abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF

What they do

The Trust owns gold transferred to it in exchange for shares, and each share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in the Trust. Assets consist solely of gold bullion; the Trust has no directors, officers or employees and is not managed like a corporation or active investment vehicle. Gold is only delivered to pay the Sponsor's Fee, distributed to Authorized Participants on Basket redemptions, or sold to pay expenses, on termination, or as required by law. Shares trade on NYSE Arca under the symbol SGOL, and only Authorized Participants can create or redeem in 100,000-share Baskets.

Revenue drivers

• Gold price exposure — The Trust's investment objective is for shares to reflect the price of gold bullion less expenses; shares at redeemable value rose from $3,756,119,448 at December 31, 2024 to $7,332,589,978 at December 31, 2025.
• Share issuance growth — Outstanding shares increased from 150,700,000 at December 31, 2024 to 178,600,000 at December 31, 2025, expanding the gold held and the asset base on which the Sponsor's Fee is computed.
• Sponsor's Fee — The Sponsor is paid a fee accruing daily, computed by reference to the value of the Trust or its assets using ANAV, and paid in gold; the Trust has no other operating revenue.
• Basket creation and redemption — Shares are issued and redeemed only with Authorized Participants in 100,000-share Baskets in exchange for gold, which adds or removes Trust assets but does not generate revenue for the Trust.

Recent performance

Annual net income was $-131.0M in 2021, $-17.4M in 2022, $345.7M in 2023, $710.6M in 2024 and $2.65B in 2025, with diluted EPS of $-0.93, $-0.12, $2.41, $4.94 and $16.11 respectively. Shares at redeemable value rose to $7,332,589,978 at December 31, 2025 from $3,756,119,448 a year earlier, while outstanding shares grew to 178,600,000 from 150,700,000. The latest balance sheet shows total assets of $6.74B and shareholder equity of $6.74B at June 30, 2026, against total liabilities of $949,000. The Trust's results are driven by the price of gold and the Sponsor's Fee rather than by operating activity.

Strategy

The Trust's stated objective is for the shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the Trust's expenses. It is not managed like a corporation and does not engage in activities designed to profit from or improve losses caused by changes in the gold price. The Sponsor positions the shares as a simple, cost-effective way to gain investment exposure similar to holding gold bullion, accessible through a traditional brokerage account. The Trust has no fixed termination date and issues or redeems shares only in 100,000-share Baskets with Authorized Participants.

Risks

• Gold price risk — The Trust's assets consist solely of gold bullion, so the value of the shares moves with the price of gold and is not diversified or hedged.
• Expense drag — The Sponsor's Fee and other Trust expenses are paid out of gold, so the Trust must sell or deliver gold and the shares are expected to underperform the gold price by the amount of expenses.
• Creation/redemption concentration — Shares can only be issued and redeemed with Authorized Participants in 100,000-share Baskets, and a list of current Authorized Participants is available only from the Sponsor or the Trustee.
• Valuation basis risk — The Trustee values gold using the LBMA Gold Price PM, falling back to the LBMA Gold Price AM or, if the Sponsor determines those are inappropriate, an alternative basis, which introduces discretion into NAV and ANAV calculations.

Outlook

The filings do not include management earnings guidance for the Trust; results depend on the price of gold bullion and the level of shares outstanding. The Trust has no fixed termination date and continues to pursue its stated objective of having the shares reflect the performance of the price of gold, less expenses. Shares are expected to continue to be issued and redeemed in 100,000-share Baskets only with Authorized Participants. The Sponsor maintains the Trust's filings on its website at www.abrdn.com/us/etf and on the SEC site.