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and represents the per Share amount of gold held by the Trust, after giving effect to its liabilities, to cover expenses
and liabilities and any losses that may have occurred. Fair
Value Hierarchy ASC
820 establishes a hierarchy that prioritizes inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The three levels of inputs
are as follows: – Level
1. Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Trust has the ability to access. – Level
2. Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability either directly
or indirectly. These inputs may include quoted prices for the identical instrument on
an inactive market, prices for similar instruments and similar data. – Level
3. Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability to the extent that relevant observable inputs are not available, representing
the Trust’s own assumptions about the assumptions that a market participant would use in valuing the asset or liability,
and that would be based on the best information available. 7 abrdn
Gold ETF Trust Notes
to the Financial Statements (Unaudited) To
the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination
of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for
instruments categorized in level 3. The
inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes,
the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement falls in its entirety is determined based on the
lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The
Trust’s investment in gold is classified as a level 1 asset, as its value is calculated using unadjusted
quoted prices from primary market sources. The
categorization of the Trust’s assets is as shown be (Amounts
in 000’s of US$) March
31, 2022 December
31, 2021 Level
1 Investment
in gold $ 2,781,526 $ 2,391,578 There
were no transfers between levels during the three months ended March 31, 2022 or the year ended December 31, 2021. 2.3. Gold
Receivable and Payable Gold receivable
or payable represents the quantity of gold covered by contractually binding orders for the creation or redemption of Shares
respectively, where the gold has not yet been transferred to or from the Trust’s account. Generally, ownership of gold
is transferred within two business days of the trade date. At March 31, 2022, the Trust had no gold receivable or payable
for the creation or redemption of Shares. At December 31, 2021, the Trust had no gold receivable or payable for
the creation or redemption of Shares. 2.4. Creations
and Redemptions of Shares The
Trust expects to create and redeem Shares from time to time, but only in one or more Baskets (a Basket equals a block of 100,000 Shares). The Trust issues Shares in Baskets to Authorized Participants on an ongoing basis. Individual investors cannot purchase
or redeem Shares in direct transactions with the Trust. An Authorized Participant is a person who (1) is a registered broker-dealer
or other securities market participant such as a bank or other financial institution which is not required to register as a broker-dealer
to engage in securities transactions; (2) is a participant in The Depository Trust Company; (3) has entered into an Authorized
Participant Agreement with the Trustee and the Sponsor; and (4) has established an Authorized Participant Unallocated Account
with the Trust’s Custodian or other gold bullion clearing bank. An Authorized Participant Agreement is an agreement
entered into by each Authorized Participant, the Sponsor and the Trustee which provides the procedures for the creation and redemption
of Baskets and for the delivery of the gold required for such creations and redemptions. An Authorized Participant Unallocated
Account is an unallocated gold account, either loco London or loco Zurich, established with the Custodian or a gold bullion
clearing bank by an Authorized Participant. 8 abrdn
Gold ETF Trust Notes
to the Financial Statements (Unaudited) The
creation and redemption of Baskets is only made in exchange for the delivery to the Trust or the distribution by the Trust of
the amount of gold represented by the Baskets being created or redeemed, the amount of which is based on the combined NAV
of the number of Shares included in the Baskets being created or redeemed determined on the day the order to create or redeem
Baskets is properly received. Authorized
Participants may, on any business day, place an order with the Trustee to create or redeem one or more Baskets. The typical settlement
period for Shares is two business days. In the event of a trade date at period end, where a settlement is pending, a respective
account receivable and/or payable will be recorded. When gold is exchanged in settlement of a redemption, it is considered
a sale of gold for financial statement purposes. The
amount of gold represented by the Baskets created or redeemed can only be settled to the nearest 1/1000th of an ounce. As
a result, the value attributed to the creation or redemption of Shares may differ from the value of gold to be delivered
or distributed by the Trust. In order to ensure that the correct amount of gold is available at all times to back the Shares,
the Sponsor accepts an adjustment to its management fees in the event of any shortfall or excess on each transaction. For each
transaction, this amount is not more than 1/1000th of an ounce of gold. As
the Shares of the Trust are subject to redemption at the option of Authorized Participants, the Trust has classified the outstanding
Shares as Net Assets. Changes in the number of Shares outstanding are presented in the Statement of Changes in Net Assets. 2.5. Income
Taxes The
Trust is classified as a “grantor trust” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Trust itself will
not be subject to U.S. federal income tax. Instead, the Trust’s income and expenses will “flow through” to the
Shareholders, and the Trustee will report the Trust’s proceeds, income, deductions, gains, and losses to the Internal Revenue
Service on that basis. The
Sponsor has evaluated whether or not there are uncertain tax positions that require financial statement recognition and has determined
that no reserves for uncertain tax positions are required as of March 31, 2022 or December 31, 2021. 9 2.6. Investment
in Gold Changes
in ounces of gold and their respective values for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 are set out
be Three
Months Ended March 31,
2022 Three
Months Ended March 31,
2021 (Amounts
in 000’s of US$, except for ounces data) Ounces
of gold Opening
balance 1,324,350.2 1,405,430.5 Creations 117,992.2 32,676.5 Redemptions ( 9,592.5 ) ( 98,009.9 ) Transfers
of gold to pay expenses ( 560.9 ) ( 591.3 ) Closing
balance 1,432,189.0 1,339,505.8 Investment
in gold Opening
balance $ 2,391,578 $ 2,652,891 Creations 223,384 60,968 Redemptions ( 18,660 ) ( 170,304 ) Realized
gain on gold distributed for the redemption of Shares 3,764 20,641 Transfers
of gold to pay expenses ( 1,024 ) ( 1,096 ) Realized
gain on gold transferred to pay expenses 159 195 Change
in unrealized gain / (loss) on investment in gold 182,325 ( 298,124 ) Closing
balance $ 2,781,526 $ 2,265,171 2.7. Expenses
/ Realized Gains / Losses The primary expense of the Trust is the Sponsor’s
Fee, which is paid by the Trust through in-kind transfers of gold to the Sponsor. The
Trust will transfer gold to the Sponsor to pay the Sponsor’s Fee that accrues daily at an annualized rate equal to 0.17 % of the adjusted daily net asset value ("ANAV") of the Trust, paid monthly in arrears. The
Sponsor has agreed to assume administrative and marketing expenses incurred by the Trust, including the Trustee’s monthly
fee and out of pocket expenses, the Custodian’s fee and the reimbursement of the Custodian’s expenses, exchange listing
fees, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) registration fees, printing and mailing costs,
audit fees and up to $ 100,000 per annum in legal expenses. For
the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the Sponsor’s fee was $ 1,073,082 and $ 1,050,889 , respectively. At March
31, 2022 and at December 31, 2021, the fees payable to the Sponsor were $ 395,236 and $ 345,581 , respectively. With
respect to expenses not otherwise assumed by the Sponsor, the Trustee will, at the direction of the Sponsor or in its own discretion,
sell the Trust’s gold as necessary to pay these expenses. When selling gold to pay expenses, the Trustee will