Risk Factors Dashboard

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Risk Factors Relating to Commodities Markets

The value of the Shares depends on the value of Index Futures, which fluctuates based on the prices of commodity futures contracts reflected in the S&P GSCI‑ER. These prices may be volatile, thereby creating the potential for losses regardless of the length of time you intend to hold your Shares.

Because the price of the Shares depends on the value of the Index Futures held by the Trust, the value of the Shares fluctuates based on the prices of commodity futures contracts reflected in the S&P GSCI-ER. Commodity prices may be volatile. Commodity prices are generally affected by, among other factors, the cost of producing, transporting and storing commodities, changes in consumer or commercial demand for commodities, the hedging and trading strategies of producers and consumers of commodities, speculative trading in commodities by commodity pools and other market participants, disruptions in commodity supply, weather, political and other global events, global economic factors and government intervention in or regulation of the commodity or commodity futures markets. These factors cannot be controlled by the Trust. Accordingly, the price of the Shares could change substantially and in a rapid and unpredictable manner. This exposes you to a potential loss on your investment in the Shares, regardless of the length of time you intend to hold your Shares. Such risks may be exacerbated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.

With regard to oil and other commodities, a variety of factors can affect the price of commodities and in turn the related Index Futures, including significant increases or decreases in production, available supply or demand due to natural factors, epidemics, technological factors, cooperation with respect to price and production levels or competition and tension among exporting nations, the enactment or cessation of trade sanctions, war or other geopolitical conflicts, civil unrest and sabotage, fluctuations in the reserve capacity, large purchases by governmental entities and competition from other sectors. Such risks historically and recently have led, and in the future could lead, to significant market volatility, which could impact the Index Futures held by the Trust and negatively impact the price of the Shares.

In April 2020, the collapse of demand for fuel as a result of economic conditions relating to COVID-19 and other factors created an oversupply of crude oil that rapidly filled most available oil storage facilities. This caused the May 2020 WTI crude oil futures contract to trade at a negative price. If all or a significant portion of the futures contracts reflected in the S&P GSCI-ER were to reach a negative price, you could lose your entire investment.

The following events, among others, would generally result in a decline in the price of the Shares:

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A significant increase in hedging activity by producers of the underlying commodities. Should producers of the commodities underlying the S&P GSCI‑ER increase their hedging of their future production through forward sales or other short positions, this increased selling pressure could depress the price of one or more of the underlying commodities, which could adversely affect the price of the Shares.

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A significant change in the attitude of speculators and investors toward the futures contracts or commodities underlying the S&P GSCI-ER. Should the speculative community take a negative view towards one or more of the underlying futures contracts or commodities, it could cause a decline in the price of the Index Futures, which may reduce the price of the Shares.

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Based on market conditions, futures contracts underlying the S&P GSCI-ER may trade or settle at or below zero, and the zero or negative value will be used in the calculation of impacted indices, including the S&P GSCI-ER. A zero or negative value in respect of one or more underlying futures contracts may result in a zero or negative value in respect of the S&P GSCI-ER and, consequently, the Index Futures, adversely affecting the value of the Shares.

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Significant reductions in the size of positions permitted to be owned by the Trust or others in Index Futures or in the futures contracts and/or commodities composing the S&P GSCI-ER, for example, as a result of more restrictive position limits or position limit exemptions or more expansive position aggregation requirements, could reduce liquidity and depress the price of the S&P GSCI-ER and/or the underlying futures contracts or commodities, adversely affecting the value of your Shares.

Conversely, several factors could trigger a temporary increase in the price of the futures contracts or commodities underlying the S&P GSCI-ER and, consequently, the Index Futures. In that case, you could buy Shares at prices affected by the temporarily high commodity prices, and you could subsequently incur losses when the causes for the temporary increase disappear.

Historical performance of the Index and the S&P GSCI-ER is no guide to their future performance or to the performance of the Shares.

Past performance of the Index and the S&P GSCI-ER is not necessarily indicative of their future performance or of the performance of the Shares. There can be no guarantee that the level of the Index or the S&P GSCI-ER will increase. You may lose some or all of your investment in the Shares.

Commodity futures trading may be illiquid. In addition, suspensions or disruptions of market trading in the commodities markets and related futures markets may adversely affect the value of your Shares.

The commodity futures markets are subject to temporary distortions or other disruptions due to various factors, including the lack of liquidity, congestion, disorderly markets, manipulation, limitations on deliverable supplies, the participation of speculators, government regulation and intervention, technical and operational or system failures, nuclear accidents, terrorism, riots and acts of God. In connection with such events, a futures exchange may determine to halt trading, to cancel trades executed during a specified period, and to take other actions it deems appropriate. In addition, U.S. futures exchanges and some foreign exchanges have regulations that limit the amount of fluctuation in futures contract prices that may occur during a single business day. These limits are generally referred to as “daily price fluctuation limits,” and the maximum or minimum price of a contract on any given day as a result of these limits is referred to as a “limit price.” Once the limit price has been reached in a particular contract, it is possible that no trades may be made at a different price. It is not certain how long any such price limits would remain in effect. Limit prices may have the effect of precluding trading in a particular contract or forcing the liquidation of contracts at disadvantageous times or prices, consequently affecting the value of the S&P GSCI-ER. Further, the Clearing FCM or its account holders may represent, directly or indirectly, a substantial portion of the short-side interest in the Index Futures market. The existence of such a limited number of market participants could cause or exacerbate temporary distortions, especially those distortions resulting from illiquidity.

Any of these circumstances could adversely affect the value of the Index Futures held by the Trust and therefore, the value of your Shares. In addition, these circumstances could also limit trading in the Index Futures, which could affect the calculation of the NAV and the trading price of the Shares.

Accordingly, these limits may result in a NAV that differs, and may differ significantly, from the NAV that would prevail in the absence of such limits. If Baskets are created or redeemed at a time when these price limits are in effect, the creation or redemption price will reflect the price limits as well.

In calculating the S&P GSCI-ER, if the relevant trading facility does not publish a settlement price as scheduled, or publishes a settlement price that, in the reasonable judgment of the Index Sponsor, is manifestly incorrect, the Index Sponsor may determine the settlement price in its reasonable judgment. In addition, if any day on which the Index Sponsor calculates the S&P GSCI-ER is a day on which a relevant trading facility for a contract on a commodity that underlies the S&P GSCI-ER is not open, then the Index Sponsor uses the settlement price for that contract as of the last day on which that trading facility was open. In these circumstances, the value of the Index Futures and the value of your Shares may be adversely affected.

The absence of “backwardation” or the existence of “contango” in the prices of the commodities included in the S&P GSCI-ER may adversely affect the value of your Shares.

As the futures contracts that underlie the S&P GSCI-ER near expiration, they are replaced by contracts that have a later expiration. Thus, for example, a contract purchased in March may specify a June expiration. As that contract nears expiration, it may be replaced by selling the June contract and purchasing the contract expiring in September. This process is referred to as “rolling.” Historically, the prices of some futures contracts (generally those relating to commodities that are typically consumed immediately rather than stored) have frequently been higher for contracts with shorter-term expirations than for contracts with longer-term expirations, which is referred to as “backwardation.” In these circumstances, absent other factors, the sale of the earlier contract would take place at a price that is higher than the price at which the later contract is purchased, thereby allowing the contract holder to purchase a greater quantity of the later contract. While some of the contracts included in the S&P GSCI-ER have historically exhibited periods of backwardation, backwardation will likely not exist at all times. Moreover, some of the commodities reflected in the S&P GSCI-ER have historically exhibited characteristics typical of “contango” markets rather than backwardation. Contango markets are those in which the prices of contracts are higher in the distant delivery months than in the nearer delivery months due to the costs of long-term storage of a physical commodity prior to delivery or other factors. The forward price of a commodity futures contract may also fluctuate between backwardation and contango.

The absence of backwardation or the existence of contango in the commodity markets could result in losses, which could adversely affect the value of the S&P GSCI-ER and accordingly, decrease the value of your Shares. Moreover, because the Trust must pay certain ongoing fees and expenses, the value of the Shares may decrease even in periods where commodity prices are otherwise stationary.

While contango and backwardation are consistently present in trading in the commodity markets, such conditions can be exacerbated by market forces. For example, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a result of an excess supply of crude oil and weak demand as well as disputes among oil‑producing countries regarding limitations on oil production, the crude oil futures markets experienced extraordinarily high levels of contango in the first half of 2020, resulting in a negative price in the May 2020 WTI crude oil futures contract on April 20, 2020.

The effects of rolling futures contracts under such conditions generally are more severe than rolling futures contracts in the absence of such conditions. Such conditions may continue to exist, which could adversely affect the value of the S&P GSCI-ER and the Index Futures and, accordingly, adversely affect the value of your Shares.

Regulatory developments with respect to the futures and over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives markets, and in particular, with respect to speculative trading in futures contracts and OTC derivatives involving commodities and commodity indices, could adversely affect the value of your Shares.

Many bills have been introduced in the U.S. Congress targeting excessive speculation in commodities and commodity indices, including by institutional index funds, on regulated futures markets and in the OTC derivatives markets. Many of these legislative proposals have not been enacted but could be in the future.

The CFTC has adopted federal position limits for commodity derivatives (the “Final Position Limits Rules”), which include as referenced contracts, a number of the futures contracts included in the S&P GSCI-ER, and as of the date of this report such contracts represent a substantial portion of the weight of the S&P GSCI-ER. Consequently, under the Final Position Limits Rules, the maximum positions that market participants can hold for the spot month in the referenced contracts that underlie the S&P GSCI-ER are limited, which could reduce the liquidity of such referenced contracts and adversely affect the performance of the S&P GSCI-ER and the value of your Shares. Moreover, because the relative weights of the commodities in the S&P GSCI-ER are largely determined based on the trading volume of the futures contracts designated for such commodities, a reduction in the trading volume of such futures contracts could significantly alter the weights of the futures contracts underlying the S&P GSCI-ER, which could have further adverse effects on the level of the S&P GSCI-ER and the value of your Shares.

