Item 1A. Risk Factors

Shareholders should consider carefully the risks described below before making an investment decision. Shareholders should also refer to the other information included in this report, including the Trust’s financial statements and the related notes.

The value of the Shares relates directly to the value of the platinum held by the Trust and fluctuations in the price of platinum could materially adversely affect an investment in the Shares.

The Shares are designed to mirror as closely as possible the performance of the price of platinum bullion, and the value of the Shares relates directly to the value of the platinum held by the Trust, less the Trust’s liabilities (including estimated accrued but unpaid expenses). The price of platinum has fluctuated widely over the past several years. Several factors may affect the price of platinum, including:

In addition, investors should be aware that there is no assurance that platinum will maintain its long-term value in terms of purchasing power in the future. In the event that the price of platinum declines, the Sponsor expects the value of an investment in the Shares to decline proportionately.

The amount of platinum represented by each Share will decrease over the life of the Trust due to the sales of platinum necessary to pay the Sponsor’s Fee and Trust expenses. Without increases in the price of platinum sufficient to compensate for that decrease, the price of the Shares will also decline and you will lose money on your investment in Shares.

Although the Sponsor has agreed to assume all organizational and certain ordinary expenses incurred by the Trust, not all Trust expenses have been assumed by the Sponsor. For example, any taxes and other governmental charges that may be imposed on the Trust’s property will not be paid by the Sponsor. As part of its agreement to assume some of the Trust’s ordinary administrative expenses, the Sponsor has agreed to pay legal fees and expenses of the Trust not in excess of $100,000 per annum. Any legal fees and expenses in excess of that amount will be the responsibility of the Trust.

Because the Trust does not have any income, it needs to sell platinum to cover expenses not assumed by the Sponsor. The Trust may also be subject to other liabilities (for example, as a result of litigation) which have also not been assumed by the Sponsor. The only source of funds to cover those liabilities will be sales of platinum held by the Trust. Even if there are no expenses other than those assumed by the Sponsor, and there are no other liabilities of the Trust, the Trustee will still need to sell platinum to pay the Sponsor’s Fee. The result of these sales is a decrease in the amount of platinum represented by each Share. New deposits of platinum, received in exchange for new Shares issued by the Trust, do not reverse this trend.

A decrease in the amount of platinum represented by each Share results in a decrease in its price even if the price of platinum has not changed. To retain the Share’s original price, the price of platinum has to increase. Without that increase, the lesser amount of platinum represented by the Share will have a correspondingly lower price. If these increases do not occur or are not sufficient to counter the lesser amount of platinum represented by each Share, you will sustain losses on your investment in Shares.

An increase in the Trust expenses not assumed by the Sponsor, or the existence of unexpected liabilities affecting the Trust, will force the Trustee to sell larger amounts of platinum, and will result in a more rapid decrease of the amount of platinum represented by each Share and a corresponding decrease in its value. The sale of the Trust’s platinum to pay expenses not assumed by the Sponsor or unexpected liabilities affecting the Trust, at a time of low platinum prices could adversely affect the value of the Shares.

Crises may motivate large-scale sales of platinum which could decrease the price of platinum and adversely affect an investment in the Shares.

The possibility of large-scale distress sales of platinum in times of crisis may have a short-term negative impact on the price of platinum and adversely affect an investment in the Shares. For example, the 2008 financial credit crisis resulted in significantly depressed prices of platinum largely due to forced sales and deleveraging from institutional investors such as hedge funds and pension funds. Crises in the future may impair platinum’s price performance which would, in turn, adversely affect an investment in the Shares.

Several factors may have the effect of causing a decline in the prices of platinum and a corresponding decline in the price of Shares. Among them:

The Trust is a passive investment vehicle. This means that the value of your Shares may be adversely affected by Trust losses that, if the Trust had been actively managed, it might have been possible to avoid.

