Item 1. Financial Statements
See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Financial Statements which are an integral part of the financial statements.
See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Financial Statements which are an integral part of the financial statements.
See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Financial Statements which are an integral part of the financial statements.
See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Financial Statements which are an integral part of the financial statements.
See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Financial Statements which are an integral part of the financial statements.
See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Financial Statements which are an integral part of the financial statements.
See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Financial Statements which are an integral part of the financial statements.
Notes to Unaudited Financial Statements
September 30, 2022
Note 1 – Background
On September 28, 2017, Guggenheim Capital, LLC (“Guggenheim”) and Invesco Ltd. entered into a Transaction Agreement (the “Transaction Agreement”), pursuant to which Guggenheim agreed to transfer all of the membership interests of Guggenheim Specialized Products, LLC (the “Sponsor”) to Invesco Capital Management LLC (“Invesco Capital Management”).
The Transaction Agreement was consummated on April 6, 2018 (the “Closing”) and immediately following the Closing, Invesco Capital Management changed the name of the Sponsor to Invesco Specialized Products, LLC.
Note 2 – Organization
The Invesco CurrencyShares® British Pound Sterling Trust (the “Trust”) was formed under the laws of the State of New York on June 8, 2006 when the Sponsor deposited 100 British Pounds Sterling in the Trust’s primary deposit account held by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., London Branch (the “Depository”). The Sponsor is a Delaware limited liability company whose sole member is Invesco Capital Management. The Trust has an unlimited number of shares authorized for issuance.
The investment objective of the Trust is for the Trust’s shares (the “Shares”) to reflect the price in U.S. Dollars (“USD”) of the British Pound Sterling plus accrued interest, if any, less the Trust’s expenses and liabilities. The Shares are intended to provide investors with a simple, cost-effective means of gaining investment benefits similar to those of holding British Pounds Sterling. The Trust’s assets primarily consist of British Pounds Sterling on demand deposit in two deposit accounts maintained by the Depository: a primary deposit account which may earn interest and a secondary deposit account which does not earn interest. The secondary deposit account is used to account for any interest that may be received and paid out on creations and redemptions of blocks of 50,000 Shares (“Baskets”). The secondary account is also used to account for interest earned, if any, on the primary deposit account, pay Trust expenses and distribute any excess interest to holders of Shares (“Shareholders”) on a monthly basis.
This Quarterly Report (the “Report”) covers the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. The accompanying unaudited financial statements were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions for Form 10-Q and the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In the opinion of management, all material adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair statement of the interim period financial statements have been made. Interim period results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full-year period. These financial statements and the notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the Trust’s financial statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the SEC on February 25, 2022.
Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
The financial statements of the Trust have been prepared using U.S. GAAP.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates by a significant amount. In addition, the Trust monitors for material events or transactions that may occur or become known after the period-end date and before the date the financial statements are issued.
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C. |
Foreign Currency Translation |
For Net Asset Value (“NAV”) calculation purposes, British Pound Sterling deposits (cash) are translated at the Closing Spot Rate, which is the British Pound Sterling/USD exchange rate as determined and published by The WM Company at 4:00 PM (London time / London fixing) on each day that NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) is open for regular trading.
The Trust maintains its books and records in British Pounds Sterling. For financial statement reporting purposes, the U.S. Dollar is the reporting currency. As a result, the financial records of the Trust are translated from British Pounds Sterling to USD. The Closing Spot Rate on the last day of the period is used for translation in the statements of financial condition. The average Closing
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Spot Rate for the period is used for translation in the statements of comprehensive income and the statements of cash flows. The redeemable capital Shares are adjusted to redemption value and these adjustments are recorded against retained earnings.
Interest on the primary deposit account, if any, accrues daily as earned and is received or paid on a monthly basis. Any interest below zero for the period is reflected as interest expense on currency deposits. The Depository may change the rate at which interest accrues, including reducing the interest rate to zero or below zero, based upon changes in market conditions or based on the Depository’s liquidity needs.
