Note 3 — Transactions with Affiliates of the Trustee and Sponsor – (continued)
ALPS Distributors, Inc. (the
“Distributor”) serves as the distributor of the Units. The Sponsor pays the Distributor for its services a flat annual fee of $25,000, and the Trust does not reimburse the Sponsor for this fee.
Investments in Affiliates of the Trustee and the
Sponsor
The Trust has invested in companies that are considered
affiliates of the Trustee (State Street Corp.) and the Sponsor (ICE). Such investments were made according to the representative portion of the S&P 500® Index. The
market values of these investments at September 30, 2021 are listed in the Schedule of Investments.
Note 4
— Unitholder Transactions
Units are issued and redeemed by the Trust only in
Creation Unit size aggregations of 50,000 Units. Such transactions are only permitted on an in-kind basis, with a separate cash payment that is equivalent to the undistributed net investment income per Unit (income equalization) and a balancing cash
component to equate the transaction to the NAV per Unit of the Trust on the transaction date. There is a transaction fee payable to the Trustee in connection with each creation and redemption of Creation Units made through the clearing process (the
“Transaction Fee”). The Transaction Fee is non-refundable, regardless of the NAV of the Trust. The Transaction Fee is the lesser of $3,000 or 0.10% (10 basis points) of the value of one Creation Unit at the time of creation per
participating party per day, regardless of the number of Creation Units created or redeemed on such day. The Transaction Fee is currently $3,000. For creations and redemptions outside the clearing process, including orders from a participating party
restricted from engaging in transactions in one or more of the common stocks that are included in the S&P 500® Index, an additional amount not to exceed three (3) times
the Transaction Fee applicable for one Creation Unit is charged per Creation Unit per day.
Note 5
— Investment Transactions
For the year ended September 30, 2021, the Trust had
in-kind contributions, in-kind redemptions, purchases and sales of investment securities of $327,531,902,003, $317,538,556,954, $12,387,467,621, and $12,351,400,877, respectively. Net realized gain (loss) on investment transactions in the 2021
Statement of Operations includes net gains resulting from in-kind transactions of $73,003,566,634.
Note 6
— Equity Investing and Market Risk
An investment in the Trust involves risks similar to
those of investing in any fund of equity securities, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates, perceived trends in securities prices, war, acts of terrorism, the spread of
infectious disease or other public health issues. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious disease or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the
Trust and its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Trust’s net asset value.