The Trustee does not actively manage the platinum held by the Trust. This means that the Trustee does not sell platinum at times when its price is high, or acquire platinum at low prices in the expectation of future price increases. It also means that the Trustee does not make use of any of the hedging techniques available to professional platinum investors to attempt to reduce the risks of losses resulting from price decreases. Any losses sustained by the Trust will adversely affect the value of your Shares.

The price received upon the sale of Shares may be less than the value of the platinum represented by them.

The result obtained by subtracting the Trust’s expenses and liabilities on any day from the price of the platinum owned by the Trust on that day is the net asset value of the Trust which, when divided by the number of Shares outstanding on that day, results in the NAV per Share.

Shares may trade at, above or below their NAV. The NAV will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Trust’s assets. The trading prices of Shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in their NAVs as well as market supply and demand. The amount of the discount or premium in the trading price relative to the NAV may be influenced by non-concurrent trading hours between the major platinum markets and the Exchange. While the Shares will trade on the Exchange until 4:00 p.m. (New York time), liquidity in the market for platinum will be reduced after the close of the major world platinum markets, including London, Zurich and NYMEX. As a result, during this time, trading spreads, and the resulting premium or discount on Shares, may widen.

The Trust may be forced to sell platinum earlier than anticipated if expenses are higher than expected.

The Trust may be forced to sell physical platinum earlier than anticipated if the Trust’s expenses are higher than estimated. Such accelerated sales may result in a reduction of the NAV and the value of the Shares.

Because the Trust is not a diversified investment, it may be more volatile than other investments.

An investment in the Trust is not intended as a complete investment plan. Because the Trust principally only holds physical platinum, an investment in the Trust may be more volatile than an investment in a more broadly diversified portfolio. Accordingly, the NAV may be more volatile than another investment vehicle with a more broadly diversified portfolio and may fluctuate substantially over time. An investment in the Trust may be deemed speculative and is not intended as a complete investment program; therefore investors should review closely the objective and strategy, the investment and operating restrictions and the redemption provisions of the Trust as outlined herein and familiarize themselves with the risks associated with an investment in the Trust.

The liquidation of the Trust may occur at a time when the disposition of the Trust’s platinum will result in losses to investors in Shares.

The Trust may have a limited duration. If certain events occur, at any time, the Trustee will have to terminate the Trust. See “Description of the Shares and the Trust Agreement—Amendment and Termination” for more information about the termination of the Trust, including when events outside the control of the Sponsor, the Trustee or the Shareholders may prompt the Trust’s termination.

Upon termination of the Trust, the Trustee will sell platinum in the amount necessary to cover all expenses of liquidation, and to pay any outstanding liabilities of the Trust. The remaining platinum will be distributed among Authorized Participants surrendering Shares. Any platinum remaining in the possession of the Trustee after 60 days may be sold by the Trustee and the proceeds of the sale will be held by the Trustee until claimed by any remaining holders of Shares. Sales of platinum in connection with the liquidation of the Trust at a time of low prices will likely result in losses, or adversely affect your gains, on your investment in Shares.

There may be situations where an Authorized Participant is unable to redeem a Basket of Shares. To the extent the value of platinum decreases, these delays may result in a decrease in the value of the platinum the Authorized Participant will receive when the redemption occurs, as well as a reduction in liquidity for all Shareholders in the secondary market.

Although Shares surrendered by Authorized Participants in Basket-size aggregations are redeemable in exchange for the underlying amount of platinum, redemptions may be suspended during any period while regular trading on the Exchange is suspended or restricted, or in which an emergency exists that makes it reasonably impracticable to deliver, dispose of, or evaluate platinum. If any of these events occurs at a time when an Authorized Participant intends to redeem Shares, and the price of platinum decreases before such Authorized Participant is able again to surrender Shares for redemption, such Authorized Participant will sustain a loss with respect to the amount that it would have been able to obtain in exchange for the platinum received from the Trust upon the redemption of its Shares, had the redemption taken place when such Authorized Participant originally intended it to occur. As a consequence, Authorized Participants may reduce their trading in Shares during periods of suspension, decreasing the number of potential buyers of Shares in the secondary market and, therefore, decreasing the price a Shareholder may receive upon sale.