The Final Position Limits Rules also revise the definition of “bona fide hedging transaction or position,” including revisions to expand the current list of enumerated bona fide hedging activities that are exempt from position limits rules and to provide more flexibility for market participants to qualify for bona fide hedge exemptions. Such revisions may affect the hedging and investing activities of participants in the markets for the Index Futures and the futures contracts and commodities underlying the S&P GSCI-ER, which in turn could reduce the liquidity and adversely affect the pricing of the Index Futures and such futures contracts and commodities. Any of these effects could increase volatility in and otherwise adversely affect the price of the Shares.

With respect to the position aggregation rules adopted by the CFTC in December 2016, those final rules, which became effective on February 14, 2017, expand the circumstances requiring persons to aggregate referenced contracts that are owned or controlled by such persons. Specifically, the final aggregation rules require a person holding positions in multiple commodity pools with substantially identical trading strategies to aggregate the pools’ positions in referenced contracts, on a pro‑rata basis, with other positions in referenced contracts held or controlled by such person. These aggregation rules will apply to all commodity derivative contracts that are subject to position limits under the Final Position Limits Rules. The CFTC staff has granted relief, until the earlier of August 12, 2025 or the effective date of a rulemaking codifying such relief, from various conditions and requirements in the final aggregation rules, including the “substantially identical trading strategies” aggregation requirement. Under this relief, a person would not be required to aggregate positions on the basis of the “substantially identical trading strategies” aggregation requirement unless the person is holding or controlling the trading of positions in multiple accounts or commodity pools with substantially identical trading strategies in order to willfully circumvent applicable position limits. Although Index Futures are not among the referenced contracts identified in the Final Position Limits Rules, if federal position limits are extended to Index Futures or if the Exchange adopts similar aggregation rules, some participants in the market for Index Futures may be encumbered in trying to hedge their exposure, which could reduce liquidity in such Index Futures and the futures contracts and commodities underlying the S&P GSCI-ER and adversely affect the value of the Shares.

In addition to the Final Position Limits Rules, the CFTC could propose other rules that may lower the applicable position limits, apply position limits to a broader range of contracts (including commodity index contracts such as the Index Futures) or further restrict position limit exemptions. If any of these actions is taken, such measures could further reduce the size of positions that the Trust and other investors could hold directly in Index Futures and the underlying futures contracts and commodities, with potential reductions in liquidity and adverse effects on the pricing of Index Futures. See also “The value of the Shares depends on the value of Index Futures, which fluctuates based on the prices of commodity futures contracts reflected in the S&P GSCI-ER. These prices may be volatile, thereby creating the potential for losses regardless of the length of time you intend to hold your Shares.”

In addition to federal position limits adopted by the CFTC, the CME has established position limits applicable to the Index Futures held by the Trust. In addition, the Trust’s Clearing FCM may reduce its internal risk limits on the size of positions in Index Futures that the Clearing FCM trades or clears for the Trust. As of the date of this report, internal risk limits implemented by the Clearing FCM do not constrain the size of positions in Index Futures that it will trade or clear for the Trust. If the Trust were to reach a position limit established by the CME or if the Trust’s Clearing FCM were to reduce its internal risk limits on the size of positions in Index Futures that it trades or clears for the Trust, this could adversely impact the Trust’s ability to transact in Index Futures, issue new Shares or reinvest income in additional Index Futures positions. From August 24, 2009 to April 26, 2010, the Trust suspended the issuance of new Shares because the Trust could not invest the proceeds of new issuances in additional Index Futures positions due to restrictions on speculative position limits imposed by the CME. The liquidity of the Shares and the correlation between the value of the Shares and the level of the S&P GSCI‑ER may be adversely affected in the event of any such suspension of issuance.

The Trust may be negatively impacted by the effects of the spread of illnesses or other public health emergencies on the global economy and the markets and service providers relevant to the performance of the Trust.

A public health emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, could adversely affect the economies of many nations and the entire global economy as well as individual issuers, assets and capital markets and could have serious negative effects on social, economic and financial systems, including significant uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic caused increased volatility in the market for the Index Futures and the underlying futures contracts, which led to increased trading spreads in the Index Futures and the underlying futures contracts, a higher than usual number of trading or price limits for certain underlying futures, reduced liquidity in the markets for the underlying futures contracts, and increased premium or discount in the Shares. The outbreak has caused increased volatility in the market for the Index Futures and the underlying futures contracts, which has led to increased trading spreads in the Index Futures and the underlying futures contracts, a higher than usual number of trading or price limits for certain underlying futures, reduced liquidity in the markets for the underlying futures contracts, and increased premium or discount in the Shares. Future infectious illness outbreaks or other public health emergencies could have similar or other unforeseen impacts and may exacerbate pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries or globally, which could adversely affect the value of the Shares.

A public health emergency could result in an increase of the costs of the Trust and affect liquidity in the market for the Index Futures or the underlying futures contracts, as well as the correlation between the price of the Shares and the net asset value of the Trust, any of which could adversely affect the value of the Shares. In addition, a public health emergency could impair the information technology and other operational systems upon which the Trust’s service providers, including the Sponsor, the Trustee and the Advisor, rely, and could otherwise disrupt the ability of employees of the Trust’s service providers to perform essential tasks on behalf of the Trust. In addition, the outbreak could also impair the information technology and other operational systems upon which the Trust’s service providers, including the Sponsor, the Trustee and the Advisor, rely, and could otherwise disrupt the ability of employees of the Trust’s service providers to perform essential tasks on behalf of the Trust.

Governmental and quasi-governmental authorities and regulators throughout the world have at times responded to major economic disruptions with a variety of fiscal and monetary policy changes, including, but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies and other issuers, new monetary tools and lower interest rates. An unexpected or sudden reversal of these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, is likely to increase volatility in the market for the Index Futures or the underlying futures contracts, which could adversely affect the price of the Shares.

The Trust may be negatively impacted by the effects of geopolitical events on the global economy and markets for certain commodities, including energy, precious metals, agriculture and other sectors.

Geopolitical events, including the continuation of the Russian war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and other hostilities, and trade conflicts, could disrupt and adversely impact the global economy and markets for certain commodities. For example, the Russian war in Ukraine has led to disruptions and increased volatility in the markets for certain commodities, including energy, precious metals, agriculture and other sectors, as well as for certain commodity futures contracts that make up the S&P GSCI-ER due to actual and potential disruptions in the supply of commodities underlying such contracts. The United States, other countries and certain international organizations have imposed broad ranging economic sanctions on Russia and certain Russian corporations and individuals. In 2022, the United States banned imports of oil, natural gas and coal from Russia. As a result, the invasion of Ukraine and related events have contributed to backwardation (i.e., when current prices are higher than future prices) in the market for energy futures contracts such as crude oil, heating oil and natural gas. The continued impact on commodities and futures prices of the U.S. ban, as well as the extent and duration of the military action, resulting sanctions and associated market disruptions, are impossible to predict and depend on a number of factors. The continued impact of these events and other geopolitical events could be significant and may have a severe adverse effect on the performance of the Index and the value of the Shares.

Risk Factors Relating to Index Futures and the S&P GSCI-ER

The trading of various Index Futures presents risks unrelated to the S&P GSCI-ER that could adversely affect the value of your Shares.

Although Index Futures are based on the S&P GSCI-ER, the value of the Index Futures could be affected by factors that do not directly affect the S&P GSCI‑ER and, accordingly, the value of the Index Futures and the level of the S&P GSCI-ER may vary from each other. The activities of market participants in trading Index Futures, or in trading other instruments related to the S&P GSCI-ER, could affect the value of the Index Futures independent of any change in the S&P GSCI-ER and adversely affect the correlation between the value of the Index Futures and the level of the S&P GSCI-ER.

The prices of the various Index Futures are expected to reflect supply and demand in the market for such Index Futures, which in turn may reflect market expectations at any given time about prospective changes in the level of the S&P GSCI-ER and other market conditions. In this way, trading in the market for an Index Futures contract might cause a divergence between the price of such Index Futures contract and the level of the S&P GSCI-ER. Similarly, actions by the applicable Exchange with respect to Index Futures, such as the imposition of trading or price limits, could adversely affect this correlation. In these circumstances, it is possible that changes in the NAV, which is calculated based on the value of the Index Futures, will not adequately reflect changes in the level of the S&P GSCI-ER. In the event of market disruptions with respect to the Index Futures, such as a suspension of trading by the related Exchange as a result of market activity, systems or communications failures or other causes, the value of the Index Futures and the level of the S&P GSCI-ER could diverge, which could adversely affect the value of the Shares.

Although arbitrage activity by market participants is expected to have the effect of reducing or mitigating divergence between the value of the Index Futures and the level of the S&P GSCI-ER, such arbitrage activity may not fully offset any divergence at all times during which the Shares are outstanding. During any period the Trust is trading Index Futures of more than one type, differences in the settlement values of such Index Futures, to the extent not offset by arbitrage activity between such Index Futures, may limit the expected benefits of, or otherwise adversely affect, arbitrage activity between the Shares and the Index Futures. In the event that any such divergence between the value of the Index Futures and the level of the S&P GSCI-ER exists from time to time, changes in the NAV, which is calculated based on the value of the Index Futures, may not adequately reflect changes in the level of the S&P GSCI-ER, which could adversely affect the value of the Shares. The impact of certain of these considerations may be heightened in cases where the Trust’s positions are concentrated in a particular Index Futures contract or in cases where the Trust represents a substantial portion of the open interest in a particular Index Futures contract.

In addition, other actions taken by an Exchange, including rule changes relating to clearing fees, margin requirements, or the minimum price fluctuations applicable to an Index Futures contract, may result in economic, tax or other consequences to market participants that trade or hold Index Futures. Such actions may result in consequences that adversely affect Shareholders without necessarily affecting the correlation between the settlement price of the Index Futures and the level of the S&P GSCI-ER.

The S&P GSCI-ER may in the future include contracts that are not traded on regulated futures exchanges and that offer different or diminished protections to investors.

