How are shares of the CurrencyShares offered?
Each CurrencyShares Trust issues shares that represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in, and ownership of, the Trust. Shares may be purchased from each Trust only in one or more blocks of 50,000 Shares, called “Baskets”. The Trusts issue shares in Baskets on a continuous basis to authorized participants (Depository Trust Company participants that are registered broker-dealers or other securities market participants, such as a bank or other financial institution, that are not required to register as a broker-dealer to engage in securities transactions, and that has entered into a Participant Agreement with the Trustee). It is expected that shares of each Trust will be offered and sold to the public by authorized participants at varying prices in U.S. Dollars to be determined by reference to, among other things, the market price of the currency held by the particular Trust and the trading price of the shares on the NYSE Arca at the time of each sale. Authorized Participants will not receive from the Trust, the Sponsor or any of their affiliates, any fee or other compensation in connection with the sale of shares, although they may receive commissions or fees from investors who purchase shares through their commission- or fee-based brokerage accounts.
How are shares of each CurrencyShares product traded?
Shares of each CurrencyShares product will trade like any stock or traditional exchange traded fund on the NYSE Arca. They are available in margin accounts and can be sold short (even on a downtick). The shares will also have other brokerage features such as the ability to place market, limit or stop-loss orders. The shares will have a bid/ask spread and will be subject to a per-share commission charge or wrap fee charge (depending on the account).
Are the products benchmarked to an index?
No. Each Trust only holds the foreign currency indicated by the Trust's name in a bank account with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., London Branch. The Trust does track the price of the underlying currency based on the World Markets Company PLC ("WM") Closing Spot Rate. The Trustee will calculate, and the Sponsor will publish, each Trust’s net asset value (“NAV”) each business day. The NAV of each Trust is the aggregate value, expressed in U.S. Dollars, of the Trust’s assets. The NAV will be expressed in U.S. Dollars based on the World Markets Company PLC ("WM") Closing Spot Rate. The World Markets Company PLC ("WM") Closing Spot Rate is the exchange rate of the U.S. Dollar and the applicable foreign currency as determined by World Markets Company PLC ("WM") as of 4:00 pm London time.
Where can I get foreign currency pricing or additional information on the value of CurrencyShares?
Guggenheim Investments provides the spot price of each foreign currency held by the CurrencyShares Trusts in real-time on this web site. The indicative value will also be provided on a real-time and delayed basis along with other product information, including a delayed last trade and the number of currency units per share.
CurrencyShares Structure
Are the CurrencyShares products registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940?
No, and therefore they are not managed like mutual funds. Rather, the CurrencyShares Trusts are exchange traded products that are registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and accordingly are subject to SEC prospectus delivery and periodic reporting requirements.
Is there a portfolio manager?
No. Each CurrencyShares Trust holds only the foreign currency indicated in the Trust name. None of the CurrencyShares Trusts are actively managed. The Trustee (Bank of New York Mellon) is responsible for the day-to-day administration of each Trust; the depository (JPMorgan Chase, London) will accept deposits of the appropriate foreign currency for each CurrencyShares Trust and facilitate the transfer of the foreign currency into and out of the Trust.
What is the investment objective of the CurrencyShares Trusts?
The investment objective of each CurrencyShares Trust is for the Shares of that Trust to reflect the price of the currency held by the Trust. Earning income for shareholders is not the objective of any Trust. Whether investors earn income will primarily depend on the relative value of the currency held by the Trust and the U.S. Dollar. If the currency held by a Trust appreciates relative to the U.S. Dollar and a shareholder sells shares, the shareholder will earn income. If the currency held by a Trust depreciates relative to the U.S. Dollar and a shareholder sells shares, the shareholder will incur a loss.
Other Key Information
What expenses will shareholders of the CurrencyShares Trusts incur?
The Trust’s only ordinary recurring expense is expected to be the Sponsor’s fee. The Sponsor’s fee accrues daily at an annual nominal rate of 0.40% of the currency in the Trust and is paid monthly. To pay the Sponsor’s fee, the Trustee will first use interest earned by the Trust. If that is not sufficient to pay the Sponsor’s fee, then the Trustee will withdraw currency deposited in the Trust as needed. The Sponsor is obligated to pay various administrative and marketing expenses of the Trust out of the fee that it earns. The Trusts may incur extraordinary expenses in addition to the Sponsor’s fee; if these additional expenses are incurred, the Trust will be required to pay these expenses by withdrawing deposited currency and the amount of currency represented by a Share would decline. Accordingly, the Shareholders will effectively bear the cost of these other expenses, if incurred.
What are the tax implications for investors?
Shareholders of each CurrencyShares Trust will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as if they owned a pro rata share of the assets held by the particular Trust. Because of this, the income and expense's of each Trust “flow through” to the Trust's shareholders. Shareholders will be required to recognize gains or losses when the Trust converts the foreign currency it holds to U.S. Dollars to pay the Sponsor's fee or to make distributions to the Trust's shareholders. Shareholders should refer to the applicable CurrencyShares Trust prospectus for important tax information.
Where can I obtain a prospectus?
A copy of the final prospectus related to the securities of each CurrencyShares Trust may be obtained for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC web site at www.sec.gov or the CurrencyShares web site by clicking here, or by contacting Guggenheim Investments 805 King Farm Boulevard, Suite 600, Rockville, MD 20850 (800.820.0888). |