The liquidity of the Shares may also be affected by the withdrawal from participation of Authorized Participants.

In the event that one or more Authorized Participants that have substantial interests in Shares withdraw from participation, the liquidity of the Shares will likely decrease which could adversely affect the market price of the Shares and result in your incurring a loss on your investment.

The Trust is an “emerging growth company” and it cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make the Shares less attractive to investors.

The Trust is an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. For as long as the Trust continues to be an emerging growth company it may choose to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies but not to emerging public companies, which include, among other things:

The Trust could be an emerging growth company until the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary after its initial public offering, or until the earliest of (1) the last day of the fiscal year in which it has annual gross revenue of $1 billion or more, (2) the date on which it has, during the previous three year period, issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt or (3) the date on which it is deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the federal securities laws. The Trust will qualify as a large accelerated filer as of the first day of the first fiscal year after it has (A) more than $700 million in outstanding equity held by nonaffiliates and (B) been public for at least 12 months. The value of the Trust’s outstanding equity will be measured each year on the last day of its second fiscal quarter.

Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies are also permitted to elect to delay adoption of new or revised accounting standards until companies that are not subject to periodic reporting obligations are required to comply, if such accounting standards apply to non-reporting companies. However, the Trust has chosen to opt out of this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that the decision to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable.

The Trust cannot predict if investors will find an investment in the Trust less attractive if it relies on these exemptions.

Authorized Participants with large holdings may choose to terminate the Trust.

Holders of 75% of the Shares have the power to terminate 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 platinum 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.

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 Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, you should not assume 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, such lack of an active market will most likely adversely affect the price you receive for your Shares (assuming you are able to sell them).

If the process of creation and redemption of Baskets encounters any unanticipated difficulties, the possibility for arbitrage transactions intended to keep the price of the Shares closely linked to the price of platinum may not exist and, as a result, the price of the Shares may fall or otherwise diverge from NAV.

If the processes of creation and redemption of Shares (which depend on timely transfers of platinum to and by the Custodian) encounter any unanticipated difficulties, potential market participants, such as the Authorized Participants and their customers, 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 platinum may not take the risk that, as a result of those difficulties, they may not be able to realize the profit they expect. If this is the case, the liquidity of the Shares may decline and the price of the Shares may fluctuate independently of the price of platinum and may fall or otherwise diverge from NAV.

As an owner of Shares, you will not have the rights normally associated with ownership of other types of shares.

Shares are not entitled to the same rights as 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 issuer of your Shares or to take other actions normally associated with the ownership of shares of a corporation. You will only have the limited rights described under “Description of the Shares and the Trust Agreement.”

As an owner of Shares, you will not have the protections normally associated with ownership of shares in an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the protections afforded by the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936.

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, the owners of Shares do not have the regulatory protections provided to investors in registered investment companies. For example, the provisions of the Investment Company Act that limit transactions with affiliates, prohibit the suspension of redemptions (except under certain limited circumstances) or limit sales loads, among others, do not apply to the Trust.

The Trust does not hold or trade in commodity futures contracts, “commodity interests”, or any other instruments regulated by the CEA, as administered by the CFTC and the National Futures Association (the “NFA”). Furthermore, the Trust is not a commodity pool for purposes of the CEA and the Shares are not “commodity interests”. Consequently, the Trustee and Sponsor are not subject to registration as commodity pool operators or commodity trading advisors with respect to the Trust or the Shares. The owners of Shares do not receive the CEA disclosure document and certified annual report required to be delivered by a registered commodity pool operator or a commodity trading advisor with respect to the Trust, and the owners of Shares do not have the regulatory protections provided to investors in commodity pools operated by registered commodity pool operators or advised by commodity trading advisors.