Currently, the S&P GSCI-ER is composed exclusively of futures contracts traded on designated contract markets (“DCMs”), or regulated futures exchanges. The S&P GSCI-ER may in the future include contracts (such as swaps and forward contracts) traded in the OTC market or on trading facilities that are subject to lesser degrees of regulation or, in some cases, no substantive regulation. As a result, trading in such contracts, and the manner in which prices and volumes are reported by the relevant trading facilities, may not be subject to the same provisions of, and the protections afforded by, the CEA or other applicable statutes and related regulations that govern trading on regulated futures exchanges. In addition, many electronic trading facilities do not have significant trading histories. As a result, the trading of contracts on such facilities and the inclusion of such contracts in the S&P GSCI-ER may be subject to risks not presented by most exchange-traded futures contracts, including risks related to the liquidity and price histories of the relevant contracts.

Changes in the composition and valuation of the S&P GSCI-ER may adversely affect your Shares.

The composition of the S&P GSCI-ER may change over time as additional commodities satisfy the eligibility criteria or commodities currently included in the S&P GSCI‑ER fail to satisfy those criteria. The weighting factors applied to each commodity included in the S&P GSCI-ER change annually, based on changes in commodity production statistics and changes in the trading volume of the related futures contracts. In addition, the Index Sponsor may modify the method for determining the composition and weighting of the S&P GSCI-ER and for calculating its value. The methodology for determining the contracts to be included in the S&P GSCI-ER may be modified from time to time. Such changes could adversely affect the value of your Shares or otherwise affect the risks associated with owning the Shares, such as by increasing relative concentrations in particular commodities and causing the value of the Shares to become more sensitive to fluctuations in the prices of those commodities. For more information about the methodology for determining the composition and weighting of the S&P GSCI-ER, see “Business — The Index and the S&P GSCI-ER.”

Based on market conditions, futures contracts included in the S&P GSCI-ER may trade or settle at or below zero, and the zero or negative value will be used in the calculation of impacted indices, including the S&P GSCI-ER. Zero or negative values of futures contracts included in the S&P GSCI-ER occurring during a roll period may impact the composition of the S&P GSCI-ER.

For example, based on market conditions, the Index Committee may elect to implement an unscheduled designated contract roll in relation to the normal parameters of the roll of one or more futures contracts included in the S&P GSCI-ER. Among other things, this may entail adjustments to when the roll occurs, the length of the roll, the proportions of the roll, or the roll-in contract.

In the event of the foregoing circumstances, the Index Committee has indicated it will aim to conform to the index’s objective to the greatest extent possible, and will typically roll into the next most viable contract as published in the methodology. However, the Index Committee retains the right to roll into a further dated contract based on market conditions at the time of its decision.

In the case of an unscheduled roll event, if there are no viable designated contracts to roll into, the Index Committee will convene and determine the appropriate course of action, which may include, but not be limited to, the removal of the contract from the S&P GSCI-ER. The Index Committee may review the contract roll schedule at any time and as market conditions warrant. Such changes could adversely affect the value of your Shares or otherwise affect the risks associated with owning the Shares, such as by increasing relative concentrations in particular commodities and causing the value of the Shares to become more sensitive to fluctuations in the prices of those commodities.

A cessation of publication of the S&P GSCI-ER could materially and adversely affect the activities of the Trust.

The S&P GSCI-ER is administered, calculated and published by the Index Sponsor, which has the right to cease publication of the S&P GSCI-ER at its discretion at any time. Under the terms of its agreement with the CME, the Index Sponsor is required, if it ceases publication of the S&P GSCI-ER, to negotiate in good faith with the CME to permit the CME to continue to calculate the S&P GSCI-ER in order to permit Index Futures on the S&P GSCI-ER to continue to trade. However, even if the Index Sponsor satisfies its obligations under its agreement with the CME, the Sponsor may determine that, upon a cessation of publication of the S&P GSCI-ER, it is no longer advisable to invest in Index Futures and no other futures contract that reflects the performance of a successor or reasonably similar index presents an acceptable alternative investment, in which event the Trust may be liquidated.

Futures contracts (including the Index Futures) are not assets with intrinsic value.

Trading in futures transfers the risk of future price movements from one market participant to another. This means that for every gain, there is an equal and offsetting loss. Futures contracts themselves (including Index Futures) are not assets with intrinsic value and simply reflect, in the case of cash-settled contracts, certain rights to payment or obligations to make payments to the other party to the contract, and in the case of physically-settled contracts, such as the futures contracts underlying the Index, an agreement to make or take delivery of a particular asset at a specified price. Futures contracts themselves (including Index Futures) are not assets with intrinsic value, and simply reflect, in the case of cash-settled contracts, certain rights to payment or obligations to make payments to the other party to the contract, and in the case of physically-settled contracts, such as the futures contracts underlying the Index, an agreement to make or take delivery of a particular asset at a specified price. Accordingly, market participants taking the opposite side of the Trust’s Index Futures trades may believe that the price of such Index Futures will move against the Trust, and the Trust may be at an informational or other disadvantage relative to such market participants.

The Trust’s trading activity in Index Futures could expose it to additional risks.

In order for the Trust to achieve its investment objective on an ongoing basis, it is anticipated that existing positions in Index Futures will need to be closed out and new positions in Index Futures will need to be established from time to time. The Trust may further close out of existing positions and establish new positions in Index Futures from time to time, including new positions in earlier expiring Index Futures, which may allow it to reduce its concentration in any particular Index Futures contract or to benefit from more liquid markets or otherwise beneficial market activity in Index Futures listed with different expirations or on different Exchanges. This activity is expected to cause the Trust to incur transaction costs, such as brokerage fees and commissions, and may cause the Shares to under-perform the Index. In particular, the prices obtained in connection with rolling Index Futures positions may be adversely affected by market conditions (including the possibility of market disruptions) and by the trading activities of other market participants, which may reflect market awareness of the Trust’s position in its Index Futures. For example, if other market participants are able to anticipate the timing of the Trust’s transactions, they may be able to execute transactions in advance of the Trust, which would allow these market participants to benefit from the transactions executed by the Trust but adversely affect the prices obtained by the Trust. In addition, if the Trust’s Index Futures positions represent a significant part of the open long interest in such Index Futures, as historically has been the case from time to time, other market participants may take this into account, with a potential adverse impact on the prices at which the Trust is able to execute such transactions. There can be no assurance that the Trust will be able to effect its transactions in a manner that will allow it to avoid these risks. The Exchange may cease to list other Index Futures that the Trust will be able to roll its positions into, and any Index Futures listed by an Exchange in the future may have terms that differ from those currently held by the Trust.

The market values of the investments by the Trust may be negatively impacted by changes in interest rates, and, as a result, the value or liquidity of the cash equivalents and marketable securities of the Trust could decline, which could adversely affect the performance of the Trust.

The Trust will hold cash or cash equivalents such as U.S. Treasury securities and thus is subject to interest rate risk, which refers to fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security or other instrument due to changes in the general level of interest rates. An increase in interest rates generally will cause the value of fixed-income securities to decline. Securities with longer maturities generally are more sensitive to interest rate changes and subject to greater fluctuations in value. Changes in interest rates may have unpredictable effects on fixed-income markets and result in heightened market volatility and lower liquidity for certain instruments, all of which may adversely affect the Trust's performance. Interest rate changes can be sudden and unpredictable and are influenced by a number of factors, including government policy, monetary policy, inflation expectations, perceptions of risk, and supply and demand for fixed-income securities.

The liquidation of Index Futures could expose the Trust to the effects of temporary aberrations or distortions in the market, which could adversely affect the prices at which the Trust’s Index Futures positions are liquidated.

If the Trust liquidates positions in Index Futures in order to satisfy redemption requests or to pay expenses and liabilities, it does so by entering sell orders with its Clearing FCM for execution on the Exchange. The resulting sales serve to offset a portion of the Trust’s long positions in Index Futures. However, in entering sell orders, the Trust is subject to the risk that temporary aberrations or distortions will occur in the market at the time these sales are effected and that the prices received by the Trust on its sales could be adversely affected, thereby adversely affecting the value of the Shares. Such aberrations or distortions could occur as a result of trading activities by other market participants or actions taken by the Clearing FCM, an Exchange, other self‑regulatory organizations or regulatory authorities, including the liquidation of the Trust’s Index Futures to satisfy applicable margin requirements. If the Trust’s Index Futures are liquidated at inopportune times or in a manner that causes a temporary market distortion, this may adversely affect the NAV and the value of your Shares.

The Clearing FCM or an Exchange’s clearing house could fail.

In the event of the bankruptcy of the Clearing FCM or an Exchange’s clearing house, the Trust could be exposed to a risk of loss with respect to its assets that are posted as margin. If such a bankruptcy were to occur, the Trust would be afforded the protections granted to customers of a FCM and participants to transactions cleared through a clearing house, under the United States Bankruptcy Code and applicable CFTC regulations. Such provisions generally provide for a pro rata distribution to customers of customer property held by the bankrupt FCM or an Exchange’s clearing house if the customer property held by the FCM or the Exchange’s clearing house is insufficient to satisfy all customer claims. In any case, there can be no assurance that these protections will be effective in allowing the Trust to recover all, or even any, of the amounts it has deposited as margin.

Bankruptcy of the Clearing FCM can be caused by, among other things, the default of one of the Clearing FCM’s customers. In this event, the Exchange’s clearing house is permitted to use the entire amount of margin posted by the Trust (as well as margin posted by other customers of the Clearing FCM) to cover the amounts owed by the bankrupt Clearing FCM. Consequently, the Trust could be unable to recover amounts due to it on its Index Futures positions, including assets posted as margin, and could sustain substantial losses, even if the level of the S&P GSCI-ER increases.

The Clearing FCM is subject to regulations relating to enhanced customer protections, risk management programs, internal monitoring and controls, capital and liquidity standards, customer disclosures and auditing and examination programs for FCMs. There can be no assurance that the implementation of these regulations will prevent losses to, or not materially adversely affect, the Trust or the Shareholders.

