Filed Pursuant To Rule 433
Registration No. 333-217785
February 26, 2018
SPDR® GOLD SHARES
A Precise Way to INVEST IN GOLD SPDR Gold Shares (GLD®) offers investors a modern, cost-efficient and secure way to gain access to the gold market without having to pay the transportation, storage and insurance costs of holding physical gold. GLD has freed investors of many of the barriers that have historically deterred them from assigning gold a strategic long-term portfolio presence. By easily buying and selling shares of GLD on a stock exchange, investors have easy access to gold’s role as a portfolio diversifier.1 In other words, with GLD, any investor with a brokerage account (brokerage charges may be incurred) can take advantage of gold’s historically low correlation to other asset classes such as stocks and bonds. Why Gold? Why GLD? Research shows that a long- term strategic allocation to gold GLD has lowered a large number of barriers traditionally may help increase portfolio diversification and may help preventing investors from using gold as an asset allocation preserve purchasing power.2 In particular: and trading tool. These barriers have included the logistics of buying, storing and insuring gold. GLD has given investors • Gold may help manage risk and volatility. Gold may exposure to the price of physical gold, minus Trust expenses, reduce volatility by diversifying portfolios — a byproduct of eliminating the need to use derivatives which may carry its low correlation to most key asset classes, such as stocks, additional credit risks. bonds and commodities. In fact, since 2000, the correlation of gold to stocks, bonds and other commodities was 0.01, 0.29 With GLD, investors now have easy access to the gold and 0.44, respectively.3 market. They can readily integrate and measure gold • Gold may help preserve purchasing power. Gold prices as a strategic presence in a portfolio that can potentially are influenced by multiple factors ranging from central bank diversify risk due to low correlations with major asset classes, policies and interest rates to emerging market demand and and can be incorporated into a broad asset-allocation mining production. As a result, there are a diverse set of framework of investing. global drivers that impact the price of gold beyond localized events. This, in turn, could support gold prices during periods How does GLD work? of local currency depreciation and may help it act as a hedge against global inflation.4 Shares of GLD give the holder an undivided beneficial ownership in the SPDR Gold Trust (established in the form of a Grantor Trust), which solely holds gold. All the Trust’s gold is securely vaulted in London.
GLD’s Key Attributes Transparent Easily Accessible GLD seeks to track the price of gold minus the Trust expenses. GLD has about 300 million shares outstanding.8 GLD shares The price, holdings and net asset value of GLD, as well are listed on the NYSE and cross-listed in Tokyo, Hong Kong, as market data for the overall gold bullion market, can Singapore and M exico. Investors can buy, sell and hold be tracked at spdrgoldsh are s.com. GLD through standard 9 brokerage accounts. Secure Flexible HSBC Bank Plc is the custodian for the gold held by the SPDR GLD investors can buy as few or as many shares they want, Gold Trust.5 Gold is held in custody in an “allocated account,”6 giving them ownership to fractional ounces of gold. GLD which means that the Trust has full ownership of the gold bars, trades in the same way ordinary stocks do. It is possible to: and the custodian may not trade, lease or lend the bars. • Buy or sell GLD continuously throughout the trading day on NYSE Arca and other exchanges at prices Liquid established by the market M ore than $1 billion worth of GLD shares typically trade each • Place market, limit and stop-loss orders for GLD day, putting GLD in the top 99th percentile of all stocks and ETFs traded on NYSE Arca.7 • Sell GLD short • Purchase shares of GLD on margin GLD’s liquidity comes not only from substantial secondary- market trading on NYSE Arca and other exchanges, but also Cost-Effective from the primary market. “Authorized participants” in the Buying a one-ounce gold coin costs, on average, 5% above primary market, responding to market demand, can create 10 and redeem baskets of 100,000 shares. All this may help the spot gold price. Buying one ounce of gold through keep bid/ask spreads tight and allows investors to freely GLD is considerably cheaper, paying the spot price plus buy and sell shares in whatever amount they desire. There about 0.01% of the spot price due to tight bid/ask spreads that can be no assurance that a liquid market will be maintained have existed since inception of GLD. Also, the holding cost of GLD as measured by its expense ratio amounts to 0.40% per for these shares. year. Transaction costs related to GLD are generally lower than costs associated with the purchase, storage and insurance of GLD S econdary Market Volume physical gold. However, frequent trading of ETFs can increase Billions commissions and other costs enough to offset any savings from 160 GLD’s low fees and costs. 