The Trust is a common law trust, formed under the laws of the state of New York on the Date of Inception. The Trust is not managed like a corporation or an active investment vehicle. It does not have any officers, directors, or employees and is administered by the Trustee pursuant to the Trust. The Trust is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is not required to register under such act. It will not hold or trade in commodity futures contracts, nor is it a commodity pool, subject to regulation as a commodity pool operator or a commodity trading adviser in connection with issuing Shares.
The Trust holds Bullion (consisting of gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion in specified proportions) and is expected to issue Baskets in exchange for deposits of Bullion, and to distribute Bullion in connection with redemptions of Baskets. Shares issued by the Trust represent units of undivided beneficial interest in the ownership of the Trust. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold, silver, platinum and palladium in the proportions held by the Trust, less the Trust’s expenses. The Trust holds Bullion in a ratio such that for every 0.03 ounces of gold, it holds 1.1 ounces of silver, 0.004 ounces of platinum and 0.006 ounces of palladium. The Sponsor believes that, for many investors, the Shares will represent a cost effective investment relative to traditional means of investing in Bullion.
The Trust issues and redeems Shares only with Authorized Participants in exchange for Bullion, only in aggregations of 50,000 or integral multiples thereof. A list of current Authorized Participants is available from the Sponsor or the Trustee.
Shares of the Trust trade on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) Arca under the symbol “GLTR.”
On each business day, as promptly as practicable after 4:00 p.m., New York time, on such day (the “Evaluation Time”), the Trustee values the Bullion held by the Trust and determines both the ANAV and the NAV of the Trust.
At the Evaluation Time, the Trustee values the Trust’s Bullion on the basis of that day’s “London Fix” for such metal (the applicable fix for each metal of the price of an ounce of such metal and is performed in London, England by fixing members of the London Bullion Market Association (“LBMA”) or London Platinum and Palladium (“LPPM”), as applicable), or if no London Fix is made for a metal on such day or has not been announced by the Evaluation Time, the next most recent London Fix for such metal determined prior to the Evaluation Time will be used, unless the Sponsor determines that such price is inappropriate as a basis for Evaluation. In the case this determination is made, the Sponsor will identify an alternative basis for such evaluation to be used by the Trustee.
ETFS PRECIOUS METALS BASKET TRUST
Gold held by the Trust will be valued on the basis of the price of an ounce of gold as set by the afternoon session of the twice daily fix of the price of an ounce of gold which starts at 3:00 PM London, England time and is performed in London by the five members of the London gold fix. Silver held by the Trust will be valued on the basis of the price of an ounce of silver as set at approximately 12:00 noon London time and performed in London by three market making members of the LBMA. Platinum held by the Trust will be valued on the basis of the price of an ounce of platinum as set by the afternoon session of the twice daily fix of the price of an ounce of platinum which starts at 2:00 PM London, England time and is performed in London by the four fixing members of the LPPM. Palladium held by the Trust will be valued on the basis of the price of an ounce of palladium as set by the afternoon session of the twice daily fix of the price of an ounce of palladium which starts at 2:00 PM London, England time and is performed in London by the four fixing members of the LPPM.
Once the value of Bullion held by the Trust has been determined, the Trustee subtracts all estimated accrued but unpaid fees and other liabilities of the Trust from the total value of the Bullion and all other assets of the Trust. The resulting figure is the ANAV of the Trust. The ANAV is used to compute the Sponsor’s Fee.
The Trustee then subtracts from the ANAV the amount of Sponsor’s Fees computed for such day to determine the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Trust. The Trustee also determines the NAV per Share by dividing the NAV of the Trust by the number of Shares outstanding as of the close of trading on the NYSE Arca.
The Quarter Ended June 30, 2011
The NAV of the Trust is obtained by subtracting the Trust’s liabilities on any day from the value of the Bullion owned by the Trust on that day; the NAV per Share is obtained by dividing the NAV of the Trust on a given day by the number of Shares outstanding on that day.
The Trust’s NAV increased from $231,021,925 at March 31, 2011 to $232,128,961 at June 30, 2011, a 0.48% increase for the quarter.
There was a decrease in the price per ounce of gold, silver, platinum and palladium (the “Proportionate Price”), which fell 1.42% during the quarter.
There was an increase in outstanding Shares, which rose from 2,400,000 Shares at March 31, 2011 to 2,450,000 Shares at June 30, 2011, a result of 450,000 Shares (9 Baskets) being created and 400,000 Shares (8 Baskets) being redeemed during the quarter.
NAV per Share decreased 1.57% from $96.26 at March 31, 2011 to $94.75 at June 30, 2011. The Trust’s NAV per Share fell slightly more than the Proportionate Price on a percentage basis due to Sponsor’s Fees, which were $359,137 for the quarter, or 0.60% of the Trust’s assets on an annualized basis.
The NAV per Share of $111.29 at April 28, 2011 was the highest during the quarter, compared with a low of $91.46 at May 12, 2011.
Net gain from operations for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 was $4,691,816 resulting from a net gain of $47,862 on the transfer of Bullion to pay expenses and a net gain of $5,250,833 on Bullion distributed for the redemption of Shares, offset by an unrealized loss of $247,742 on Bullion and Sponsor’s Fees of $359,137. Other than the Sponsor’s Fee, the Trust had no expenses during the quarter ended June 30, 2011.