A failure of the Clearing FCM to segregate assets or a default of the Clearing FCM, its customers or other market participants may cause losses for the Trust.

The Commodity Exchange Act requires clearing FCMs to segregate all funds received from customers from such clearing FCM’s proprietary assets. If the Clearing FCM fails to segregate customer assets as required, the assets of the Trust might not be fully protected in the event of the Clearing FCM's distress, impairment or bankruptcy. Furthermore, in the event of the Clearing FCM's distress, impairment or bankruptcy, the Trust could be delayed in recovering its assets. The Trust also could be limited to recovering its pro rata share of all available customer funds held by the Clearing FCM, or the Trust may not recover any assets at all, even though certain property specifically traceable to the Trust was held by the Clearing FCM.

In addition, the Commodity Exchange Act requires an approved derivatives clearing organization to segregate all funds and other property received from an FCM on behalf of the FCM’s customers in connection with U.S. futures and options contracts from any funds held at the clearing organization to support the FCM’s proprietary trading. Nevertheless, customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with futures or options contracts may be held in a commingled omnibus account, which may not identify the names of the FCM’s individual customers. With respect to futures and options contracts, a clearing organization may use the assets of a nondefaulting customer held in an omnibus account at the clearing organization to satisfy the payment obligations of a defaulting customer of the FCM to the clearing organization. In the event of a default of another client of the Clearing FCM or the Clearing FCM’s failure to extend its own funds in connection with any such default, the Trust may not be able to recover the full amount of assets deposited by the Clearing FCM with the clearing organization on the Trust’s behalf. In the event of a bankruptcy or insolvency of any exchange or clearing house, the Trust could experience a loss of the funds deposited through the Clearing FCM as margin with the exchange or clearing house, a loss of any unrealized profits on its open positions on the exchange, and the loss of unrealized profits on its closed positions on the exchange.

The Trust’s performance could be adversely affected if the Clearing FCM reduces its internal risk limits for the Trust.

The CFTC requires FCMs, such as the Clearing FCM, to implement and periodically evaluate risk-based limits on futures positions and order sizes. Under this regime, the Clearing FCM could determine to reduce its internal risk limits on the size of futures positions it will trade or clear for the Trust. Such a development would reduce the Trust’s capacity to transact in Index Futures. In this scenario, the Trust could seek to enter into clearing relationships with one or more other clearing FCMs with the goal of increasing its overall capacity to trade and clear Index Futures. The introduction of one or more additional clearing broker relationships would be likely to increase the Trust’s trading costs and could make its overall trading less efficient and more prone to error. These consequences could have an adverse impact on the Trust’s performance.

Recourse to the Index Sponsor may be limited.

The Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the Index Sponsor. The Index Sponsor makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Shares or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Shares particularly or the ability of the S&P GSCI™, the S&P GSCI-ER or the Index, including, without limitation, all sub-indices, to track the appropriate market performance.

The Index Sponsor’s only relationship to the Sponsor, the Trustee, or the Trust is the licensing of certain trademarks, trade names of the Index Sponsor and the S&P GSCI™ and other intellectual property. The S&P GSCI™, the S&P GSCI-ER and the Index are determined and composed by the Index Sponsor and calculated by the Index Sponsor or its agents without regard to the Sponsor, the Trustee or the Trust. The Index Sponsor has no obligation to take the needs of the Sponsor, the Trustee, the Trust or the Shareholders into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the S&P GSCI™, the S&P GSCI‑ER or the Index. The Index Sponsor is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices and the number of Shares or the timing of the issuance or sale of Shares or in the determination or calculation of the Basket Amount. The Index Sponsor has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Shares.

The Index Sponsor does not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of the S&P GSCI™, the S&P GSCI-ER or the Index or any data included therein, and the Index Sponsor disclaims any and all liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein. The Index Sponsor makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the results to be obtained by the Trust, the Shareholders or any other person or entity from use of the S&P GSCI™, the S&P GSCI-ER or the Index or any data included therein. The Index Sponsor makes no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use, with respect to the S&P GSCI™, the S&P GSCI-ER or the Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, the Index Sponsor expressly disclaims any and all liability for any special, punitive, indirect, or consequential damages (including lost profits), even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

Risk Factors Relating to the Trust

The returns on the Shares will not precisely correlate with the performance of the Index.

The value of and returns on the Shares are expected to reflect the value of and returns on the Trust’s underlying investments in Index Futures and the cash or other Collateral Assets used to collateralize the Index Futures positions. The returns on the Shares will not precisely correlate with the performance of the Index due to, among other factors, differences between the return on the Collateral Assets and the U.S. Treasury rate used to calculate the U.S. Treasury return component of the Index, timing differences, differences between the portion of the Trust’s assets invested in Index Futures versus the portion of the return of the Index contributed by the S&P GSCI-ER, differences between the settlement price of Index Futures and the closing level of the S&P GSCI-ER and the payment of expenses and liabilities by the Trust.

The Trust is a passive investment vehicle. The Trust is not actively managed and will be affected by a general decline in the price of commodities.

The Advisor manages the Trust’s assets in a manner that seeks to obtain returns that correspond generally, but are not necessarily identical, to the performance of the Index, before the payment of expenses and liabilities of the Trust. This means that the net asset value of the Trust and, consequently, the NAV are intended to generally track the Index when it is flat or declining, as well as when it is rising, and therefore, it is highly likely that the value of the Shares will be adversely affected by a decline in commodity futures prices reflected in the Index. The Advisor does not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or to ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the level of the Index or the S&P GSCI-ER or the value of the Collateral Assets, including making use of any of the hedging techniques available to professional commodity futures traders to attempt to reduce the risks of losses resulting from commodity price decreases.

Fees and expenses payable by the Trust are charged regardless of profitability and may result in a depletion of its assets.

The Trust is subject to the fees and expenses described in this report, which are payable irrespective of profitability. These fees and expenses include an allocation to the Sponsor that accrues daily at an annualized rate of up to 0.75% of the Adjusted Net Asset Value of the Trust and is payable by the Trust monthly in arrears. The Sponsor’s Fees may be adjusted by the Sponsor in its discretion from time to time to any amount up to 0.75% of the Adjusted Net Asset Value of the Trust. The Sponsor’s Fee may be adjusted by the Sponsor in its discretion from time to time to any amount up to 0.75% of the Adjusted Net Asset Value of the Trust. The Sponsor’s Fees may not be adjusted to above 0.75% of the Adjusted Net Asset Value of the Trust absent an amendment to the Trust Agreement in accordance with its terms, and such an adjustment may only become effective thirty days after the Trustee has notified the registered holders of the amendment. The Sponsor’s Fee may not be adjusted to above 0.75% of the Adjusted Net Asset Value of the Trust absent an amendment to the Trust Agreement in accordance with its terms, and such an adjustment may only become effective thirty days after the Trustee has notified the registered holders of the amendment.

Interest earned on the assets posted as collateral is paid to the Trust and is used to pay the fixed fee to the Sponsor. A prolonged decline in interest rates could materially affect the amount of interest paid to the Trust. In the case of either an extraordinary expense and/or insufficient interest income to cover ordinary expenses, the Trust could be forced to liquidate its Index Futures positions to pay such expenses.

The Trust’s ability to operate is dependent on the Sponsor, the Trustee, the Advisor and certain other key service providers and other parties.

The Trust’s ability to operate and to achieve its investment objective is dependent on a number of parties, including:

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the Sponsor, who exercises general oversight and authority over the Trust;

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the Trustee, who is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Trust;

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the Trust Administrator, who provides certain administrative and custodial services to the Trust;

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the Advisor, who exercises general oversight over the Trust’s investment activities;

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the Clearing FCM, through which the Trust transacts in Index Futures and maintains its Index Futures positions;

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the Exchange, through which the Trust’s Index Futures transactions clear and settle;

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the Index Sponsor, who maintains the Index, and whose affiliates own the rights to the Index on which the Trust’s investment objective is based;

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the Authorized Participants, whose creation and redemption activities allow Index Futures and Collateral Assets to be converted to Shares and vice versa, to help maintain the relationship between the Index and the Shares; and

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the tax administrator, who provides tax reporting and tax administrative services.

Disruptions in the business of any of the foregoing parties or the termination of the Trust’s relationship with any of the foregoing parties could adversely affect the Trust’s operations. Shared ownership of a number of the foregoing parties may heighten this risk. The Sponsor, the Trustee and the Advisor are commonly controlled subsidiaries of BlackRock. The Clearing FCM and one of its affiliates are Authorized Participants. A number of the foregoing parties are publicly traded companies or subsidiaries of publicly traded companies, and a portion of their shares may be owned by one or more of the other foregoing parties.

The Trust is exposed to various operational risks.

The Trust is exposed to various operational risks, including human error, information technology failures and failure to comply with formal procedures intended to mitigate these risks, and is particularly dependent on electronic means of communicating, record-keeping and otherwise conducting business. In addition, the Trust generally exculpates, and in some cases indemnifies, its service providers and agents with respect to losses arising from unforeseen circumstances and events, which may include the interruption, suspension or restriction of trading on or the closure of NYSE Arca, an Exchange, or an exchange on which the futures contracts underlying the Index trade, power or other mechanical or technological failures or interruptions, computer viruses, communications disruptions, work stoppages, natural disasters, fire, war, terrorism, riots, rebellions or other circumstances beyond the control of the Trust or its service providers and agents. Accordingly, the Trust generally bears the risk of loss with respect to these unforeseen circumstances and events to the extent relating to the Trust or the Shares, which may limit or prevent the Trust from generating returns corresponding to those of the Index or otherwise expose it to loss.

Although it is generally expected that the Trust’s direct service providers and agents will have disaster recovery or similar programs or safeguards in place to mitigate the effect of such unforeseen circumstances and events, there can be no assurance that these safeguards are in place for all parties whose activities may affect the performance of the Trust, or that these safeguards, even if implemented, will be successful in preventing losses associated with such unforeseen circumstances and events. Nor can there be any assurance that the systems and applications on which the Trust relies will continue to operate as intended. In addition to potentially causing performance failures at, or direct losses to, the Trust, any such unforeseen circumstances and events or operational failures may further distract the service providers, agents or personnel on which the Trust relies, reducing their ability to conduct the activities on which the Trust is dependent. These risks cannot be fully mitigated or prevented, and further efforts or expenditures to do so may not be cost‑effective, whether due to reduced benefits from implementing additional or redundant safeguards or due to increases in associated maintenance requirements and other expenses that may make it more costly for the Trust to operate in more typical circumstances.

