UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):
February 25, 2019
SPDR® GOLD TRUST
SPONSORED BY WORLD GOLD TRUST SERVICES, LLC
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| New York | 001-32356 | 81-6124035 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
(Commission File Number) |
(IRS Employer Identification No.) |
c/o World Gold Trust Services, LLC
685 Third Avenue, Suite 2702
New York, New York 10017
(Address of principal executive offices; zip code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 317-3800
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report):
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
Aram Shismanian resigned from the Board of Directors of World Gold Trust Services, LLC, or the Sponsor, effective February 25, 2019. His resignation did not arise from any disagreement on any matter relating to the operations, policies or practices of the SPDR® Gold Trust.
On February 25, 2019, the Sponsor appointed David Tait and Carlos Rodriguez to the Board of Directors of the Sponsor. Carlos Rodriguez will also serve on the Audit Committee of the Sponsor.
Mr. Tait, age 57, is the Chief Executive Officer of World Gold Council, the parent company of the Sponsor. He was most recently Global Head of Fixed Income Macro Products at Credit Suisse . Prior to that, he held senior trading roles at both Credit Suisse and UBS Investment Bank. Mr. Tait began his career trading at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse and then built considerable asset management experience at Bluecrest Capital, Peloton Partners and Citadel Europe. He is currently an Independent Member of the Bank of England’s FICC Market Standards Board. He is also a major supporter of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and has raised over £1 million by climbing Mount Everest on five occasions. He was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his services to the charity.
Mr. Rodriguez, age 46, began his career on Wall Street in the Public Finance Department of Merrill Lynch in 1996, where he focused on interest rate hedging strategies for municipal clients and non-for profit institutions. After working several years covering banking clients he shifted his focus to trading, where he rose to manage Merrill Lynch’s proprietary municipal investments portfolio. Mr. Rodriguez has since worked at WestLB AG, where he managed the bank’s complex guaranteed reinvestment contract business, Deutsche Bank AG, where we worked to establish the bank’s public finance efforts, and Credit Suisse AG, where he led the bank’s global rates structuring effort in London. Mr. Rodriguez retired from banking in 2016 and runs a private equity fund that focuses on lower middle market companies. He also devotes his time to personal investing as well as volunteering for local causes and mentoring local entrepreneurs.
SIGNATURE
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 thereunto duly authorized.
| Date: February 27, 2019 |
SPDR® GOLD TRUST | |||||
| (Registrant)* | ||||||
| By: | World Gold Trust Services, LLC as the Sponsor of the Registrant | |||||
| By: | /s/ Joseph R. Cavatoni | |||||
| Name: Joseph R. Cavatoni Title: Principal Executive Officer | ||||||
| * | As the Registrant is a trust, this report is being filed on behalf of the Registrant by World Gold Trust Services, LLC, only in its capacity as the sponsor of the Registrant. The identified person signing this report is signing in his capacity as an authorized officer of World Gold Trust Services, LLC. |