exchange, the Commission
approved listing of the streetTRACKS Gold Trust on the New York Stock
Exchange (``NYSE'') \25\ and listing of iShares COMEX Gold Trust and
iShares Silver Trust on the American Stock Exchange LLC.\26\ In
addition, the Commission has approved trading of the streetTRACKS Gold
Trust and iShares Silver Trust on the Exchange pursuant to UTP.\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85 FR 67401
(October 16, 2020), 83 FR 48877 (October 22, 2020) (SR-NYSEArca-
2020-59) (order approving listing and trade shares of the Wilshire
wShares Enhanced Gold Trust under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E under NYSE
Arca Rule 8.201-E).
\11\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 84257 (September 21,
2018), 83 FR 48877 (September 27, 2018) (SR-NYSEArca-2018-55) (order
approving listing and trading shares of the GraniteShares Gold
MiniBAR Trust under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.201).
\12\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 84257 (September 21,
2018), 83 FR 48877 (September 27, 2018) (SR-NYSEArca-2018-55) (order
approving listing and trading shares of the GraniteShares Gold
MiniBAR Trust under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.201).
\13\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 81077 (July 5, 2017),
82 FR 24181 (July 11, 2017) (SR-NYSEArca-2017-55) (order approving
listing and trading shares of the GraniteShares Gold Trust under
NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.201).
\14\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 71378 (January 23,
2014), 79 FR 4786 (January 29, 2014) (SR-NYSEArca-2013-137).
\15\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 59895 (May 8, 2009), 74
FR 22993 (May 15, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-40).
\16\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61219 (December 22,
2009), 74 FR 68886 (December 29, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-95).
\17\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61220 (December 22,
2009), 74 FR 68895 (December 29, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-94).
\18\ Securities Exchange Act Release No 66930 (May 7, 2012), 77
FR 27817 (May 11, 2012) (SR-NYSEArca-2012-18).
\19\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61496 (February 4,
2010), 75 FR 6758 (February 10, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-113).
\20\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 58956 (November 14,
2008), 73 FR 71074 (November 24, 2008) (SR-NYSEArca-2008-124) (order
approving listing on the Exchange of the iShares Silver Trust).
\21\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 56224 (August 8,
2007), 72 FR 45850 (August 15, 2007) (SR-NYSEArca-2007-76) (order
approving listing on the Exchange of the street TRACKS Gold Trust);
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 56041 (July 11, 2007), 72 FR
39114 (July 17, 2007) (SR-NYSEArca-2007-43) (order approving listing
on the Exchange of iShares COMEX Gold Trust).
\22\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 79518 (December 9,
2016), 81 FR 90876 (December 15, 2016) (SR-NYSEArca-2016-84) (order
approving listing and trading of shares of the Long Dollar Gold
Trust).
\23\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 80840 (June 17,
2017) (SR-NYSEArca-2017-33) (order approving listing and trading of
shares of the Euro Gold Trust, Pound Gold Trust, and the Yen Gold
Trust under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.201).
\24\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 81918 (October 23,
2017), 82 FR 49884 (October 27, 2017) (SR-NYSEArca-2017-98) (Order
Approving a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1
Thereto, to List and Trade Shares of The Gold Trust under NYSE Arca
Rule 8.201-E).
\25\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 50603 (October 28,
2004), 69 FR 64614 (November 5, 2004) (SR-NYSE-2004-22) (order
approving listing of street TRACKS Gold Trust on NYSE).
\26\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 51058 (January 19,
2005), 70 FR 3749 (January 26, 2005) (SR-Amex-2004-38) (order
approving listing of iShares COMEX Gold Trust on the American Stock
Exchange LLC); 53521 (March 20, 2006), 71 FR 14967 (March 24, 2006)
(SR-Amex-2005-72) (order approving listing on the American Stock
Exchange LLC of the iShares Silver Trust).