120 The Cost Effective Attributes of GLD 80 Attribute Allocate d Gold Unallocate d Gold 40 Gold asset can be leased to third party No Yes without consent 0 Part of bankruptcy estate in event of No Yes a bankruptcy of the Custodian bank -40 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Individually Identified Bars Yes No — GLD — 2nd Biggest Gold ETF — 3rd Biggest Gold ETF Trust has right and title to Yes No the gold assets Source: Bloomberg January 4, 2010 to December 30, 2017. Dollar value of volume Segregated from other gold Yes No is averaged monthly. The chart above shows GLD and two US-listed competitors, the 2nd Biggest gold ETF and the 3rd Biggest gold ETF. Inception dates: GLD: 11/18/2004. GLD’s Liquidity in the Primary and S econdary Markets Secondary Market (Where Most Activity Takes Place) Broker/ Stock Authorized Buy/Sell Buy/Sell Buy/Sell Exchange Gold Investor Trust Shares Dealer Shares Exchange Shares Participant for Shares Primary Market (Share Creation/Redemption, When Necessary) Information contained above is for illustrative purposes only.
1 The relevance of gold as a strate gic asset. Source: World Gold Council, January Definitions 2018. Authorized Participants (APs) US registered, self-cle aring broker-de alers who 2 See: J.P. Morgan, Gold in asset allocation, July 2012; Mercer, Gold as an asset class meet certain criteria and sign a participant agreement with a particular ETF sponsor or for institutional investors, February 2011, New Frontier Advisors and World Gold distributor to become “authorized participants” of the fund. APs are highly scrutinized Council, Gold as a strategic asset, Septembe r 2006; New Frontier Advisors, Gold for their integrity and operational competence as they are the only parties who transact as a strategic asset for European investors, December 2011; Oxford Economics, directly with the ETF. The impact of inflation and deflation in the case for gold, July 2011; Matos, P. and R. Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond TR Index Measure of the performa nce Evans, Gold as a portfolio diversifier: the World Gold Council and investing in gold, of the U.S. dollar denominated investment grade bond market. Darden Business Publishing, University of Virginia, Septem ber 2012. Bid/Ask Spread A transaction cost associated with trading a security that is the 3 Source: SSGA, Bloomberg, as of 12/31/2017. Computed using monthly return data difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay, and the lowest price from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2017. The correlation coefficient measures the seller is willing to accept. the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables. It Derivatives Financial securities including options and futures that have a price measure s the degree to which the deviations of one variable from its mean are based or derived on the price of an asset such as stocks, commodities or indices. related to those of a different variable from its respective mean. Index returns Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) A broadly diversified index that tracks are unmanaged and do not reflect the deduction of any fees or expenses. Stocks the commodities markets through commodity futures contra cts. represente d by S&P 500 Index; Bonds represented by Bloomberg Barclays US Limit Order A buy or sell order that will only be executed above or below a specif ic Aggregate Bond TR Index; Commodities represented by Bloomberg Commodity market price. Index. Index returns reflect all items of income, gain and loss and the reinvestment Liquidity The ability to quickly buy or sell an investment in the market without of dividends and other income. Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee impacting its price. Trading volume is a primary determinant of liquidity. against loss. Margin Loan A loan from a broker that allows investors to borrow against collateral, 4 “Gold as an Inflation Hedge in a Time-Varying Coefficient Framework,” RUHR typically existing investments. Margin loans allow investors to leverage and therefore Economic Papers, #362, 2012. magnify profits as well as losses. 5 Gold bars may be held by one or more subcustodians appointed by the Custodian, Market Order A buy or sell order that will be executed immediately at current or employed by the subcustodians appointed by the Custodian, until it is transported market price. to the Custodian’s London vault premises. Short Selling A strategy designed to profit from a decline in price of a stock or 6 An allocated account is an account with a bullion dealer, which may also be a bank, security. The short seller borrows the security and sells it to another investor, hoping to which individually identified units of gold (such as bars) owned by the account the price falls and that he or she can buy it back at a lower price and lock in a profit holder are credited. The gold held in an allocated gold account is specific to that Stop-Loss Order A sell order that is triggered if a security hits a specific market price. account and is identified by a list that shows, for each unit of gold, the refiner, Tail Risk The risk of an extreme loss in an investment portfolio due to major macro assay or fineness, serial number and gross and fine weight. events such as a market shock. 