To the extent that the interest earned by the Trust, if any, exceeds the sum of the Sponsor’s fee for the prior month plus other Trust expenses, if any, the Trust will distribute, as a dividend (herein referred to as dividends or distributions), the excess interest earned in British Pounds Sterling effective on the first business day of the subsequent month. The Trustee (as defined below) will direct that the excess British Pounds Sterling be converted into USD at the prevailing market rate and the Trustee will distribute the USD as promptly as practicable to Shareholders on a pro-rata basis (in accordance with the number of Shares that they own). The table below shows distributions per Share and in total for the periods presented:
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Three Months Ended
September 30, |
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Nine Months Ended
September 30, |
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2022 |
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2021 |
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2022 |
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2021 |
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Distributions per Share |
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$ |
0.03 |
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$ |
— |
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$ |
0.03 |
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$ |
— |
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Distributions paid |
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$ |
29,799 |
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$ |
— |
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$ |
29,799 |
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$ |
— |
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An income distribution for the month ended September 30, 2022 was paid on October 10, 2022 to holders of record as of October 4, 2022 at a rate of $0.06163 per Share and a total distribution of $92,445.
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F. |
Routine Operational, Administrative and Other Ordinary Expenses |
The Sponsor is responsible for all routine operational, administrative and other ordinary expenses of the Trust, including, but not limited to, the Trustee’s monthly fee, NYSE Arca listing fees, SEC registration fees, typical maintenance and transaction fees of the Depository, printing and mailing costs, audit fees and expenses, up to $100,000 per year in legal fees and expenses, and applicable license fees. The Trust does not reimburse the Sponsor for the routine operational, administrative and other ordinary expenses of the Trust. Accordingly, such expenses are not reflected in the Statements of Comprehensive Income of the Trust.
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G. |
Non-Recurring Fees and Expenses |
In certain cases, the Trust will pay for some expenses in addition to the Sponsor’s fee. These exceptions include expenses not assumed by the Sponsor (i.e., expenses other than those identified in the preceding paragraph), expenses resulting from negative interest rates, taxes and governmental charges, expenses and costs of any extraordinary services performed by the Trustee or the Sponsor on behalf of the Trust or action taken by the Trustee or the Sponsor to protect the Trust or the interests of Shareholders, indemnification of the Sponsor under the Depositary Trust Agreement, audit fees and legal expenses in excess of $100,000 per year. The only expense of the Trust during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was the Sponsor’s fee.
The Trust is treated as a “grantor trust” for federal income tax purposes and, therefore, no provision for federal income taxes is required. Interest, gains and losses are passed through to the Shareholders.
Shareholders generally will be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as if they directly owned a pro-rata share of the assets held in the Trust. Shareholders also will be treated as if they directly received their respective pro-rata portion of the Trust’s income, if any, and as if they directly incurred their respective pro-rata portion of the Trust’s expenses. The acquisition of Shares by a U.S. Shareholder as part of a creation of a Basket will not be a taxable event to the Shareholder.
The Sponsor’s fee accrues daily and is payable monthly. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, an accrual-basis U.S. Shareholder generally will be required to take into account as an expense its allocable portion of the USD-equivalent of the amount of the Sponsor’s fee that is accrued on each day, with such USD-equivalent being determined by the currency exchange rate that is in effect on the respective day. To the extent that the currency exchange rate on the date of payment of the accrued amount of the Sponsor’s fee differs from the currency exchange rate in effect on the day of accrual, the U.S. Shareholder will recognize a currency gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
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The Trust does not expect to generate taxable income except for interest income (if any) and gain (if any) upon the sale of British Pounds Sterling. A non-U.S. Shareholder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax with respect to gain recognized upon the sale or other disposition of Shares, or upon the sale of British Pounds Sterling by the Trust, unless: (1) the non-U.S. Shareholder is an individual and is present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year of the sale or other disposition, and the gain is treated as being from United States sources; or (2) the gain is effectively connected with the conduct by the non-U.S. Shareholder of a trade or business in the United States.
A non-U.S. Shareholder’s portion of any interest income earned by the Trust generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax unless the Shares owned by such non-U.S. Shareholder are effectively connected with the conduct by the non-U.S. Shareholder of a trade or business in the United States.
Note 4 – British Pound Sterling Deposits
British Pound Sterling principal deposits are held in a British Pound Sterling-denominated, interest-bearing demand account. The interest rate in effect as of September 30, 2022 was an annual nominal rate of 1.10%. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, there were British Pound Sterling principal deposits of 110,484,029, British Pound Sterling principal redemptions of 48,050,817 and British Pound Sterling withdrawals (to pay expenses) of 177,247, resulting in an ending British Pound Sterling principal balance of 144,093,809. This equates to 160,851,296 USD. For the year ended December 31, 2021, there were British Pound Sterling principal deposits of 28,955,659, British Pound Sterling principal redemptions of 53,021,252 and British Pound Sterling withdrawals (to pay expenses) of 428,352, resulting in an ending British Pound Sterling principal balance of 81,837,844. This equates to 110,844,825 USD.
