SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is an ETF that holds physical gold bullion, giving retail and institutional investors exposure to gold prices without the burden of buying, storing, or insuring gold themselves. Investors buy and sell GLD shares on NYSE Arca (and exchanges in Mexico, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo) through ordinary brokerage accounts. The Trust holds allocated gold bars in vaults operated by HSBC and JPMorgan in London, New York, and Zurich. GLD does not actively trade gold, generate income, or pay dividends — it simply holds gold and tracks its price. The Trust charges an annual sponsor fee of 0.40% of daily NAV, which covers all operating costs including custody, legal, audit, and exchange listing fees. The Sponsor is World Gold Trust Services, and State Street Global Advisors acts as marketing agent. To cover expenses, the Trustee periodically sells small amounts of gold, meaning each share represents a slowly declining amount of gold over time. New shares are created or redeemed only in large blocks of 100,000 shares by a small group of authorized financial institutions, who deposit or receive physical gold to keep the share price aligned with underlying gold value. Regular investors trade shares on the secondary market. The Sponsor's revenue scales with assets under management, which is driven entirely by the gold price and net share creation and redemption activity.