The Trust relies on the information and technology systems of the Trustee, the Sponsor, the Advisor, the Clearing FCM, the Trust Administrator, the Authorized Participants, the listing exchange, and the Trust’s other service providers and counterparties (referred to herein as the “Service Providers”), each of which could be directly or indirectly adversely affected by information systems interruptions, cybersecurity incidents or other disruptions, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on the Trust.

The Trust and the Service Providers are susceptible to operational, information security and related cybersecurity risks both directly and through their own service providers. Cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. They include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to systems, corrupting or destroying data, and causing operational disruption. Geopolitical tensions may increase the scale and sophistication of deliberate attacks, particularly those from nation-states or from entities with nation-state backing.

Cybersecurity incidents may cause disruptions and impact business operations. They may result in any of the following: financial losses (including loss or theft of Trust assets), interference with the Trust’s ability to calculate its NAV, disclosure of confidential information, impediments to trading, submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders, the inability of the Trust or the Service Providers to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and other legal and compliance costs. In addition, cyber incidents may render records of Trust assets and transactions, Shareholder ownership of the Shares, and other data integral to the functioning of the Trust inaccessible, inaccurate or incomplete. The Trust may incur substantial costs in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents.

The Sponsor, a consolidated subsidiary of BlackRock, is responsible for the oversight and overall management of the Trust. The Sponsor relies on BlackRock’s enterprise risk management (“ERM”) framework for the Trust’s cybersecurity risk management and strategy. Although BlackRock has implemented policies and controls, and takes protective measures involving significant expense, to prevent and address potential data breaches, inadvertent disclosures, increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks and cyber-related fraud, there can be no assurance that any of these measures proves fully effective. In addition, a successful cyber-attack may persist for an extended period of time before being detected, and it may take a considerable amount of time for an investigation to be completed and the severity and potential impact to be known. Furthermore, the Trust cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems of its Service Providers. The Trust and its Shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

The price you receive upon the sale of your Shares may be less than their NAV.

Shares may trade at, above or below their NAV. The NAV fluctuates with changes in the market value of the Trust’s assets. The trading price of Shares fluctuates in accordance with changes in the NAV, intraday changes in the value of the Index Futures and market supply and demand. The amount of the discount or premium in the trading price of the Shares relative to their NAV may be influenced by non-concurrent trading hours between NYSE Arca, the exchange on which the Shares trade, the Exchanges on which Index Futures trade, and the principal commodities markets on which the futures contracts in the S&P GSCI-ER trade. While the Shares are expected to trade on NYSE Arca until 4:00 p.m. (New York time), liquidity in the markets for the Index Futures and the futures contracts underlying the S&P GSCI-ER is expected to be reduced whenever the principal markets for those contracts are closed. As a result, trading spreads, and the resulting premium or discount on Shares, may widen during these gaps in market trading hours.

The Trust is not obligated to pay periodic distributions or dividends to Shareholders.

Interest or other income received with respect to the Trust’s assets may be used to acquire additional Index Futures or Collateral Assets or, in the discretion of the Sponsor, distributed to the Shareholders. The Trust is not obligated, however, to make any distributions to Shareholders at any time prior to the dissolution of the Trust and will not make any distributions to Shareholders upon dissolution of the Trust unless there are assets remaining following dissolution.

The Trust could be liquidated at a time when the disposition of its interests will result in losses to investors in Shares.

Certain events, such as the delisting of the Shares, the election by 75% of the Shareholders to dissolve the Trust, the resignation of the Trustee without a successor, the Trust becoming subject to regulation as an investment company, the determination by the Sponsor that the dissolution of the Trust is advisable, the Trust becoming subject to taxation as an association taxable as a corporation, or the DTC becoming unable or unwilling to perform its functions, may prompt the Trust’s dissolution. Upon dissolution of the Trust, the Trust will in most circumstances sell the Index Futures and securities held by it in the amount necessary to cover all expenses of liquidation and to pay any outstanding liabilities of the Trust. The remaining assets will be distributed among investors surrendering Shares. In the event the Trustee cannot distribute such assets proportionately among the Shareholders entitled thereto or if the Trustee determines that such distribution is not lawful or feasible, the Trustee may use any other method of distribution that it deems to be lawful, equitable and feasible, including the public or private sale of Trust assets and the distribution of the proceeds thereof. Any property remaining in the possession of the Trustee after ninety days may be sold by the Trustee, and the proceeds of the sale will be held by the Trustee until claimed by any remaining Shareholders.

In connection with any such liquidation, Trust property may be sold for prices that are less than the portion of the NAV attributable to such Trust property. Accordingly, the liquidation of Trust property may result in losses, or adversely affect your gains, on your investment in Shares.

The Sponsor has broad discretion to liquidate the Trust at any time.

The Trust Agreement provides the Sponsor with broad discretion to liquidate the Trust at any time the Sponsor determines that liquidation of the Trust is advisable. It cannot be predicted when or under what circumstances, if any, the Sponsor would use this discretion to liquidate the Trust. Any such liquidation may occur at a time when you are suffering a loss on your investment in the Shares and may upset the overall maturity and timing of your investment portfolio.

Shareholders with large holdings may choose to dissolve the Trust and thereby adversely affect your investment in the Shares.

Owners of 75% or more of the Shares have the power to dissolve the Trust. This power may be exercised by a relatively small number of holders. If it is so exercised, investors who wished to continue to invest in the performance of the Index through the vehicle of the Trust will have to find another vehicle, and may not be able to find another vehicle that offers the same features as the Trust. Moreover, such a dissolution may occur at a time when you are suffering a loss on your investment in the Shares and may upset the overall maturity and timing of your investment portfolio.

Affiliate shareholders with large holdings may choose to conduct a large sale of their Shares, which may have an adverse effect on the Shares.

BlackRock or other accounts managed by the Trustee or an affiliate may purchase and hold Shares of the Trust. These entities reserve the right, subject to compliance with applicable law, to sell Shares into the market or redeem in Baskets some or all of their Shares. A large-scale disposition of Shares could significantly reduce the asset size of the Trust, which would have an adverse effect on your Shares. Historically, such affiliated entities and accounts have owned a substantial portion of the Trust’s total Shares outstanding from time to time, and may own a substantial portion of the Trust’s total Shares outstanding from time to time in the future.

The Shares may not provide anticipated benefits of diversification from other asset classes.

Historically, the performance of physical commodity futures prices generally has not been correlated to the performance of financial asset classes, such as stocks and bonds. Non-correlation means that there is no statistically significant relationship, positive or negative, between the past performance of futures contracts on physical commodities, on the one hand, and stocks or bonds, on the other hand. Despite this lack of correlation, Shares cannot be expected to be automatically profitable during unfavorable periods for the stock or bond markets, or automatically unprofitable during favorable periods for the stock or bond markets. The commodity futures markets are fundamentally different from the securities markets in that for every gain in commodity futures trading, there is an equal and offsetting loss. The performance of the Shares may reflect positive or negative correlation to one or more financial asset classes, in which case any investment strategy relying on the absence of any such correlation may not be successful.

The liquidity of the Shares may be affected by the withdrawal from participation of Authorized Participants or by the suspension of issuance, transfers or redemptions of Shares by the Trustee.

If one or more Authorized Participants withdraw from participation, it may become more difficult to create or redeem Baskets, which may reduce the liquidity of the Shares. If it becomes more difficult to create or redeem Baskets, the correlation between the price of the Shares and the NAV may be affected, which may affect the trading market for the Shares. Having fewer participants in the market for the Shares could also adversely affect the ability to arbitrage any price difference between the Index Futures and the Shares, which may affect the trading market and liquidity of the Shares.

In addition, the Trustee has the power to suspend the delivery of Shares, registration of transfers of Shares and surrenders of Shares for the purpose of withdrawing Trust property generally, or to refuse a particular deposit, transfer or withdrawal at any time, if the Trustee or the Sponsor determines that it is advisable to do so for any reason. From August 24, 2009 to April 26, 2010, the Trust suspended the issuance of new Shares because the Trust could not invest the proceeds of new issuances in additional Index Futures positions due to restrictions on speculative position limits imposed by the CME. The liquidity of the Shares and the correlation between the value of the Shares and the level of the Index may be adversely affected in the event of any such suspension of issuance, transfer or redemption.

The lack of an active trading market for the Shares may result in losses on your investment at the time of disposition of your Shares.

Although the Shares are listed on NYSE Arca, there can be no guarantee that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained. If you need to sell your Shares at a time when no active market for them exists, the price you receive for your Shares, assuming that you are able to sell them, will likely be lower than that you would receive if an active market did exist.

You may be adversely affected by redemption orders that are subject to postponement, suspension or rejection under certain circumstances.

The Trustee may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the redemption settlement date for such periods as it or the Sponsor deems to be necessary for any reason. In addition, the Trustee has the right to reject any redemption order for any reason, including, among others, (1) the related order not being in proper form as described in the Authorized Participant Agreement, (2) market conditions or other circumstances that make transactions in or delivery of the Shares or the Index Futures impossible or impractical, (3) a determination by the Trustee that the acceptance of the related order would have adverse tax or other consequences to the Trust or the Shareholders, or (4) circumstances that would cause the acceptance of the related order to result in a violation of law in the opinion of counsel to the Trustee, the Sponsor or the Trust Administrator. In addition, the Trustee has the right to reject any redemption order for any reason, including, among others, (1) the related order not being in proper form as described in the Authorized Participant agreement, (2) market conditions or other circumstances that make transactions in or delivery of the Shares or the Index Futures impossible or impractical, (3) a determination by the Trustee that the acceptance of the related order would have adverse tax or other consequences to the Trust or the Shareholders, or (4) circumstances that would cause the acceptance of the related order to result in a violation of law in the opinion of counsel to the Trustee, the Sponsor or the Trust Administrator. Any such postponement, suspension or rejection could adversely affect a redeeming Authorized Participant. For example, the resulting delay may adversely affect the value of the redemption proceeds if the NAV declines during the period of the delay. Under the Authorized Participant Agreement, the Trustee disclaims any liability that may result from any such suspension, postponement or rejection. Under the Authorized Participant agreement, the Trustee disclaims any liability that may result from any such suspension, postponement or rejection.

