Note 3
— Transactions with Affiliates of the Trustee and Sponsor
State Street Bank and Trust Company
(“SSBT”), the parent of the Trustee, maintains the Trust’s accounting records, acts as custodian and transfer agent to the Trust, and provides administrative services, including the filing of certain regulatory reports. The Trustee
pays SSBT for such services. The Trustee oversees the services provided by SSBT and is responsible for determining the composition of the portfolio of securities which must be delivered and/or received in exchange for the issuance and/or redemption
of Creation Units of the Trust, and for adjusting the composition of the Trust’s portfolio from time to time to conform to changes in the composition and/or weighting structure of the DJIA. For these services, the Trustee received a fee at the
following annual rates for the year ended October 31, 2024:
| Net
asset value of the Trust |
|
Fee
as a percentage of net asset value of the Trust |
$0
– $499,999,999
$500,000,000 – $2,499,999,999
$2,500,000,000 and above |
|
0.10%
per annum plus or minus the Adjustment Amount
0.08% per annum plus or minus the Adjustment Amount
0.06% per annum plus or minus the Adjustment Amount |
The adjustment amount (the “Adjustment
Amount”) is the sum of (a) the excess or deficiency of transaction fees received by the Trustee, less the expenses incurred in processing orders for the creation and redemption of Units and (b) the amounts earned by the Trustee with respect to
the cash held by the Trustee for the benefit of the Trust.
During the year ended October 31, 2024, the Adjustment
Amount reduced the Trustee’s fee by $3,398,281. The Adjustment Amount included an excess of net transaction fees from processing orders of $850,473 and a Trustee earnings credit of $2,547,808.
In accordance with the Trust Agreement and under the
terms of an exemptive order issued by the SEC, dated December 30, 1997, the Sponsor is reimbursed by the Trust for certain expenses up to a maximum of 0.20% of the Trust’s NAV on an annualized basis. The expenses reimbursed to the Sponsor for
the years ended October 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, did not exceed 0.20% per annum. The licensing and marketing fee disclosed below are subject to both the reimbursement from the Trust to the Sponsor and expense limitation of 0.20% of the Trust's NAV
for the years ended October 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022. The Trust reimbursed the Sponsor for $505,727, $296,884 and $452,150 of legal fees for the years ended October 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively, which are included in Legal and audit fees
on the Statements of Operations.
S&P OPCO LLC
(“S&P OPCO”), a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (as successor-in-interest to Dow Jones & Company, Inc.), per a license from Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, and State Street Global Advisors Funds
Distributors, LLC (“SSGA FD” or the “Marketing Agent”) have entered into a license agreement, as amended from time to time (the “License Agreement”). The License Agreement grants SSGA FD, an affiliate of the
Trustee, a license to use the DJIA and to use certain trade names and trademarks of S&P OPCO in connection with the Trust. The DJIA also serves as the basis for determining the composition of the Trust’s portfolio. The Trustee (on behalf
of the Trust), the Sponsor and NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”, the principal U.S. listing exchange for the Trust) have each received a sublicense from SSGA FD for the use of the DJIA and certain trade names and trademarks in connection
with their rights and duties with respect to the Trust. The License Agreement may be amended without the consent of any