Net interest, if any, associated with creation and redemption activity is held in a British Pound Sterling-denominated non-interest-bearing account, and any balance is distributed in full as part of the monthly income distributions, if any.
Note 5 – Concentration Risk
All of the Trust’s assets are British Pounds Sterling, which creates a concentration risk associated with fluctuations in the price of the British Pound Sterling. Accordingly, a decline in the British Pound Sterling to USD exchange rate will have an adverse effect on the value of the Shares. Factors that may have the effect of causing a decline in the price of the British Pound Sterling include national debt levels and trade deficits, domestic and foreign inflation rates, domestic and foreign interest rates, investment and trading activities of institutions and global or regional political, economic or financial events and situations. Substantial sales of British Pounds Sterling by the official sector (central banks, other governmental agencies and related institutions that buy, sell and hold British Pounds Sterling as part of their reserve assets) could adversely affect an investment in the Shares.
All of the Trust’s British Pounds Sterling are held by the Depository. Accordingly, a risk associated with the concentration of the Trust’s assets in accounts held by a single financial institution exists and increases the potential for loss by the Trust and the Trust’s beneficiaries in the event that the Depository becomes insolvent.
Note 6 – Service Providers and Related Party Agreements
The Trustee
The Bank of New York Mellon (the “Trustee”), a banking corporation with trust powers organized under the laws of the State of New York, serves as the Trustee. The Trustee is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Trust, including keeping the Trust’s operational records.
The Sponsor
The Sponsor of the Trust generally oversees the performance of the Trustee and the Trust’s principal service providers. The Sponsor is Invesco Specialized Products, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a related party of the Trust. The Trust pays the Sponsor a Sponsor’s fee, which accrues daily at an annual nominal rate of 0.40% of the British Pounds Sterling in the Trust (including all unpaid interest but excluding unpaid fees, each as accrued through the immediately preceding day) and is paid monthly.
Note 7 – Share Purchases and Redemptions
Shares are issued and redeemed continuously in Baskets in exchange for British Pounds Sterling. Individual investors cannot purchase or redeem Shares in direct transactions with the Trust. Only Authorized Participants (as defined below) may place orders to create and redeem Baskets. An Authorized Participant is a Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) participant that is a registered broker-dealer or other institution eligible to settle securities transactions through the book-entry facilities of the DTC and which has entered into a contractual arrangement with the Trust and the Sponsor governing, among other matters, the creation and redemption process. Authorized Participants may redeem their Shares at any time in Baskets.
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Due to expected continuing creations and redemptions of Baskets and the two-day period for settlement of each creation or redemption, the Trust reflects Shares created as a receivable on the trade date. Shares redeemed are reflected as a liability on the trade date. Outstanding Shares are reflected at redemption value, which is the NAV per Share at the period end date. Adjustments to redeemable capital Shares at redemption value are recorded directly to redeemable capital shares and retained earnings.
The Trustee calculates the Trust’s NAV each business day. To calculate the NAV, the Trustee subtracts the Sponsor’s accrued fee through the previous day from the British Pounds Sterling held by the Trust (including all unpaid interest, if any, accrued through the preceding day) and calculates the value of the British Pounds Sterling in USD based upon the Closing Spot Rate. If, on a particular evaluation day, the Closing Spot Rate has not been determined and announced by 6:00 PM (London time), then the most recent Closing Spot Rate will be used to determine the NAV of the Trust unless the Trustee, in consultation with the Sponsor, determines that such price is inappropriate to use as the basis for the valuation. If the Trustee and the Sponsor determine that the most recent Closing Spot Rate is not an appropriate basis for valuation of the Trust’s British Pounds Sterling, they will determine an alternative basis for the valuation. The Trustee also determines the NAV per Share, which equals the NAV of the Trust, divided by the number of outstanding Shares. Shares deliverable under a purchase order are considered outstanding for purposes of determining NAV per Share; Shares deliverable under a redemption order are not considered outstanding for this purpose.
Note 8 – Commitments and Contingencies
The Trust’s organizational documents provide for the Trust to indemnify the Sponsor and any affiliate of the Sponsor that provides services to the Trust to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, subject to certain exceptions for disqualifying conduct by the Sponsor or such an affiliate. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Trust that have not yet occurred. Further, the Trust has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these contracts. Accordingly, the Sponsor expects the risk of loss to be remote.
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