Competition from other commodities-related investments could limit the market for, and reduce the liquidity of, the Shares.

Demand for the Shares is expected to be affected by the attractiveness of an investment in the Shares relative to other investment vehicles, including other commodity pools, hedge funds, traditional debt and equity securities issued by companies in the commodities industry, other securities backed by or linked to commodities, and direct investments in commodities or commodity futures contracts. Market, financial and other conditions or factors may make it more attractive to invest in other investment vehicles or to invest in such commodities directly, which could limit the market for, and reduce the liquidity of, the Shares.

The price of the Shares could decrease if unanticipated operational or trading problems arise.

If the processes of creation and redemption of Shares encounter any unanticipated difficulties, potential market participants who would otherwise be willing to purchase or redeem Baskets to take advantage of any arbitrage opportunity arising from discrepancies between the price of the Shares and the price of the underlying Index Futures may choose not to do so. If this is the case, the price of the Shares may vary from the price of an equivalent position in Index Futures and may trade at a discount to their NAV. In addition, in some circumstances, such as the failure of the registration statement covering the Shares to be effective, the Trust may be unable to create or redeem Shares, which may have similar consequences.

Exchange position limits and other rules may restrict the creation of Baskets and the operation of the Trust.

The CME imposes speculative position limits on market participants trading in Index Futures, including the Trust, that typically prohibit any person from holding a position in excess of a specified number of contracts. The Trust may from time to time seek to obtain exemptions from those position limits from the CME, but these exemptions may be limited, including with respect to the additional number of contracts permitted to be held under such exemption and the time period for which the exemption applies. Position limits may also apply to other Index Futures traded by the Trust. The availability of obtaining any exemption from any such position limits is expected to be subject to the ability or willingness of the applicable Exchange to grant such exemption, as well as applicable law.

The Trust’s ability to issue new Baskets or reinvest income in additional Index Futures may be limited to the extent these activities would cause the Trust to exceed the position limits then applicable to those Index Futures. The Trust may also be required to liquidate any existing contracts in excess of the then-applicable position limits, including as a result of changes to applicable position limits or as a result of the loss of an exemption, or be required to take other actions with potentially adverse effects on the liquidity or value of the Shares.

Additionally, legislative or regulatory action, actions by a DCM or actions by the Clearing FCM may impose limitations on the size of positions that the Trust may take in Index Futures and/or impose limitations on the size of positions that may be carried by other market participants, adversely affecting the liquidity and price of Index Futures and the underlying futures. Such events could force the Trust or other market participants to sell Index Futures, or encourage market participants to sell or redeem their Shares. In addition, the current maximum position in Index Futures permitted to be held by the Trust could be reduced relative to the maximum position otherwise permitted, which could in turn require the Trust to liquidate some or all of its positions in Index Futures. Any such reduction could affect the liquidity of Index Futures and adversely impact the price of the Shares as well as the correlation between the price of the Shares and the net asset value of the Trust.

DCMs may also take steps, such as requiring liquidation of open positions, in the case of disorderly markets, market congestion and other market disruptions. These actions could require the Trust to liquidate all or part of its Index Futures positions or require holders of positions in the futures contracts underlying the S&P GSCI-ER to liquidate their positions. This could affect the level of the Index and the NAV. See also “Risk Factors Relating to Commodities Markets—Regulatory developments with respect to the futures and OTC derivatives markets, and in particular, with respect to speculative trading in futures contracts and OTC derivatives involving commodities and commodity indices, could adversely affect the value of your Shares. See also “Risk Factors Relating to Commodities Markets—Regulatory developments with respect to the futures and over-the-counter derivatives markets, and in particular, with respect to speculative trading in futures contracts and over-the-counter derivatives involving commodities and commodity indices, could adversely affect the value of your Shares. ”

Shareholders do not have the rights normally associated with ownership of common shares; the Sponsor and the Trustee exercise substantial control over the Trust.

Shareholders are not entitled to the same rights as owners of shares issued by a corporation. By acquiring Shares, you are not acquiring the right to elect directors, to receive dividends, to vote on certain matters regarding the Trust or to take other actions normally associated with the ownership of common shares.

Additionally, the Sponsor and the Trustee exercise substantial control over the Trust’s activities. Among other things, the Trust Agreement authorizes the Sponsor to determine whether to make distributions to Shareholders, gives the Sponsor oversight over NAV calculations and the creation and redemption process and permits the Sponsor to dissolve the Trust if it deems such dissolution advisable. The Trustee also retains the right to reject any order for the creation or redemption of Baskets. The Sponsor and the Trustee may amend the provisions of the Trust Agreement, including in a manner adverse to Shareholders, without Shareholder consent, including to change the assets through which the Trust seeks to achieve its investment objective, which may alter the nature of an investment in, and the performance of, the Shares.

The Trust Agreement provides that in the case of a conflict of interest between the Trustee, the Sponsor and their affiliates, on the one hand, and the holders of Shares, on the other, the Trustee and the Sponsor will resolve such conflict considering the relevant interests of each party (including their own interests) and related benefits and burdens, any customary or accepted industry practices, and any applicable generally accepted accounting practices or principles. The Trust Agreement further provides that in the absence of bad faith by the Trustee or the Sponsor, such a resolution will not constitute a breach of the Trust Agreement or any duty or obligation of the Trustee or the Sponsor.

Shareholders do not have the protections normally associated with the ownership of shares in an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act.

The Trust is not registered as an investment company for purposes of United States federal securities laws, and is not subject to regulation by the SEC as an investment company. Consequently, Shareholders do not have the regulatory protections provided to investors in investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act. For example, the provisions of the Investment Company Act that limit transactions with affiliates, prohibit the suspension of redemptions (except under limited circumstances) and limit sales loads do not apply to the Trust. The Sponsor is registered with the CFTC as a commodity pool operator, and the Advisor is registered with the CFTC as a commodity trading advisor. The CFTC therefore has jurisdiction over these entities and regulatory authority over certain activities of the Trust. The nature and degree of this regulation differs from the regulatory scheme imposed under the Investment Company Act.

Competing claims over ownership of relevant intellectual property rights could adversely affect the Trust or an investment in the Shares.

While the Sponsor believes that it has all of the intellectual property rights needed to operate the Trust in the manner described in the Trust’s prospectus, third parties may allege or assert ownership of intellectual property rights that may be related to the design, structure and operation of the Trust or the Index. To the extent any claims of such ownership are brought or any proceedings are instituted to assert such claims, the negotiation, litigation or settlement of such claims, the issuance of any restraining orders or injunctions, or the ultimate disposition of such claims in a court of law, may adversely affect the Trust and the value of the Shares. For example, such actions could result in expenses or damages payable by the Trust or the suspension of activities or dissolution of the Trust.

The value of the Shares will be adversely affected if the Trust is required to indemnify the Sponsor, the Advisor or the Trustee or their respective agents.

Under the Trust Agreement, the Sponsor, the Trustee and their respective agents have the right to be indemnified by the Trust for any liability or expense they incur without negligence, bad faith, willful misconduct or reckless disregard of their duties on their part. That means the Sponsor and the Trustee may require the assets of the Trust to be sold in order to cover losses or liabilities suffered by it, which would reduce the net asset value of the Trust and the value of the Shares. Likewise, under the Trust’s advisory agreement, the Advisor and its agents have the right to be indemnified by the Trust for any liability or expense they incur without negligence, bad faith, willful misconduct or reckless disregard of their duties on their part. That means the Advisor may require the assets of the Trust to be sold in order to cover losses or liabilities suffered by it, which would reduce the net asset value of the Trust and the value of the Shares.

Regulatory changes or actions may affect the Shares.

The futures markets are subject to comprehensive regulation. In addition, the CFTC and the exchanges are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event of a market emergency, including, for example, implementing speculative position limits (including retroactively) or higher margin requirements, establishing daily price limits and suspending trading. The regulation of futures transactions in the United States is subject to modification by government, exchange and judicial action. The effect of any future regulatory change on the Trust could be substantial and adverse. See also “—Exchange position limits and other rules may restrict the creation of Baskets and the operation of the Trust” above and “Risk Factors Relating to Commodities Markets — Regulatory developments with respect to the futures and OTC derivatives markets, and in particular, with respect to speculative trading in futures contracts and OTC derivatives involving commodities and commodity indices, could adversely affect the value of your Shares. See also “—Exchange position limits and other rules may restrict the creation of Baskets and the operation of the Trust” above and “Risk Factors Relating to Commodities Markets — Regulatory developments with respect to the futures and over-the-counter derivatives markets, and in particular, with respect to speculative trading in futures contracts and over-the-counter derivatives involving commodities and commodity indices, could adversely affect the value of your Shares. ”

NYSE Arca may halt trading in the Shares, which would adversely impact your ability to sell your Shares.

The Shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol GSG. Trading in the Shares may be halted due to market conditions or, in light of NYSE Arca rules and procedures, for reasons that, in the view of NYSE Arca, make trading in the Shares inadvisable, or in the event certain information about the Index, the value of the Shares and the NAV is not made available as required by such rules and procedures. In addition, trading generally on NYSE Arca is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to “circuit breaker” rules that require trading to be halted for a specified period based on a specified market decline. There can be no assurance that the requirements necessary to maintain the listing of the Shares will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Trust will be dissolved if the Shares are delisted from NYSE Arca and are not approved for listing on another national securities exchange within five business days of their delisting.