\27\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 53520 (March 20,
2006), 71 FR 14977 (March 24, 2006) (SR-PCX-2005-117) (order
approving trading on the Exchange pursuant to UTP of the iShares
Silver Trust); 51245 (February 23, 2005), 70 FR 10731 (March 4,
2005) (SR-PCX-2004-117) (order approving trading on the Exchange of
the streetTRACKS Gold Trust pursuant to UTP).
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The Exchange represents that the Shares satisfy the requirements of
NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E and thereby qualify for listing on the
Exchange.\28\
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\28\ With respect to the application of Rule 10A-3 (17 CFR
240.10A-3) under the Act, the Trust relies on the exemption
contained in Rule 10A-3(c)(7).
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Operation of the Trust \29\
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\29\ The description of the operation of the Trust, the Shares
and the gold market contained herein is based, in part, on the
Registration Statement. See note 4, supra.
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According to the Registration Statement, the Trust will seek to
reflect generally the performance of the price of gold before payment
of the Trust's expenses and liabilities. The Trust will issue Shares
which represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in
the net assets of the Trust.
The Trust will not trade in gold futures, options or swap contracts
on any futures exchange or over the counter (``OTC''). The Trust will
not hold or trade in commodity futures contracts, ``commodity
interests'', or any other instruments regulated by the Commodity
Exchange Act. The Trust will take delivery of physical gold that
complies with the London Bullion Market Association (``LBMA'') gold
delivery rules.
The Shares are intended to constitute a simple and cost-effective
means of making an investment similar to an investment in gold.
Although the Shares are not the exact equivalent of an investment in
gold, they are intended to provide investors with an alternative that
allows a level of participation in the gold market through the
securities market.
Operation of the Gold Market
The global trade in gold consists of OTC transactions in spot,
forwards, and options and other derivatives, together with exchange-
traded futures and options.
The OTC gold market includes spot, forward, and option and other
derivative transactions conducted on a principal-to-principal basis.
While this is a global, nearly 24-hour per day market, its main centers
are London, New York, and Zurich.
According to the Registration Statement, most OTC market trades are
cleared through London. The LBMA plays an important role in setting OTC
gold trading industry standards. A London Good Delivery Bar (as
described below), which is acceptable for settlement of any OTC
transaction, will be acceptable for delivery to the Trust in connection
with the issuance of Baskets.
The most significant gold futures exchange in the U.S. is COMEX,
operated by Commodities Exchange, Inc., a subsidiary of New York
Mercantile Exchange, Inc., and a subsidiary of the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange Group (the ``CME Group''). Other commodity exchanges include
the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (``TOCOM''), the Multi Commodity Exchange
Of India (``MCX''), the Shanghai Futures Exchange, ICE Futures US (the
``ICE''), and the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange. The CME Group and
ICE are members of the Intermarket Surveillance Group (``ISG'').
Although the Trust will not invest in gold futures, information
about the gold futures market is relevant as such markets contribute
to, and provide evidence of, the liquidity of the overall market for
gold.
The London Gold Bullion Market
According to the Registration Statement, most trading in physical
gold is conducted on the OTC market, predominantly in London. LBMA
coordinates various OTC-market activities, including clearing and
vaulting, acts as the principal intermediary between physical gold
market participants and the relevant regulators, promotes good trading
practices and develops standard market documentation. In addition, the
LBMA promotes refining standards for the gold market by maintaining the
``London Good Delivery List,'' which identifies refiners of gold that
have been approved by the LBMA.
In the OTC market, gold bars that meet the specifications for
weight, dimensions, fineness (or purity), identifying marks (including
the assay stamp of an LBMA-acceptable refiner) and appearance described
in ``The Good Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars'' published by
the LBMA are referred to as ``London Good Delivery Bars.'' A London
Good Delivery Bar (typically called a ``400 ounce bar'') must contain
between 350 and 430 fine troy ounces of gold (1 troy ounce = 31.1034768
grams), with a minimum fineness (or purity) of 995 parts per 1,000
(99.5%), 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 refiners identified on the London Good Delivery
List.
