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GATA chairman''s address in Vancouver and interview with Resource Investor
5p PT Saturday, June 10, 2006
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Barron's today published an exchange between Stuart
Thomas, managing director of World Gold Trust
Services, manager of the streetTRACKS Gold Shares
fund, and GATA consultant and GoldMoney founder
James Turk over the security of exchange-traded funds
in gold. That exchange is appended here, along with
the full text of the response Turk provided to Barron's,
which, as you'll see, was greatly shortened.
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
* * *
From Barron's
Saturday, June 10, 2006
James Turk asserts that exchange-traded funds, streetTRACKS Gold
Shares in particular, "don't audit the gold to prove it really
exists."
Turk's statement has absolutely no basis in fact. He has repeatedly
made this spurious claim and one has to question his motive for
doing so. The truth is that the gold is held in allocated form,
which means specific numbered physical gold bars registered in the
name of the trust held within the accounts of the custodian, HSBC.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Sarbanes-Oxley Law
require management to assess and report on the effectiveness of
internal controls. Our auditors are required to report on our
representations.
Our internal controls and outside audit processes include an
independent physical count of the gold, which takes place twice a
year. The trust employs BSI Inspectorate, an independent firm, to
count the gold and provide certificates of the count. The trust
employed Ernst & Young to review and test these physical count
procedures as part of their obligations under Sarbanes-Oxley.
In connection with its assignment, E&Y visited the vault to test
audit controls and procedures and to observe the physical count in
October 2005.
Our independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte &
Touche, rendered unqualified opinions on the internal controls for
financial reporting and on the financial statements. Its auditing
procedures included physical observation of the gold held at our
custodian, plus confirmations from our custodian and BSI
Inspectorate of its existence.
Stuart Thomas, Managing Director
World Gold Trust Services
New York City
* * *
James Turk's reply as published by Barron's: The prospectus
discloses "gold may be held by one or more subcustodians. ... the
Custodian and the Trustee do not require any direct or indirect
subcustodians to be insured or bonded. ... neither the Trustee nor
the Custodian oversees or monitors the activities of
subcustodians. ... [and] the Trustee may have no right to visit the
premises of any subcustodian." Neither Stuart Thomas nor the fund's
10K disclose the weight of gold stored in subcustodians, which
presumably could be all of the trust's gold.
* * *
James Turk's full reply to Barron's: Mr. Thomas states that "E&Y
visited the vault" and that there was "a physical observation of the
gold held at our custodian," as if only one vault were involved.
However, the prospectus discloses that in addition to gold stored
with the Custodian, "gold may be held by one or more
subcustodians," "the Custodian and the Trustee do not require any
direct or indirect subcustodians to be insured or bonded," "neither
the Trustee nor the Custodian oversees or monitors the activities of
subcustodians," and "gold held by the Custodian's currently selected
subcustodians and by subcustodians of subcustodians may be held in
vaults located in England or in other locations."
It is noteworthy that the 10K records the principal asset of the
fund as "Investment in Gold" and not simply "gold." I point out
this distinction because auditors are responsible for verifying that
assets exist. If the asset were recorded as "gold," the auditor
would need to inspect the vault of the subcustodians to prove the
gold there really exists. But the prospectus discloses: "The Trustee
may have no right to visit the premises of any subcustodian for the
purposes of examining the Trust's gold 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."
Neither Mr. Thomas nor the fund's 10K discloses the weight of gold
stored in the subcustodians, which presumably could be all of the
Trust's gold.
Regarding the auditor's "obligations under Sarbanes-Oxley," the
prospectus does not represent that the gold, whether in the
Custodian or subcustodians, is audited or verified by an independent
third-party to prove that it exists. Thus, it is reasonable to
expect that the auditor would provide an unqualified opinion.
Lastly, though Mr. Thomas questions my motive, it is clear and
straightforward. I wish to use my significant experience in this
area to highlight the risks one incurs by buying paper
representations of gold rather than gold itself.
Respectfully,
James Turk
----------------------------------------------------
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----------------------------------------------------
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http://www.thebulliondesk.com/
http://www.goldismoney.info/index.html
http://www.minersmanual.com/minernews.html
http://www.a1-guide-to-gold-investments.com/euro-vs-dollar.html
http://www.investmentrarities.com
http://www.kereport.com
(Korelin Business Report -- audio)
http://www.plata.com.mx/plata/home.htm
(In Spanish)
http://www.plata.com.mx/plata/plata/english.htm
(In English)
http://www.resourceinvestor.com
http://www.goldpennystocks.com/
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http://www.interventionalanalysis.com
http://www.investmentindicators.com/
Eagle Ranch discussion site:
http://os2eagle.net/checksum.htm
Ted Butler silver commentary archive:
http://www.investmentrarities.com/
----------------------------------------------------
COIN AND PRECIOUS METALS DEALERS
WHO HAVE SUPPORTED GATA
AND BEEN RECOMMENDED
BY OUR MEMBERS
Blanchard & Co. Inc.
909 Poydras St., Suite 1900
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1-800-869-5115
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Gold@gwe.net
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Harvey Gordin, President
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info@gold.ie
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Greg Westgaard, Sales Manager
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178 West Service Road
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Toll Free:1-877-775-4826
Fax: 518-298-3457
and
620 Cathcart, Suite 900
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Lee Certified Coins
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leecoins@aol.com
Lone Star Silver Exchange
1702 S. Highway 121
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Lewisville, Texas 75067
214-632-8869
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MRCS Canada
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fax: 952-925-0143
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Contacts: David Schectman,
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Missouri Coin Co.
11742 Manchester Road
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info@mocoin.com
314-965-9797
1-800-280-9797
http://www.mocoin.com
Resource Consultants Inc.
6139 South Rural Road
Suite 103
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Pat Gorman, Proprietor
1-800-494-4149, 480-820-5877
Metalguys@aol.com
http://www.buysilvernow.com
Richard Nachbar Rare Coins
5820 Main St., Suite 601
Williamsville, N.Y. 14221-8232
877-622-4227
http://www.CoinExpert.com
nachbar@coinexpert.com
Swiss America Trading Corp.
15018 North Tatum Blvd.
Phoenix, Arizona 85032
http://www.swissamerica.com
Dr. Fred I. Goldstein, Senior Broker
1-800-BUY-COIN
FiGoldstein@swissamerica.com
The Moneychanger
Box 178
Westpoint, Tennessee 38486
http://www.the-moneychanger.com
Franklin Sanders
1-888-218-9226, 931-766-6066
----------------------------------------------------
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