Risk Factors Relating to Conflicts of Interest

The Sponsor’s relationship with the Trustee and the Advisor and the proprietary and managed trading activities of the Sponsor and its affiliates could conflict with your interests as a Shareholder.

The Sponsor is an affiliate of the Trustee and therefore may have a conflict of interest with respect to its oversight of the Trustee. In particular, the Sponsor, which has authority to remove the Trustee in its discretion, has an incentive not to exercise this authority, even when it is in the best interests of the Shareholders to do so, because of the affiliation between the entities. The Trustee is authorized to appoint an unaffiliated Trust Administrator or other agent to carry out all or some of its duties under the Trust Agreement, but is not required to delegate any of its duties to an unaffiliated third party.

The Sponsor is an affiliate of the Advisor and therefore may have a similar conflict of interest with respect to its oversight of the Advisor. For example, although the Sponsor has the authority to terminate the Trust’s advisory agreement with the Advisor, it has an incentive not to exercise this authority, even when it is in the best interests of the Shareholders to do so, because of the affiliation between the entities.

As described elsewhere in this report, in return for paying certain amounts that would otherwise be considered ordinary operating expenses of the Trust, the Sponsor receives an allocation from the Trust that accrues daily at an annualized rate of up to 0.75% of the Adjusted Net Asset Value of the Trust, is payable monthly in arrears, and is subject to adjustment from time to time, except that the Sponsor’s Fees may not be adjusted to above 0.75% of the Adjusted Net Asset Value absent an amendment to the Trust Agreement and thirty days’ prior notice to registered holders of the Shares. The allocation received by the Sponsor from the Trust may be higher than the amount the Trust would negotiate with an unaffiliated third party manager on an arms-length basis.

In addition, the Sponsor and its affiliates (including the Trustee and the Advisor) collectively exercise substantial control over the Trust. To the extent the interests of the Sponsor and its affiliates conflict with those of the Trust and the Shareholders, the risks associated with such conflicts may be greater than they would otherwise be for a party that cannot exercise such control over the Trust. The Trust Agreement provides that in the case of a conflict of interest between the Trustee, the Sponsor and their affiliates, on the one hand, and the holders of Shares, on the other, the Trustee and the Sponsor will resolve such conflict considering the relevant interests of each party (including their own interests) and related benefits and burdens, any customary or accepted industry practices, and any applicable generally accepted accounting practices or principles. The Trust Agreement further provides that in the absence of bad faith by the Trustee or the Sponsor, such a resolution will not constitute a breach of the Trust Agreement or any duty or obligation of the Trustee or the Sponsor.

The Sponsor and its affiliates may also engage in trading activities relating to the Index Futures, the components of the Index or the S&P GSCI-ER or other derivative instruments related to those indices that are not for the account of, or on behalf of, the Trust or the Shareholders and that may compete with trading activity in the Shares. These activities may present a conflict between the Shareholders’ interest in the Shares and the interest of the Sponsor and its affiliates in their proprietary accounts, in facilitating transactions, including derivatives transactions, for their customers’ accounts and in accounts under their management. These trading activities could be adverse to the interests of the Shareholders. Moreover, the Sponsor and its affiliates have published and in the future expect to publish research reports with respect to commodities markets. This research may express opinions or provide recommendations that are inconsistent with purchasing or holding Shares. The research should not be viewed as a recommendation or endorsement of the Shares in any way, and investors must make their own independent investigation of the merits of this investment. Any of these activities by the Sponsor and its affiliates may affect the level of the S&P GSCI-ER or its components and, therefore, the value of the Index Futures and the price of the Shares.

Proprietary trading and other activities by Goldman Sachs and its affiliates could conflict with your interests as a Shareholder.

Activities conducted by Goldman Sachs and its affiliates may conflict with your interests as a Shareholder. For example, the Advisor may execute a substantial amount, and potentially all, of the purchases and sales of Index Futures through Goldman Sachs, as the Trust’s Clearing FCM. In addition, it is expected that Goldman Sachs or its accountholders will represent, directly or indirectly, a substantial portion of the short-side market for the Index Futures. Further, Goldman Sachs and its affiliates actively trade futures contracts and options on futures contracts on the commodities that underlie the S&P GSCI™, OTC contracts on these commodities, the underlying commodities included in the S&P GSCI™ and other instruments and derivative products based on the S&P GSCI™ and the S&P GSCI-ER. Any of these activities of Goldman Sachs or its affiliates could adversely affect the level of the S&P GSCI‑ER or the Index Futures, directly or indirectly, by affecting the price of the underlying commodities and, therefore, the value of the S&P GSCI‑ER, the Index Futures and the price of the Shares.

Goldman Sachs and its affiliates may also issue or underwrite other securities or financial or derivative instruments with returns indexed to the S&P GSCI™, the S&P GSCI-ER or the Index, which would compete with the Shares. By introducing competing products into the marketplace, Goldman Sachs and its affiliates could adversely affect the price of the Shares. To the extent that Goldman Sachs or any of its affiliates serve as issuer, agent or underwriter of those securities or other similar instruments, their interests with respect to those products may be adverse to your interests as a Shareholder.

Risk Factors Relating to Taxes

Your tax liability could exceed cash distributions on your Shares.

You will be required to pay U.S. federal income taxes on your allocable share of the Trust’s income, without regard to the receipt of cash distributions on the Shares. There is no obligation to make distributions on the Shares. Accordingly, it is anticipated that you will not receive cash distributions sufficient to cover your allocable share of such taxable income or even the tax liability resulting from that income.

The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) could adjust or reallocate items of income, gain, deduction, loss and credit with respect to the Shares if the IRS does not accept the assumptions or conventions utilized by the Trust.

The U.S. federal income tax rules that apply to partnerships are complex and their application is not always clear. Moreover, the rules generally were not written for, and in some respects are difficult to apply to, publicly traded interests in partnerships. In addition, the Trust will report tax information to you on IRS Schedule K-1 with respect to the Shares. The Trustee shall deliver or cause to be delivered to each Shareholder an IRS Schedule K-1 as soon as practicable following each fiscal year but generally not later than March 15. Reporting on IRS Schedule K-1 may be somewhat more complex than comparable reporting on IRS Form 1099. Each Shareholder, by its acquisition of Shares, will be deemed to agree to allow brokers and nominees to provide to the Trust its name and address and the other information and forms as may be reasonably requested by the Trust for purposes of complying with their tax reporting and withholding obligations (and to waive any confidentiality rights with respect to the information and forms for this purpose) and to provide information or forms upon request.

Investors in the Shares should consult their tax advisors in determining how to use the information reported on IRS Schedule K-1 to complete their income tax returns. The Trust will apply certain assumptions and conventions intended to comply with the intent of the rules and to report income, gain, deduction, loss and credit to investors in a manner that reflects the investors’ economic gains and losses, but these assumptions and conventions may not comply with all aspects of the applicable Treasury regulations. It is possible therefore that the IRS will successfully assert that these assumptions or conventions do not satisfy the technical requirements of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, (the “Code”) or the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and will require that items of income, gain, deduction, loss and credit be adjusted or reallocated in a manner that could be adverse to you.

If the Trust were to fail to qualify as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Trust’s income and items of deduction would not pass through to the Shareholders, the Trust would be required to pay tax at corporate rates on any portion of the Trust’s net income that does not constitute tax‑exempt income and distributions by the Trust to the Trust’s Shareholders would be taxable dividends to the extent of the Trust’s earnings and profits.

It is expected that the Trust will operate and be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. So long as the Trust qualifies as a partnership, it will be able to pass through its income, including the Trust’s federally tax-exempt income, if any, and deductions to the Shareholders. The Trust’s qualification as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes involves the application of numerous technical provisions under which there is a lack of direct authority. In general, if a partnership is “publicly traded”, as defined in the Code, it will be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. It is expected that the Trust will be treated as a publicly traded partnership. A publicly traded partnership will, however, be taxed as a partnership, and not as a corporation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, so long as 90% or more of its gross income for each taxable year constitutes “qualifying income” within the meaning of Section 7704(d) of the Code and the partnership is not required to register under the Investment Company Act. This exception is referred to as the “qualifying income exception.” Qualifying income generally includes interest (other than certain contingent interest and interest derived in the conduct of a financial or insurance business), dividends, real property rents and income from certain commodities transactions.

If less than 90% of the Trust’s gross income for any tax year constitutes qualifying income, for any reason, other than a failure that is determined to be inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery, or if the Trust is required to register under the Investment Company Act, the Trust’s items of income and deduction would not pass through to the Trust’s Shareholders and the Trust’s Shareholders would be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as stockholders in a corporation. The Trust would be required to pay income tax at corporate rates on its net taxable income. Distributions by the Trust to its Shareholders would constitute dividend income taxable to such holders to the extent of the Trust’s earnings and profits and the payment of these distributions would not be deductible by the Trust. These consequences could have a material adverse effect on the Trust, its Shareholders and the value of the Shares.

If the IRS makes audit adjustments to the Trust’s income tax returns, it may collect any resulting taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) directly from the Trust, in which case the cash available for the distribution to the Trust’s Shareholders might be substantially reduced.

If the IRS makes audit adjustments to the Trust’s U.S. federal income tax returns, it may collect any resulting taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) directly from the Trust. The Trust may have the ability to shift any such tax liability to the Sponsor and the Trust’s Shareholders in accordance with their interests in the Trust during the year under audit, but there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so, in which case the current Shareholders would economically bear the burden of the tax even if they were not Shareholders during the year under audit (or if they had a different percentage interest in the Trust in that year). If the Trust is required to make payments of taxes, penalties and interest resulting from audit adjustments, the cash available for distribution to the Trust’s Shareholders might be substantially reduced. Investors in the Shares are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding these rules and their potential impact.

Shareholders that are not U.S. persons could be subject to U.S. federal income tax, including a 10% withholding tax, on the disposition of their Shares.

