SPDR® Gold Trust is an investment trust that enables investors to gain exposure to gold bullion through tradable shares representing fractional ownership of allocated physical gold held in custody. The Trust operates as a pass-through vehicle, allowing investors to buy and sell shares on public exchanges rather than navigating the physical bullion market, eliminating traditional barriers such as logistics, storage, and insurance. The Trust generates revenue through an annual sponsor fee (typically 0.40% of net asset value) and transaction fees from authorized participants, while holding allocated gold bars meeting London Bullion Market Association standards in secure custodian vaults, with the trustee periodically selling gold to cover operating expenses.