7 Source: World Gold Council, as of December 31, 2017. Bloomberg, S&P 500® Index Benchmark composed of five hundred (500) selected stocks, 8 Source: State Street Global Advisors, as of December 31, 2017. all of which are listed on national stock exchanges and spans over 25 separate 9 Although shares of GLD have historically been readily tradable on exchanges, industry groups. there can be no assurance that an active trading market will be maintained. 10 Source: World Gold Council, as of December 31, 2017. ssga.com | spdrs.com For public use. Act of 1936 (the “CEA”). As a result, shareholders of the Trust do not have the protections associated with ownership of shares in an investment company registered Important risk information under the 1940 Act or the protections afforded by the CEA. Investing involves risk, and you could lose money on an investment in GLD. GLD shares trade like stocks, are subject to investment risk and will fluctuate in ETFs trade like stocks, are subject to investment risk, fluctuate in market value and market value. The value of GLD shares relates directly to the value of the gold held may trade at prices above or below the ETFs’ net asset value. Brokerage commissions by GLD (less its expenses), and fluctuations in the price of gold could materially and and Commodities ETF expenses and commodity will reduce -index returns. linked securities may be affected by changes adversely affect an investment in the shares. The price received upon the sale of the shares, which trade at market price, may be more or less than the value of the gold in overall market movements, changes in interest rates, and other factors such as represented by them. GLD does not generate any income, and as GLD regularly sells weather, disease, embargoes, or political and regulatory developments, as well as gold to pay for its ongoing expenses, the amount of gold represented by each Share trading activity of speculators and arbitrageurs in the underlying commodities. will decline over time to that extent. Frequent trading of ETFs could significantly increase commissions and other costs The World Gold Council name and logo are a registe red tradem ark and used with the such that they may offset any savings from low fees or costs. Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarante e against loss. permission of the World Gold Council pursuant to a license agreement. The World Investing in commodities entails significant risk and is not appropriate for Gold Council in not responsible for the content of, and is not liable for the use of or reliance on, this material. World Gold Council is an affiliate of GLD’s sponsor. all investors. Standard & Poor’s®, S&P® and SPDR® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Important Information Relating to SPDR Gold Shares Trust (“GLD®”):The Financial Services LLC, a division of S&P Global (S&P); Dow Jones is a registered SPDR Gold Trust (“GLD”) has filed a registration statement (including a trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (Dow Jones); and these trademarks prospectus) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for the have been licensed for use by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (SPDJI) and sublicensed offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should for certain purposes by State Street Corporation. State Street Corporation’s financial read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents products are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, GLD has filed with the SEC for more complete information about GLD and their respective affiliates and third party licensors and none of such parties make any this offering. Please see the GLD prospectus for a detailed discussion of representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s) nor do they the risks of investing in GLD shares. When distributed electronically, the have any liability in relation thereto. GLD prospectus is available by clicking here. You may get these documents For more information, please contact the Marketing Agent for GLD: State for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at sec.gov or by visiting Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC, One Lincoln Street, Boston, spdrgoldshares.com. Alternatively, the Trust or any authorized participant MA, 0211 1; T: +1 866 320 4053 spdrgoldshares.com w ill arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling 866.320.4053. © 2018 State Street Corporation. All Rights Reserved. GLD is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC, 1940 (the “1940 Act”) and is not subject to regulation under the Commodity Exchange One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111 Not FDIC Insured • No Bank Guarantee • May Lose Value © 2018 State Street Corporation. All Rights Reserved. ID12172 2034870.1.1.NA.R T L 0218 Exp. Date: 02/28/2019
SPDR® GOLD TRUST has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Trust and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Trust or any Authorized Participant will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling toll free at 1-866-320-4053 or contacting State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC, One Lincoln Street, Attn: SPDR® Gold Shares, 30th Floor, Boston, MA 02111.