It is expected that the Trust will be treated as a publicly traded partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and investors are expected to be taxed as partners in a partnership. Although the Trust intends to conduct its activities in a manner that avoids the conduct of a U.S. trade or business, if the IRS were to determine that the Trust is engaged in a U.S. trade or business for U.S. federal income tax purposes, any gain recognized by a foreign transferor on the sale, exchange or other disposition of Shares would generally be treated as “effectively connected” with such trade or business to the extent it does not exceed the effectively connected gain that would be allocable to the transferor if the Trust sold all of its assets at their fair market value as of the date of the transferor’s disposition. Any such gain that is treated as effectively connected will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax.

In addition, the transferee of the Shares or the applicable withholding agent generally would be required to deduct and withhold a tax equal to 10% of the amount realized by the transferor on the disposition, which would include an allocable portion of the Trust’s liabilities and would therefore generally exceed the amount of cash received by the transferor in the disposition, unless an exception to withholding applies, including if the transferor provides an affidavit stating the transferor’s taxpayer identification number and that the transferor is not a foreign person. Another exception to this withholding requirement applies if the Trust properly certifies via public notice that it was not engaged in a trade or business within the United States at any time during the Trust’s taxable year through the date designated on the public notice. The Trust intends to post a quarterly notice to its website confirming that it has not engaged in a U.S. trade or business. This notice is intended to allow non-U.S. Shareholders to indicate that the amount realized on the transfer of their Shares should not be subject to this withholding tax. If the transferee fails to properly withhold such tax when required to do so, the Trust would be required to deduct and withhold from distributions to the transferee a tax in an amount equal to the amount the transferee failed to withhold, plus interest. If the transferee fails to properly withhold such tax, the Trust would be required to deduct and withhold from distributions to the transferee a tax in an amount equal to the amount the transferee failed to withhold, plus interest.

Investors in the Shares are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding these rules and their potential impact.

Individual Shareholders that are not U.S. persons could be subject to U.S. federal estate tax in respect of their Shares.

Individuals who are neither citizens nor residents of the United States, as determined for U.S. federal estate tax purposes, (collectively, “Non-U.S. Residents”) may be subject to estate tax on “U.S. situs” property they own or are treated as owning at the time of death. The rules to determine whether an interest in a partnership (such as the Shares) is treated as having U.S. situs are not entirely clear. Shares may be considered to have U.S. situs, in which case they would be includible in the U.S. gross estate of a Non-U.S. Resident investor, unless an applicable tax treaty provides otherwise. Non-U.S. Residents considering an investment in Shares are urged to consult with their tax advisers regarding the potential application of U.S. federal estate taxes to their Shares in their particular circumstances.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy

The Trust does not have any officers, directors or employees. The Sponsor, a consolidated subsidiary of BlackRock, is responsible for the oversight and overall management of the Trust. The Sponsor relies on BlackRock’s ERM framework for the Trust’s cybersecurity risk management and strategy. Key aspects of the ERM framework are summarized below. The board of directors of the Sponsor (the “Board of Directors”) periodically receives reports from BlackRock regarding BlackRock’s cybersecurity program.

As of December 31, 2025, cybersecurity risks have not materially affected the Trust’s objective, results of operations or financial condition.

BlackRock’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework

BlackRock recognizes the importance of identifying, assessing, and managing material risks associated with cybersecurity threats. Cybersecurity represents an important component of BlackRock’s approach to ERM. BlackRock leverages a multi-layered defense model in which cybersecurity operational processes are executed by global information security and other firmwide teams, supported by dedicated internal audit and technology risk management (“TRM”) teams that independently review technology risks. BlackRock’s cybersecurity program is fully integrated into its ERM framework and is aligned with recognized frameworks, such as NIST Cybersecurity Framework, Cyber Risk Institute Profile, ISO/IEC 27001/27001, and other leading frameworks. BlackRock aims to inform and continuously improve its cybersecurity program through engagement with regulatory, client, insurer, vendor, partner, peer, government and industry organizations and associations, as well as external audit, technology risk, information security and other assessments.

BlackRock seeks to address cybersecurity risks through a global, multilayered strategy of control programs that are designed to preserve the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information that BlackRock collects and stores by identifying, preventing and mitigating cybersecurity threats and incidents. As one of the critical elements of BlackRock’s overall ERM framework, BlackRock’s cybersecurity program is focused on the following key areas:

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Governance: As discussed in more detail under the heading “BlackRock’s Cybersecurity Governance” below, the oversight by BlackRock’s board of directors (“BlackRock’s Board”) of cybersecurity risk management is supported by BlackRock’s Risk Committee, which regularly interacts with BlackRock’s risk management function, BlackRock’s Chief Risk Officer (“CRO”) and Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”), along with other members of management. In addition, technology and cybersecurity risks are formally overseen by a dedicated management risk governance committee, the Technology Risk and Cybersecurity Committee (“TRCC”), which is a sub-committee of the firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee (“ERC”).

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Cross-Functional Approach: BlackRock has implemented a global, cross-functional approach to identifying, preventing, and mitigating cybersecurity threats and incidents, while also implementing layered preventative, detective, reactive and recovery controls to identify and manage cybersecurity risks.

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Safeguards: BlackRock deploys a range of people, process and technical controls that are designed to protect BlackRock’s information systems from cybersecurity threats, which may include, among others: physical security controls; perimeter controls, including technical assessments, firewalls, network segregation, intrusion detection and prevention; tabletop exercises, ongoing vulnerability and patch management; vendor due diligence; multi‑factor authentication; device encryption; application security, code testing and penetration testing; endpoint security, including anti‑malware protection, threat intel and response, managed detection and response, security configuration management, portable storage device lockdown, restricted administrative privileges; employee awareness, training, and phishing testing; data loss prevention program and monitoring; information security incident reporting and monitoring; and layered and comprehensive access controls.

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Incident Response and Recovery Planning: BlackRock has established and maintains incident response and recovery plans that address BlackRock’s response to a cybersecurity incident, including processes designed to assess, escalate, contain, investigate and remediate an incident, as well as to comply with applicable legal obligations and mitigate potential reputational damage. These plans are evaluated on a periodic basis.

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Third-Party Risk Management: BlackRock maintains a risk-based approach to identifying and overseeing cybersecurity risks presented by third parties, including vendors, service providers, counterparties and clients, as well as the systems of third parties that could significantly and adversely impact BlackRock’s business in the event of a cybersecurity incident affecting those third-party systems. Operational incidents can arise as a result of failures by third parties with which BlackRock does business, such as failures by internet, communication technology and cloud service providers or other vendors to adequately follow processes and procedures, safeguard their systems, or prevent system disruptions or cyber-attacks. Third-party risks are included within BlackRock’s ERM framework, and risk identification and mitigation are supported by BlackRock’s cybersecurity program. BlackRock also performs due diligence on certain third parties and monitors cybersecurity threats and risks identified through such diligence.

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Education and Awareness: BlackRock’s employees and contractors are required to complete an annual information security training to equip them with effective tools to address cybersecurity threats, and to receive communications on BlackRock’s evolving information security policies and procedures.

BlackRock’s global information security team, in collaboration with the technology risk and internal audit teams, engages in the periodic assessment and testing of BlackRock’s cyber risks and cybersecurity program. These efforts may include a wide range of activities, including audits, assessments, wargames and “tabletop” exercises, threat modeling, vulnerability testing and other exercises focused on evaluating the effectiveness of our cybersecurity measures and planning. BlackRock also participates in financial services industry and government forums to improve both internal and sector cybersecurity defense. BlackRock regularly engages third parties and advisors to assess its cybersecurity control environment. The results of certain program and control assessments are reported to BlackRock’s Risk Committee, and BlackRock adjusts its cybersecurity program as appropriate based on the information provided by these assessments.

As of December 31, 2025, BlackRock is not aware of any cybersecurity risks that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect BlackRock’s business strategy, results of operations or financial condition.

BlackRock’s Cybersecurity Governance

BlackRock’s Board of Directors is actively engaged in the oversight of BlackRock’s risk management program. BlackRock’s Risk Committee assists BlackRock’s Board with its oversight of BlackRock’s levels of risk, risk assessment, risk management and related policies and processes, including risks arising from cybersecurity threats. BlackRock’s Risk Committee receives regular reports on BlackRock’s cybersecurity program, technology resilience risk management and related developments from members of our information security team, including the CISO. BlackRock’s Board and BlackRock’s Risk Committee also receive information regarding cybersecurity incidents that meet certain reporting thresholds. On an annual basis, senior members of BlackRock’s technology, risk and information security teams provide a comprehensive overview of BlackRock’s cyber risk and related programs to a joint session of BlackRock’s Board’s Risk and Audit Committees.

Technology and cybersecurity risks at BlackRock are also overseen by the TRCC, a dedicated management risk governance committee and sub‑committee of the firmwide ERC. The chair of the TRCC is appointed by the head of Enterprise Risk Management at BlackRock and its members include the CISO as well as a broad range of senior business stakeholders across BlackRock. The TRCC is responsible for oversight of BlackRock’s technology and cybersecurity risk management practices and helps ensure that technology and cybersecurity risks remain within firmwide risk tolerances and technology and cybersecurity risk issues are escalated as appropriate to the ERC and other committees. The TRCC also reviews any relevant technology and cybersecurity risk related issues and helps ensure that they are appropriately escalated, reported, and remediated.

BlackRock’s cybersecurity risk management and strategy processes, which are discussed in greater detail above, are led by BlackRock’s CISO. As of December 31, 2025, the CISO had over 31 years of experience in information technology with a 25-year concentration in information security, including previously serving as the CISO at several global financial institutions. He also holds the Certified Information Systems Security Professional certification. The CISO works closely with the leadership team and other subject matter experts in the global cybersecurity group, who collectively have extensive prior work experience in various roles involving managing information security, developing cybersecurity strategy, implementing effective information and cybersecurity programs and overseeing cybersecurity controls in technology risk and audit functions, as well as having relevant degrees and industry-leading certifications.

The CISO and members of the TRCC monitor the prevention, mitigation, detection, and remediation of cybersecurity incidents through their management of, and participation in, the cybersecurity risk management processes described above, including the operation of BlackRock’s incident response plan.