Mutual Fund Summary Prospectus (497k)

 

ALPS SECTOR DIVIDEND DOGS ETF	ALPS ETF TRUST
NYSE Arca Ticker: SDOG	Summary Prospectus March 31, 2020

 

 

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and other information about the Fund online at https://www.alpsfunds.com/viewer/SDOG?docType=summary-prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 866.675.2639, by sending an e-mail request to [e-mail], or by contacting your financial intermediary. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, each dated March 31, 2020, along with the Fund’s most recent annual report dated November 30, 2019, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website, phone number or e-mail address noted above.

 

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the Funds’ annual and semi-annual shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from your financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank). Instead, the reports will be made available on the Funds’ website (www.alpsfunds.com), and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.

 

If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from a Fund electronically anytime by contacting your financial intermediary.

 

You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. You can contact your financial intermediary to request that you continue to receive paper copies of your shareholder reports. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held in your account with your financial intermediary.

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

 

The Fund seeks investment results that replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the performance of the S-Network^® Sector Dividend Dogs Index (ticker symbol SDOGX) (the “Underlying Index”).

 

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund (“Shares”). Investors purchasing or selling Shares in the secondary market may be subject to fees and expenses (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker. These fees and expenses are not included in the expense example below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

Management Fees	0.40%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.40%

 

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the costs of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that all dividends and capital gains are reinvested each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same each year.

 

	One Year	Three Years	Five Years	Ten Years
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:	$41	$128	$224	$505

 

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year ended November 30, 2019, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 55% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

 

ALPS Advisors, Inc. (the “Adviser”) will seek investment results that replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index is a rules-based index intended to give investors a means of tracking the overall performance of the highest dividend paying stocks (i.e. “Dividend Dogs”) in the S&P 500 on a sector-by-sector basis. “Dividend Dogs” refers to the five stocks in each of the Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”) sectors (excluding the real estate sector) that make up the S&P 500 which offer the highest dividend yields.

 

The Underlying Index generally consists of 50 stocks on each annual reconstitution date, which is the third Friday of December each year. The Underlying Index’s stocks must be constituents of the S&P 500 Index, the leading benchmark index for US large capitalization stocks. The Underlying Index methodology selects the five stocks in ten of the eleven GICS sectors (excluding the real estate sector) that make up the S&P 500 which offer the highest dividend yields as of the last business day of November. Dividend yield is computed based on the regular cash dividends paid by the company over the previous twelve month period, divided by the share price. The eligible stocks that are selected for inclusion in the Underlying Index’s portfolio are equally weighted. If a GICS sector does not contain five stocks which offer dividend yields as computed

 

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ALPS SECTOR DIVIDEND DOGS ETF

 

 

in the manner described above, then only those stocks in the sector which offer such dividend yields will be included in the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index is rebalanced quarterly.

 

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT RISKS

 

Investors should consider the following risk factors and special considerations associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause you to lose money.

 

Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.

 

Market Risk. The values of equity securities, such as common stocks and preferred stock, may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic, political and social conditions, inflation (or expectations for inflation), changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. Equity securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed-income securities.

 

Non-Correlation Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons, including operating expenses incurred by the Fund not applicable to the Underlying Index, costs in buying and selling securities, asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, cash flows or operational inefficiencies.

 

Index Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, it would not necessarily sell a security because the security’s issuer was in financial trouble unless that security is removed from the Underlying Index.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.

 

Underlying Sector Risk. The Fund will be exposed to the additional risks associated with its investments in companies of each GICS sector of the Underlying Index. For more on these risks, see “Risks of Underlying Sectors” in this Prospectus.

 

High Dividend Yield Style Risk. While the Fund may hold securities of companies that have historically paid a high dividend yield, those companies may reduce or discontinue their dividends, thus reducing the yield of the Fund. Also, the market return of high dividend yield securities, in certain market conditions, may be worse than the market return of other investment strategies or the overall stock market.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value. The net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund’s Shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for the Shares on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “NYSE Arca”). The Adviser cannot predict whether the Shares will trade below, at or above their NAV.

 

FUND PERFORMANCE

 

The following bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns for certain time periods compare with the average annual returns of the Underlying Index and of another benchmark of market performance. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Total return figures assume reinvestment of dividends and include the effect of the Fund’s recurring expenses. Updated performance information is available online at www.alpsfunds.com or by calling 866.675.2639.

 

Annual Total Returns (calendar years ended 12/31)

Highest Quarterly Return	14.11%	(March 31, 2013)
Lowest Quarterly Return	-13.81%	(December 31, 2018)

 

The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Shares of the Fund through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

 

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Average Annual Total Returns
For periods ended December 31, 2019

 

	1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception (June 29, 2012)
Return Before Taxes	24.09%	8.00%	12.73%
Return After Taxes on Distributions	23.05%	7.10%	11.76%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	14.91%	6.16%	10.23%
S-Network® Sector Dividend Dogs Index* (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	24.72%	8.49%	13.27%
S&P 500® Index* (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	31.49%	11.70%	14.55%

 

*	Index performance shown in the table is the total return, which assumes reinvestment of any dividends and distributions during the time periods shown.

 

INVESTMENT ADVISER

 

ALPS Advisors, Inc. is the investment adviser to the Fund.

 

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

 

Ryan Mischker, Vice President, Portfolio Management & Research, and Andrew Hicks, Vice President of Index Management of ALPS Advisors, Inc., are responsible for the day to day management of the Fund. Mr. Mischker and Mr. Hicks have each served in such capacity since March 2015 and March 2016, respectively.

 

PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES

 

The Trust issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in a large specified number of Shares called a “Creation Unit” or multiples thereof. A Creation Unit consists of 50,000 Shares. Creation Unit transactions are typically conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of in-kind securities included in the Fund’s Underlying Index and/or cash.

 

Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol SDOG and, because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than or less than NAV.

 

TAX INFORMATION

 

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, the Adviser or other related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

 

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