The Six Months Ended June 30, 2011
The Trust’s NAV increased from $166,379,066 at December 31, 2010 to $232,128,961 at June 30, 2011, a 39.52% increase for the period. The increase in the Trust’s NAV resulted primarily from an increase in the Proportionate Price, which rose 8.52% and an increase in outstanding Shares, which rose from 1,900,000 Shares at December 31, 2010 to 2,450,000 Shares at June 30, 2011, a result of 1,050,000 Shares (21 Baskets) being created and 500,000 Shares (10 Baskets) being redeemed during the period.
NAV per Share increased 8.20% from $87.57 at December 31, 2010 to $94.75 at June 30, 2011. The Trust’s NAV per Share rose slightly less than the Proportionate Price on a percentage basis due to Sponsor’s Fees, which were $639,485 for the period, or 0.60% of the Trust’s assets on an annualized basis.
The NAV per Share of $111.29 at April 28, 2011 was the highest during the period, compared with a low of $80.76 at January 28, 2011.
Net gain from operations for the period ended June 30, 2011 was $4,861,386 resulting from a net gain of $59,701 on the transfer of Bullion to pay expenses and a net gain of $5,688,912 on Bullion distributed for the redemption of Shares, offset by an unrealized loss of $247,742 on Bullion and Sponsor’s Fees of $639,485. Other than the Sponsor’s Fee, the Trust had no expenses during the period ended June 30, 2011.
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ETFS PRECIOUS METALS BASKET TRUST
Liquidity & Capital Resources
The Trust is not aware of any trends, demands, commitments, events or uncertainties that are reasonably likely to result in material changes to its liquidity needs. In exchange for the Sponsor’s Fee, the Sponsor has agreed to assume most of the expenses incurred by the Trust. As a result, the only ordinary expense of the Trust during the period covered by this report was the Sponsor’s Fee.
The Trustee will, at the direction of the Sponsor or in its own discretion, sell the Trust’s Bullion as necessary to pay the Trust’s expenses not otherwise assumed by the Sponsor. The Trustee will not sell Bullion to pay the Sponsor’s Fee but will pay the Sponsor’s Fee through in-kind transfers of Bullion to the Sponsor. At June 30, 2011 the Trust did not have any cash balances.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
The Trust has no off-balance sheet arrangements.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements relies on estimates and assumptions that impact the Trust’s financial position and results of operations. These estimates and assumptions affect the Trust’s application of accounting policies. In addition, please refer to Note 2 to the financial statements for further discussion of accounting policies.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Not applicable.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
The authorized officers of the Sponsor performing functions equivalent to those that a principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Trust would perform if the Trust had any officers, and with the participation of the Trustee, have evaluated the effectiveness of the Trust’s disclosure controls and procedures, and have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures of the Trust have been effective as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-Q.
There have been no changes in the Trust’s or Sponsor’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the Trust’s fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2011 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Trust’s or Sponsor’s internal control over financial reporting.
Item 4T. Controls and Procedures
Not applicable.
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ETFS PRECIOUS METALS BASKET TRUST
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
None.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
There have been no material changes to the risk factors previously disclosed in the Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
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Item 2(a). | None. |
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Item 2(b). | Not applicable. |
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Item 2(c). | For the three months ended June 30, 2011: |
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| 9 Baskets were created. |
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| 8 Baskets were redeemed. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Total Baskets Redeemed | | Total Shares Redeemed | | Average Ounces of Bullion Per Share | |
Period | | | | Gold | | Silver | | Platinum | | Palladium | |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
April 2011 | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | |
May 2011 | | | 8 | | | 400,000 | | | 0.030 | | | 1.096 | | | 0.004 | | | 0.006 | |
June 2011 | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | |
| |
|
| |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total | | | 8 | | | 400,000 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None.
Item 4. (Removed and Reserved)
None.
Item 5. Other Information
None.
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ETFS PRECIOUS METALS BASKET TRUST
Item 6. Exhibits
(a) Exhibits
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31.1 | Chief Executive Officer’s Certificate, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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31.2 | Chief Financial Officer’s Certificate, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32.1 | Chief Executive Officer’s Certificate, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32.2 | Chief Financial Officer’s Certificate, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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101.INS | XBRL Instance Document* |
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101.SCH | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document* |
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101.CAL | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Document* |
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101.DEF | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definitions Document* |
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101.LAB | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Document* |
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101.PRE | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Document* |
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* | In accordance with Regulation S-T, the XBRL-related information in Exhibit 101 to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q shall be deemed to be “furnished” and not “filed.” |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned in the capacities thereunto duly authorized.
| | | |
| | ETF SECURITIES USA LLC | |
| | Sponsor of the ETFS Precious Metals Basket Trust |
| | (Registrant) | |
| | | |
Date: August 10, 2011 | | /s/ Graham Tuckwell | |
| |
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| | Graham Tuckwell | |
| | President and Chief Executive Officer | |
| | (Principal Executive Officer) | |
| | | |
Date: August 10, 2011 | | /s/ Thomas Quigley | |
| |
| |
| | Thomas Quigley | |
| | Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer | |
| | (Principal Financial Officer and Principal | |
| | Accounting Officer) | |
* The Registrant is a trust and the persons are signing in their capacities as officers of ETF Securities USA LLC, the Sponsor of the Registrant.
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