Following the enactment of the Financial Markets Act 2012, the
Prudential Regulation Authority of the Bank of England is responsible
for regulating most of the financial firms that are active in the
bullion market, and the Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for
consumer and competition issues. Trading in spot, forwards and
wholesale deposits in the bullion market is subject to the Non-
Investment Products Code adopted by market participants.
Creation and Redemption of Shares
According to the Registration Statement, the Trust will create and
redeem Shares on a continuous basis in ``Baskets'' of 50,000 Shares.
Only ``Authorized Participants'', which are
[[Page 22998]]
registered broker-dealers who have entered into written agreements with
the Sponsor and the Trustee, can deposit gold and receive Baskets in
exchange. Upon the deposit of the corresponding amount of gold with the
Custodian, and the payment of the Trustee's applicable fee and of any
expenses, taxes or charges, the Trustee will deliver the appropriate
number of Baskets to the DTC account of the depositing Authorized
Participant. The Sponsor and the Trustee will maintain a current list
of Authorized Participants. Gold deposited with the Custodian must meet
the specifications for weight, dimensions, fineness (or purity),
identifying marks and appearance of gold bars as set forth in ``The
Good Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars'' published by the LBMA.
Orders to create or redeem Shares must be placed by 3:59 p.m. Eastern
Time (``ET.'').
The ``Basket Gold Amount'' necessary for the creation of a Basket
will change from day to day.\30\ On each day that NYSE Arca is open for
regular trading, the Trustee will adjust the quantity of gold
constituting the Basket Gold Amount as appropriate to reflect sales of
gold, any loss of gold that may occur, and accrued expenses. The
computation is made by the Trustee as promptly as practicable after
4:00 p.m., E.T. The Trustee will determine the Basket Gold Amount for a
given day by multiplying the net asset value (``NAV'') by the number of
Shares in each Basket (50,000) and dividing the resulting product by
that day's LBMA Gold Price PM.
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\30\ The Basket Gold Amount is the amount of gold (measured in
fine ounces), determined on each business day by the Trustee, which
Authorized Participants must transfer to the Trust in exchange for a
Basket, or will receive in exchange for each Basket surrendered for
redemption.
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The Trustee intends to make available on each business day through
the same channels used to disseminate the actual Basket Gold Amount
determined by the Trustee as indicated above an indicative basket gold
amount (``Indicative Basket Gold Amount'') for the next business day.
Authorized Participants may use that Indicative Basket Gold Amount as
guidance regarding the amount of gold that they may expect to have to
deposit with the Custodian in respect of purchase orders placed by them
on such next business day and accepted by the Trustee. The agreement
entered into with each Authorized Participant provides, however, that
once a purchase order has been accepted by the Trustee, the Authorized
Participant will be required to deposit with the Custodian the Basket
Gold Amount determined by the Trustee on the effective date of the
purchase order.
Redemption of Baskets; Withdrawal of Gold
According to the Registration Statement, Authorized Participants,
acting on authority of the registered holder of Shares, may surrender
Baskets in exchange for the corresponding Basket Gold Amount announced
by the Trustee. Upon the surrender of such Shares and the payment of
the Trustee's applicable fee and of any expenses, taxes or charges, the
Trustee will deliver to the order of the redeeming Authorized
Participant the amount of gold corresponding to the redeemed Baskets.
The amount of gold necessary for the creation of a Basket, or to be
received upon redemption of a Basket, will decrease over the life of
the Trust, due to the payment or accrual of fees and other expenses or
liabilities payable by the Trust.
Unless otherwise agreed to by the Custodian, gold is delivered to
the redeeming Authorized Participants in the form of physical bars only
(except that any amount of less than 430 ounces may be transferred to
an unallocated account of or as ordered by, the redeeming Authorized
Participant).