The value of the Shares will be adversely affected if platinum owned by the Trust is lost or damaged in circumstances in which the Trust is not in a position to recover the corresponding loss.

The Custodian is responsible to the Trust for loss or damage to the Trust’s platinum only under limited circumstances. The agreements with the Custodian contemplate that the Custodian will be responsible to the Trust only if it acts with negligence, fraud or in willful default of its obligations under those agreements. The Custodian’s liability will not exceed the market value of the platinum credited to the Trust Unallocated Account and the Trust Allocated Account at the time such negligence, fraud or willful default is either discovered by or notified to the Custodian (such market value calculated using the nearest available LBMA Platinum Price PM following the occurrence of such negligence, fraud or willful default), provided that, in the case of such discovery by or notification to the Custodian, the Custodian notifies the Sponsor and the Trustee promptly after any discovery of such negligence, fraud or willful default. Furthermore, the Custodian is not liable for any delay in performance, or for the non-performance, of any of its obligations under the Custody Agreements by reason of any cause beyond the Custodian’s reasonable control, including any act of God or war or terrorism, any breakdown, malfunction or failure of, or connected with, any communication, computer, transmission, clearing or settlement facilities, industrial action, or acts, rules and regulations of any governmental or supra national bodies or authorities or any relevant regulatory or self-regulatory organization.

In addition, because the Custody Agreements are governed by English law, the holders of the Shares may have no rights against the Custodian and any rights they may have against the Custodian will be different from, and may be more limited than, those that could have been available to them under the laws of a different jurisdiction. The choice of English law to govern the Custody Agreements, however, is not expected to affect any rights that the holders of the Shares may have against the Trust or the Trustee.

Moreover, the Trust may not be in a position to recover insurance proceeds in the event of any loss with respect to its platinum. The Trust does not insure its platinum. The Custodian maintains insurance with regard to its business on such terms and conditions as it considers appropriate, which does not cover the full amount of platinum held in custody. The Trust is not a beneficiary of any such insurance and does not have the ability to dictate the existence, nature or amount of coverage. Therefore, Shareholders cannot be assured that the Custodian will maintain adequate insurance or any insurance with respect to the platinum held by the Custodian on behalf of the Trust. The Custodian and the Trustee do not require any direct or indirect subcustodians to be insured or bonded with respect to their custodial activities or in respect of the platinum held by them on behalf of the Trust. Consequently, a loss may be suffered with respect to the Trust’s platinum which is not covered by insurance and for which no person is liable in damages.

Any loss of platinum owned by the Trust will result in a corresponding loss in the net asset value of the Trust and it is reasonable to expect that such loss will also result in a decrease in the value at which the Shares are traded on the Exchange.

Although the relationship between the Custodian and the Trustee concerning the Trust’s allocated platinum is expressly governed by English law, a court hearing any legal dispute concerning that arrangement may disregard that choice of law and apply U.S. law, in which case the ability of the Trust to seek legal redress against the Custodian may be frustrated.

The obligations of the Custodian under the Custody Agreements are governed by English law. The Trust is a New York common law trust. Any United States, New York or other court situated in the United States may have difficulty interpreting English law (which, insofar as it relates to custody arrangements, is largely derived from court rulings rather than statute), The London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM) rules or the customs and practices in the London custody market. It may be difficult or impossible for the Trust to sue the Custodian in a United States, New York or other court situated in the United States. In addition, it may be difficult, time consuming and/or expensive for the Trust to enforce in a foreign court a judgment rendered by a United States, New York or other court situated in the United States.

Shareholders and Authorized Participants lack the right under the Custody Agreements to assert claims directly against the Custodian, which significantly limits their options for recourse.

Neither the Shareholders nor any Authorized Participant will have a right under the Custody Agreements to assert a claim of the Trustee against the Custodian. Claims under the Custody Agreements may only be asserted by the Trustee on behalf of the Trust.

