Business Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST Overview The Trust was formed on July 26, 2018. The Trust’s investment objective is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold less the expenses of the Trust’s operations. Although the Shares are not the exact equivalent of an investment in gold, they provide investors with an alternative that allows a level of participation in the gold market through the securities market. Each Share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in the Trust’s net assets. The Trust’s assets consist principally of gold held by the Custodian for safekeeping on the Trust’s behalf. Physical gold held on behalf of the Trust by the Custodian consists of gold bullion that meets the London Good Delivery Standards. The Sponsor of the Trust is Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership. Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (“Goldman Sachs”) and an affiliate of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a publicly-held financial holding company and a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. The Shares are neither interests in nor obligations of, and are not guaranteed by, the Sponsor, its directors, officers, or member(s), or any of their affiliates. The Trust is governed by the provisions of the First Amended and Restated Depositary Trust Agreement (as amended from time to time, the “Trust Agreement”) executed as of December 11, 2020 by the Sponsor and the Trustee. The Trust has no fixed termination date. The Trust is not managed like a corporation or an active investment vehicle. It does not have any officers, directors or employees. The Shares, known as Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF Shares, provide investors with the opportunity to access the gold market through a traditional brokerage account. The Shares are issued by the Trust only in blocks of at least 25,000 Shares called “Baskets” in exchange for gold from Authorized Participants, which is then allocated to the Trust and stored by the Custodian. The Trust may redeem Baskets in exchange for the amount of gold corresponding to the Basket’s redemption value. The Trust issues and redeems Baskets on an ongoing basis at Net Asset Value to Authorized Participants who have entered into a contract with the Sponsor and the Trustee. Except when aggregated in Baskets, the Shares are not redeemable securities. Baskets are only redeemable by Authorized Participants. The value of gold will be reported on the Trust’s website daily. Individual Shares will not be redeemed by the Trust but are listed and trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange under the symbol “AAAU.” Effective February 3, 2022, the listing of the Trust was transferred from NYSE Arca to Cboe BZX Exchange. Investors do not have the right to take delivery of the physical gold bullion in exchange for the Shares such investors own. The Sponsor of the registrant maintains an Internet website at www.gsam.com, through which the registrant’s annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, are made available free of charge after they have been filed or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Additional information regarding the Trust may also be found on the SEC’s EDGAR database at www.sec.gov. The Trust The activities of the Trust are limited to: (1) issuing Baskets in exchange for the gold deposited by Authorized Participants with the Custodian for safekeeping; (2) delivering gold in exchange for Baskets surrendered by Authorized Participants for redemption; (3) selling gold as needed to pay the Sponsor Fee and reimburse the Sponsor for expenses that the Sponsor has paid on the Trust’s behalf; and (4) selling gold as needed to pay Trust expenses not assumed by the Sponsor. The assets of the Trust consist primarily of gold held at the Custodian on behalf of the Trust. Gold is sold: (i) to pay the Sponsor Fee and reimburse the Sponsor for expenses that the Sponsor has paid on the Trust’s behalf; (ii) to pay the expenses of the Trust not assumed by the Sponsor; and (iii) if the Trust terminates and liquidates its assets. Gold will be delivered or sold as otherwise required by law or regulation.…