Net Asset Value
According to the Registration Statement, the NAV of the Trust will
be obtained by subtracting all accrued fees, expenses and other
liabilities of the Trust on any day from the total value of the gold
and all other assets of the Trust on that day; the NAV per Share will
be obtained by dividing the NAV of the Trust by the number of Shares
outstanding on the date the computation is made. On each day on which
NYSE Arca is open for regular trading, the Trustee will determine the
NAV as promptly as practicable after 4:00 p.m., E.T. The Trustee will
value the Trust's gold on the basis of that day's LBMA Gold Price PM.
If there is no LBMA Gold Price PM on any day, the Trustee is authorized
to use the most recently announced LBMA Gold Price AM unless the
Trustee, in consultation with the Sponsor, determines that such price
is inappropriate as a basis for evaluation.
Availability of Information Regarding Gold
Currently, the ``Consolidated Tape Plan'' does not provide for
dissemination of the spot price of a commodity such as gold over the
consolidated tape. However, there will be disseminated over the
consolidated tape the last sale price for the Shares. In addition,
there is a considerable amount of information about gold and gold
markets available on public websites and through professional and
subscription services.
Investors may obtain gold pricing information on a 24-hour basis
based on the spot price for an ounce of gold from various financial
information service providers, such as Reuters and Bloomberg.
Reuters and Bloomberg, for example, provide at no charge on their
websites delayed information regarding the spot price of gold and last
sale prices of gold futures, as well as information about news and
developments in the gold market. Reuters and Bloomberg also offer a
professional service to subscribers for a fee that provides information
on gold prices directly from market participants. Complete real-time
data for gold futures and options prices traded on the COMEX are
available by subscription from Reuters and Bloomberg. There are a
variety of other public websites providing information on gold, ranging
from those specializing in precious metals to sites maintained by major
newspapers. In addition, the LBMA Gold Price is publicly available at
no charge at www.lbma.org.uk.
Availability of Information
The intraday indicative value (``IIV'') per Share for the Shares
will be disseminated by one or more major market data vendors. The IIV
will be calculated based on the amount of gold held by the Trust and a
price of gold derived from updated bids and offers indicative of the
spot price of gold.\31\
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\31\ The IIV on a per Share basis disseminated during the ``Core
Trading Session'', as defined in NYSE Arca Rule 7.34-E, should not
be viewed as a real-time update of the NAV, which is calculated once
a day.
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The website for the Trust (www.ishares.com) will contain the
following information, on a per Share basis, for the Trust: (a) The
prior business day's NAV per Share; (b) Basket Gold Amount; (c) the
Official Closing Price; \32\ (d) the present day's Indicative Basket
Gold Amount; (e) midpoint of the national best bid and the national
best offer (``NBBO'') as of the time the NAV is calculated (``Bid-Ask
Price''); \33\ (f) calculation of the
[[Page 22999]]
premium or discount of the Official Closing Price against such NAV
expressed as a percentage of such NAV; (g) a table showing the number
of days the Shares of the Trust traded at a premium or discount during
the most recently complete calendar year and the most recently
completed calendar quarters since that year; (h) a line graph showing
the Shares' premiums or discounts for the most recently completed
calendar year and the most recently completed calendar quarters since
that year (or the life of the exchange-traded fund, if shorter); \34\
(i) the prospectus; and (j) other applicable quantitative information.
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\32\ The term ``Official Closing Price'' is defined in NYSE Arca
Rule 1.1(ll) as the reference price to determine the closing price
in a security for purposes of Rule 7-E Equities Trading, and the
procedures for determining the Official Closing Price are set forth
in that rule.
\33\ The Commission has issued a notice of filing and immediate
effectiveness for an Exchange proposed rule change relating to
website dissemination of information regarding Official Closing
Price and midpoint of the NBBO for other Exchange-listed trusts of
the Sponsor. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90547 (December
2, 2020), 85 FR 79060 (December 8, 2020) (SR-NYSEArca-2020-99)
(Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule
Change Regarding the Availability of Information for the iShares
Gold Trust and the iShares Silver Trust under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E
(Commodity-Based Trust Shares) and iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-
Indexed Trust under Rule 8.203-E (Commodity Index Trust Shares)).
