0001414040 aet:S000037495Member 2011-06-27 2012-06-26 0001414040 2011-06-27 2012-06-26 0001414040 aet:C000115754Member aet:S000037495Member 2011-06-27 2012-06-26 pure iso4217:USD <a name="txb332871_1"></a>SUMMARY SECTION ALPS SECTOR DIVIDEND DOGS ETF (THE “FUND”) 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 (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. Investors purchasing or selling Shares in the secondary market may be subject to costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker. These costs 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) 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 redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same each year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: Portfolio Turnover The Fund will pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional 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, may affect the Fund’s performance. Principal Investment Strategies ALPS Advisors, Inc. (the “Adviser”) will seek to match 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 ten Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”) sectors 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 each of the ten GICS sectors 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 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. The Underlying Index was developed by S-Network Global Indexes LLC (the “Index Provider”), and its publication began on May 1, 2012. Standard & Poor’s Custom Indices serves as calculation agent. Underlying Index values are distributed to the public via the Chicago Mercantile Exchange throughout the day, between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, at 15 second intervals under the symbol “SDOGX.” The Adviser seeks a correlation over time of 0.95 or better between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and the performance of the Underlying Index. A figure of 1.00 would represent perfect correlation. The Fund generally will invest in all of the securities that comprise the Underlying Index in proportion to their weightings in the Underlying Index. However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to purchase all of the securities in the Underlying Index in those weightings. In those circumstances, the Fund may purchase a sample of the securities in the Underlying Index in proportions expected by the Adviser to replicate generally the performance of the Underlying Index as a whole. There may also be instances in which the Adviser may choose to overweight another security in the Underlying Index, purchase (or sell) securities not in the Underlying Index which the Adviser believes are appropriate to substitute for one or more Underlying Index components or utilize various combinations of other available investment techniques, in seeking to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, from time to time securities are added to or removed from the Underlying Index. The Fund may sell securities that are represented in the Underlying Index or purchase securities that are not yet represented in the Underlying Index in anticipation of their removal from or addition to the Underlying Index. <div style="display:none">~ http://www.alpsfunds.com/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpensesALPSSectorDividendDogsETF column period compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.alpsfunds.com/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposedALPSSectorDividendDogsETF column period compact * ~</div> 2012-06-26 2012-06-26 2012-06-26 false 0.004 0 0.004 41 129 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. Equity Risk. A principal risk of investing in the Fund is equity risk, which is the risk that the value of the securities held by the Fund will fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate or factors relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. For example, an adverse event, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may depress the value of equity securities of an issuer held by the Fund; the price of common stock of an issuer may be particularly sensitive to general movements in the stock market; or a drop in the stock market may depress the price of most or all of the common stocks and other equity securities held by the Fund. In addition, common stock of an issuer in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in price if the issuer fails to make anticipated dividend payments because, among other reasons, the issuer of the security experiences a decline in its financial condition. Common stock is subordinated to preferred stocks, bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure, in terms of priority to corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred stocks or debt instruments of such issuers. In addition, while broad market measures of common stocks have historically generated higher average returns than fixed income securities, common stocks have also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns. Non-Correlation Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions. Due to legal and regulatory rules and limitations, the Fund may not be able to invest in all securities included in the Underlying Index. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities to realize losses, causing it to deviate from the Underlying Index. The Fund may not be fully invested at times, either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions and expenses. If the Fund utilizes a sampling approach or otherwise does not hold all of the securities in the Underlying Index, its return may not correlate as well with the return on the Underlying Index, as would be the case if it purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index with the same weightings as the Underlying Index. Replication 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 Changes. 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. Low priced securities in the Fund may be more susceptible to these risks. Past dividend payments are not a guarantee of future dividend payments. 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. Investors should consider the following risk factors and special considerations associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause you to lose money. Fund Performance As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund has not yet commenced investment operations. When the Fund has completed a full calendar year of investment operations, this section will include charts that show annual total returns, highest and lowest quarterly returns and average annual total returns (before and after taxes) compared to the Underlying Index and a benchmark index selected for the Fund. “Other expenses” are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year and are calculated as a percentage of the Fund’s net assets. When the Fund has completed a full calendar year of investment operations, this section will include charts that show annual total returns, highest and lowest quarterly returns and average annual total returns (before and after taxes) compared to the Underlying Index and a benchmark index selected for the Fund. 485BPOS ALPS ETF Trust 0001414040 2012-06-26 "Other expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year and are calculated as a percentage of the Fund's net assets.