Platinum held in the Trust Unallocated Account and any Authorized Participant’s unallocated platinum account will not be segregated from the Custodian’s assets. If the Custodian becomes insolvent, its assets may not be adequate to satisfy a claim by the Trust or any Authorized Participant. In addition, in the event of the Custodian’s insolvency, there may be a delay and costs incurred in identifying the platinum bars held in the Trust Allocated Account.

Platinum which is part of a deposit for a purchase order or part of a redemption distribution will be held for a time in the Trust Unallocated Account and, previously or subsequently in, the unallocated platinum account of the purchasing or redeeming Authorized Participant. During those times, the Trust and the Authorized Participant, as the case may be, will have no proprietary rights to any specific bars of platinum held by the Custodian and will each be an unsecured creditor of the Custodian with respect to the amount of platinum held in such unallocated accounts. In addition, if the Custodian fails to allocate the Trust’s platinum in a timely manner, in the proper amounts or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the Trust Unallocated Account Agreement, or if a subcustodian fails to so segregate platinum held by it on behalf of the Trust, unallocated platinum will not be segregated from the Custodian’s assets, and the Trust will be an unsecured creditor of the Custodian with respect to the amount so held in the event of the insolvency of the Custodian. In the event the Custodian becomes insolvent, the Custodian’s assets might not be adequate to satisfy a claim by the Trust or the Authorized Participant for the amount of platinum held in their respective unallocated platinum accounts.

In the event of the insolvency of the Custodian, a liquidator may seek to freeze access to the platinum held in all of the accounts held by the Custodian, including the Trust Allocated Account. Although the Trust would retain legal title to the allocated platinum bars, the Trust could incur expenses in connection with obtaining control of the allocated platinum bars, and the assertion of a claim by such liquidator for unpaid fees could delay creations and redemptions of Baskets.

From time to time subcustodians may be employed by the Custodian to provide temporary custody and safekeeping of the Trust’s platinum. The obligations of any subcustodian of the Trust’s platinum are not determined by contractual arrangements but by LPPM rules and London bullion market customs and practices, which may prevent the Trust’s recovery of damages for losses on its platinum custodied with subcustodians.

Allocated platinum may be held by one or more subcustodians appointed by the Custodian, or employed by the subcustodians appointed by the Custodian, until it is transported to the Custodian’s London vault premises. Under the Trust Allocated Account Agreement, subject to certain exclusions including the Custodian’s obligation to use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain delivery of the Trust’s platinum bars from any subcustodians appointed by the Custodian, the Custodian is not liable for the acts or omissions of its subcustodians unless the selection of such subcustodians was made negligently or in bad faith. There are expected to be no written contractual arrangements between subcustodians that hold the Trust’s platinum bars and the Trustee or the Custodian, because traditionally such arrangements are based on the LPPM’s rules and on the customs and practices of the London bullion market. In the event of a legal dispute with respect to or arising from such arrangements, it may be difficult to define such customs and practices. The LPPM’s rules may be subject to change outside the control of the Trust. Under English law, neither the Trustee nor the Custodian would have a supportable breach of contract claim against a subcustodian for losses relating to the safekeeping of platinum. If the Trust’s platinum bars are lost or damaged while in the custody of a subcustodian, the Trust may not be able to recover damages from the Custodian or the subcustodian.

Because neither the Trustee nor the Custodian oversees or monitors the activities of subcustodians who may temporarily hold the Trust’s platinum bars until transported to the Custodian’s London vault, failure by the subcustodians to exercise due care in the safekeeping of the Trust’s platinum bars could result in a loss to the Trust.