\34\ The Commission has approved an Exchange proposed rule
change relating to website dissemination of information regarding
dissemination of premium or discount information for other Exchange-
listed trusts of the Sponsor. See Securities Exchange Act Release
No. 91031 (February 1, 2021), 86 FR 8464 (February 5, 2021) (SR-
NYSEArca-2020-98) (Order Approving a Proposed Rule Change, as
Modified by Amendment No. 1, Regarding the Availability of
Information for the iShares Gold Trust, the iShares Silver Trust,
and the iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust).
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In addition, information regarding market price and trading volume
of the Shares will be continually available on a real-time basis
throughout the day on brokers' computer screens and other electronic
services. Information regarding the previous day's closing price and
trading volume information for the Shares will be published daily in
the financial section of newspapers.
Criteria for Initial and Continued Listing
The Trust will be subject to the criteria in NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-
E(e) for initial and continued listing of the Shares.
A minimum of two Baskets or 100,000 Shares will be required to be
outstanding at the start of trading, which is equivalent to 1,000 fine
ounces of gold. The Exchange believes that the anticipated minimum
number of Shares outstanding at the start of trading is sufficient to
provide adequate market liquidity.
Trading Rules
The Exchange deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus
rendering trading in the Trust subject to the Exchange's existing rules
governing the trading of equity securities. Trading in the Shares on
the Exchange will occur in accordance with NYSE Arca Rule 7.34-E(a).
The Exchange has appropriate rules to facilitate transactions in the
Shares during all trading sessions. As provided in NYSE Arca Rule 7.6-
E, the minimum price variation (``MPV'') for quoting and entry of
orders in equity securities traded on the NYSE Arca Marketplace is
$0.01, with the exception of securities that are priced less than $1.00
for which the MPV for order entry is $0.0001.
Further, NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E sets forth certain restrictions on
ETP Holders acting as registered Market Makers in the Shares to
facilitate surveillance. Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E(g), an ETP Holder
acting as a registered Market Maker in the Shares is required to
provide the Exchange with information relating to its trading in the
underlying gold, related futures or options on futures, or any other
related derivatives. Commentary .04 of NYSE Arca Rule 11.3-E requires
an ETP Holder acting as a registered Market Maker, and its affiliates,
in the Shares to establish, maintain and enforce written policies and
procedures reasonably designed to prevent the misuse of any material
nonpublic information with respect to such products, any components of
the related products, any physical asset or commodity underlying the
product, applicable currencies, underlying indexes, related futures or
options on futures, and any related derivative instruments (including
the Shares).
As a general matter, the Exchange has regulatory jurisdiction over
its ETP Holders and their associated persons, which include any person
or entity controlling an ETP Holder. A subsidiary or affiliate of an
ETP Holder that does business only in commodities or futures contracts
would not be subject to Exchange jurisdiction, but the Exchange could
obtain information regarding the activities of such subsidiary or
affiliate through surveillance sharing agreements with regulatory
organizations of which such subsidiary or affiliate is a member.
With respect to trading halts, the Exchange may consider all
relevant factors in exercising its discretion to halt or suspend
trading in the Shares. Trading on the Exchange in the Shares may be
halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of
the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable. These may
include: (1) The extent to which conditions in the underlying gold
market have caused disruptions and/or lack of trading, or (2) whether
other unusual conditions or circumstances detrimental to the
maintenance of a fair and orderly market are present. In addition,
trading in Shares will be subject to trading halts caused by
extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange's ``circuit
breaker'' rule.\35\ The Exchange will halt trading in the Shares if the
NAV of the Trust is not calculated or disseminated daily. The Exchange
may halt trading during the day in which an interruption occurs to the
dissemination of the IIV, as described above. If the interruption to
the dissemination of the IIV persists past the trading day in which it
occurs, the Exchange will halt trading no later than the beginning of
the trading day following the interruption.