Under the Trust Allocated Account Agreement, the Custodian agreed that it will hold all of the Trust’s platinum bars in its own vault premises except when the platinum bars have been allocated in a vault other than the Custodian’s vault premises, and in such cases the Custodian agreed that it will use commercially reasonable efforts promptly to transport the platinum bars to the Custodian’s vault, at the Custodian’s cost and risk. Nevertheless, there may be periods of time when some portion of the Trust’s platinum bars will be held by one or more subcustodians appointed by the Custodian or by a subcustodian of such subcustodian.

The Custodian is required under the Trust Allocated Account Agreement to use reasonable care in appointing its subcustodians but otherwise has no other responsibility in relation to the subcustodians appointed by it. These subcustodians may in turn appoint further subcustodians, but the Custodian is not responsible for the appointment of these further subcustodians. The Custodian does not undertake to monitor the performance by subcustodians of their custody functions or their selection of further subcustodians. The Trustee does not undertake to monitor the performance of any subcustodian. Furthermore, the Trustee may have no right to visit the premises of any subcustodian for the purposes of examining the Trust’s platinum bars or any records maintained by the subcustodian, and no subcustodian will be obligated to cooperate in any review the Trustee may wish to conduct of the facilities, procedures, records or creditworthiness of such subcustodian.

In addition, under the Custody Agreements, the Trustee and the Sponsor have only limited rights to visit the premises of the Custodian for the purpose of examining the Trust’s platinum bars and certain related records maintained by the Custodian.

The value of the Shares will be adversely affected if any services provided to the Trust by the Sponsor, the Custodian or the Trustee are suddenly or unexpectedly terminated.

Upon the sudden or unexpected termination, resignation or removal of any service provider to the Trust, it is possible that a comparable replacement service provider will be available or able to be appointed without material delay. Any such unavailability or delay could cause the Trustee to expend assets of the Trust and consequently, the NAV of the Shares, in finding a replacement service provider.

The value of the Shares will be adversely affected if the Trust is required to indemnify the Sponsor, the Trustee, or the Custodian as contemplated in the Trust Agreement and the Custody Agreements.

Under the Trust Agreement, the Sponsor and the Trustee each have the right to be indemnified from the Trust for any liability or expense it incurs without gross negligence, bad faith, willful misconduct or willful malfeasance on its part. Similarly, the Custody Agreements provide for indemnification of the Custodian by the Trust under certain circumstances. This means that it may be necessary to sell assets of the Trust in order to cover losses or liability suffered by the Sponsor, the Trustee or the Custodian. Any sale of that kind would reduce the net asset value of the Trust and the value of the Shares.

The service providers engaged by the Trust may not carry adequate insurance to cover claims against them by the Trust, which could adversely affect the value of net assets of the Trust.

The Trustee, the Custodian and other service providers engaged by the Trust maintain such insurance as they deem adequate with respect to their respective businesses. Investors cannot be assured that any of the aforementioned parties will maintain any insurance with respect to the Trust’s assets held or the services that such parties provide to the Trust and, if they maintain insurance, that such insurance is sufficient to satisfy any losses incurred by them in respect of their relationship with the Trust. Accordingly, the Trust will have to rely on the efforts of the service provider to recover from their insurer compensation for any losses incurred by the Trust in connection with such arrangements.

The Sponsor and its affiliates manage other funds, including those that invest in physical platinum bullion or other precious metals, and conflicts of interest may occur, which may reduce the value of the net assets of the Trust, the NAV and the trading price of the Shares.

The Sponsor or its affiliates and associates currently engage in, and may in the future engage, in the promotion, management or investment management of other accounts, funds or trusts that invest primarily in physical platinum bullion or other precious metals. Although officers and professional staff of the Sponsor’s management intend to devote as much time to the Trust as is deemed appropriate to perform their duties, the Sponsor’s management may allocate their time and services among the Trust and the other accounts, funds or trusts. The Sponsor will provide any such services to the Trust on terms not less favorable to the Trust than would be available from a non-affiliated party.

The Sponsor and the Trustee may agree to amend the Trust Agreement without the consent of the Shareholders.