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\35\ See NYSE Arca Rule 7.12-E.
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Surveillance
The Exchange represents that trading in the Shares will be subject
to the existing trading surveillances administered by the Exchange, as
well as cross-market surveillances administered by the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority (``FINRA'') on behalf of the Exchange,
which are designed to detect violations of Exchange rules and
applicable federal securities laws.\36\ The Exchange represents that
these procedures are adequate to properly monitor Exchange trading of
the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect violations
of Exchange rules and federal securities laws applicable to trading on
the Exchange.
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\36\ FINRA conducts cross-market surveillances on behalf of the
Exchange pursuant to a regulatory services agreement. The Exchange
is responsible for FINRA's performance under this regulatory
services agreement.
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The surveillances referred to above generally focus on detecting
securities trading outside their normal patterns, which could be
indicative of manipulative or other violative activity. When such
situations are detected, surveillance analysis follows and
investigations are opened, where appropriate, to review the behavior of
all relevant parties for all relevant trading violations.
The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, will
communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares with other
markets and other entities that are members of the ISG, and the
Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, may obtain
trading information regarding trading in the Shares from such markets
and other entities. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in the Shares from markets and other entities that
are members of ISG or with which the
[[Page 23000]]
Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement.\37\
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\37\ For a list of the current members of ISG, see
www.isgportal.org.
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Also, pursuant to NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E(g), the Exchange is able
to obtain information regarding trading in the Shares and the
underlying gold, gold futures contracts, options on gold futures, or
any other gold derivative, through Equity Trading Permit (``ETP'')
Holders acting as registered ``Market Makers'', in connection with such
ETP Holders' proprietary or customer trades through ETP Holders which
they effect on any relevant market. In addition, the Exchange also has
a general policy prohibiting the distribution of material, non-public
information by its employees.
All statements and representations made in this filing regarding
(a) the description of the portfolio, (b) limitations on portfolio
holdings or reference assets, or (c) the applicability of Exchange
listing rules specified in this rule filing shall constitute continued
listing requirements for listing the Shares of the Trust on the
Exchange.
The issuer has represented to the Exchange that it will advise the
Exchange of any failure by the Trust to comply with the continued
listing requirements, and, pursuant to its obligations under Section
19(g)(1) of the Act, the Exchange will monitor for compliance with the
continued listing requirements. If the Trust is not in compliance with
the applicable listing requirements, the Exchange will commence
delisting procedures under NYSE Arca Rule 5.5-E(m).
Information Bulletin
Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its
ETP Holders in an Information Bulletin of the special characteristics
and risks associated with trading the Shares. Specifically, the
Information Bulletin will discuss the following: (1) The procedures for
purchases and redemptions of Shares in Baskets (including noting that
Shares are not individually redeemable); (2) NYSE Arca Rule 9.2-E(a),
which imposes a duty of due diligence on its ETP Holders to learn the
essential facts relating to every customer prior to trading the Shares;
(3) how information regarding the IIV is disseminated; (4) the
requirement that ETP Holders deliver a prospectus to investors
purchasing newly issued Shares prior to or concurrently with the
confirmation of a transaction; (5) the possibility that trading spreads
and the resulting premium or discount on the Shares may widen as a
result of reduced liquidity of gold trading during the Core Trading
Session and ``Late Trading Session'' (as defined in NYSE Arca Rule
7.34-E) after the close of the major world gold markets; and (6)
trading information. For example, the Information Bulletin will advise
ETP Holders, prior to the commencement of trading, of the prospectus
delivery requirements applicable to the Trust. The Exchange notes that
investors purchasing Shares directly from the Trust will receive a
prospectus. ETP Holders purchasing Shares from the Trust for resale to
investors will deliver a prospectus to such investors.
In addition, the Information Bulletin will reference that the Trust
is subject to various fees and expenses as will be described in the
Registration Statement. The Information Bulletin will also reference
the fact that there is no regulated source of last sale information
regarding physical gold, that the Commission has no jurisdiction over
the trading of gold as a physical commodity, and that the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission has regulatory jurisdiction over the trading
of gold futures contracts and options on gold futures contracts.
The Information Bulletin will also discuss any relief, if granted,
by the Commission or the staff from any rules under the Act.
2. Statutory Basis
The basis under the Act for this proposed rule change is the
requirement under Section 6(b)(5) \38\ that an exchange have rules that
are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices,
to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove
impediments to, and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market
and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest.
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\38\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices in that the
Shares will be listed and traded on the Exchange pursuant to the
initial and continued listing criteria in NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E. The
Exchange has in place surveillance procedures that are adequate to
properly monitor trading in the Shares in all trading sessions and to
deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal
securities laws. The Exchange may obtain information via the ISG from
other exchanges that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has
entered into a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.
The proposed rule change is designed to promote just and equitable
principles of trade and to protect investors and the public interest in
that there is a considerable amount of gold price and gold market
information available on public websites and through professional and
subscription services. Investors may obtain on a 24-hour basis gold
pricing information based on the spot price for an ounce of gold from
various financial information service providers. Investors may obtain
gold pricing information based on the spot price for an ounce of gold
from various financial information service providers. Current spot
prices also are generally available with bid/ask spreads from gold
bullion dealers. In addition, the Trust's website will provide pricing
information for gold spot prices and the Shares. The Trust's website
will provide reliable, accurate and up-to-date pricing information for
the Shares consistent with the changes to disseminated information for
similar Exchange-listed trusts of the Sponsor previously approved by
the Commission in SR-NYSEArca-2020-98.\39\ Market prices for the Shares
will be available from a variety of sources including brokerage firms,
information websites and other information service providers. The NAV
of the Trust will be published by the Sponsor on each day that the NYSE
Arca is open for regular trading and will be posted on the Trust's
website. The IIV relating to the Shares will be widely disseminated by
one or more major market data vendors at least every 15 seconds during
the Core Trading Session. In addition, the LBMA Gold Price is publicly
available at no charge at www.lbma.org.uk. The Trust's website will
also provide the Trust's prospectus, as well as the two most recent
reports to stockholders. In addition, information regarding market
price and trading volume of the Shares will be continually available on
a real-time basis throughout the day on brokers' computer screens and
other electronic services. Information regarding the previous day's
closing price and trading volume information for the Shares will be
published daily in the financial section of newspapers.
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\39\ See note 34, supra.
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The proposed rule change is designed to perfect the mechanism of a
free and open market and, in general, to protect investors and the
public interest in that it will facilitate the listing and trading of
an additional type of exchange-traded product that will enhance
competition among market participants, to the
[[Page 23001]]
benefit of investors and the marketplace. As noted above, the Exchange
has in place surveillance procedures relating to trading in the Shares
and may obtain information via ISG from other exchanges that are
members of ISG or with which the Exchange has entered into a
comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. In addition, as noted
above, investors will have ready access to information regarding gold
pricing.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange believes the
proposed rule change will enhance competition by accommodating Exchange
trading of an additional exchange-traded product relating to physical
gold.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the
proposed rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the proposed rule change does not: (i) Significantly affect
the protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any
significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative prior to
30 days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as
the Commission may designate, if consistent with the protection of
investors and the public interest, the proposed rule change has become
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \40\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6) thereunder.\41\
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\40\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\41\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
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At any time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an email to [email protected]. Please include
File Number SR-NYSEArca-2021-25 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to: Secretary,
Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC
20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2021-25. This
file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To
help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's internet website (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml).
Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written
statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with
the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed
rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those
that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions
of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and printing in
the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC
20549 on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and
3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection
and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change. Persons submitting comments are
cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying
information from comment submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2021-25 and should be submitted
on or before May 21, 2021.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\42\
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
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\42\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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[FR Doc. 2021-09019 Filed 4-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