The Sponsor and the Trustee may agree to amend the Trust Agreement, including to increase the Sponsor’s Fee, without Shareholder consent. If an amendment imposes new fees and charges or increases existing fees or charges, including the Sponsor’s Fee (except for taxes and other governmental charges, registration fees or other such expenses, or prejudices a substantial right of Shareholders), it will become effective for outstanding Shares 30 days after notice of such amendment is given to registered owners. Shareholders that are not registered owners (which most shareholders will not be) may not receive specific notice of a fee increase other than through an amendment to the prospectus. Moreover, at the time an amendment becomes effective, by continuing to hold Shares, Shareholders are deemed to agree to the amendment and to be bound by the Trust Agreement as amended without specific agreement to such increase (other than through the “negative consent” procedure described above).

Shareholders could incur a tax liability without an associated distribution of the Trust.

In the normal course of business it is possible that the Trust could incur a taxable gain in connection with the sale of platinum that is otherwise not associated with a distribution. In the event that this occurs, Shareholders may be subject to tax due to the grantor trust status of the Trust even though there is not a corresponding distribution from the Trust.

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.

An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 and has now been spread globally. This outbreak has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings at ports of entry and elsewhere, disruption of and delays in healthcare service preparation and delivery, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, and lower consumer demand, layoffs, defaults and other significant economic impacts, as well as general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this outbreak has adversely affected the economies of many nations and the entire global economy and may impact individual issuers and capital markets in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen. Other infectious illness outbreaks that may arise in the future could have similar impacts. Public health crises caused by the outbreak may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries or globally.

The COVID-19 outbreak will have serious negative effects on social, economic and financial systems, including significant uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets. For instance, the suspension of operations of mines, refineries and vaults that extract, produce or store platinum, restrictions on travel that delay or prevent the transportation of platinum, and an increase in demand for platinum may disrupt supply chains for platinum, which could cause secondary market spreads to widen and compromise our ability to make settlements on time. Any inability of the Trust to issue or redeem Shares or the Custodian or any sub-custodian to receive or deliver platinum as a result of the outbreak will negatively affect the Trust’s operations.

The duration of the outbreak and its effects cannot be determined with certainty. A prolonged outbreak could result in an increase of the costs of the Trust, affect liquidity in the market for platinum 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 your Shares. 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 Custodian, 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 in the past responded to major economic disruptions with a variety of fiscal and monetary policy changes, including, but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and lower interest rates. An unexpected or quick reversal of these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, is likely to increase volatility in the market for platinum, which could adversely affect the price of the Shares.

Further, the outbreak could interfere with or prevent the determination of the applicable benchmark price, which the Trustee uses to value the platinum held by the Trust and calculate the net asset value of the Trust. The outbreak could also cause the closure of futures exchanges, which could eliminate the ability of Authorized Participants to hedge purchases of Baskets, increasing trading costs of Shares and resulting in a sustained premium or discount in the Shares. Each of these outcomes would negatively impact the Trust.

In late February 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, significantly amplifying already existing geopolitical tensions among Russia and other countries in the region and in the west. The responses of countries and political bodies to Russia’s actions, the larger overarching tensions, and Ukraine’s military response and the potential for wider conflict may increase financial market volatility generally, have severe adverse effects on regional and global economic markets, and cause volatility in the price of platinum and the share price of the Trust. The conflict in Ukraine, along with global political fallout and implications including sanctions, shipping disruptions, collateral war damage, and a potential expansion of the conflict beyond Ukraine’s borders, could disturb the platinum market. Russia is one of the world’s largest platinum producer, mining around 19 tonnes of platinum, or around 10% of the total mined worldwide. War and other geopolitical events in eastern Europe, including but not limited to Russia and Ukraine, may cause volatility in commodity prices including precious metals prices. These events are unpredictable and may lead to extended periods of price volatility.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.