485BPOS

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 7, 2013

Securities Act File No. 333-148826

Investment Company Act File No. 811-22175

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933	x
Pre-Effective Amendment No.	¨
Post Effective Amendment No. 142	x

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940	x
Amendment No. 143	x

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

ALPS ETF TRUST

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

1290 Broadway

Suite 1100

Denver, Colorado 80203

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(303) 623-2577

Registrant’s Telephone Number

Tané T. Tyler, Esq.

ALPS Fund Services, Inc.

1290 Broadway

Suite 1100

Denver, Colorado 80203

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Copy to:

Stuart M. Strauss, Esq.

Dechert LLP

1095 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10036

It is proposed that this filing will become effective:

x Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

¨ On (date) pursuant to paragraph (b)

¨ 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

¨ 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

¨ On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

¨ On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.

If appropriate, check the following box:

¨ This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement pursuant to rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 142 of its Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the city of Denver, and State of Colorado, on the 7^th day of February, 2013.

ALPS ETF TRUST
By:	/s/ Thomas A. Carter
	Thomas A. Carter
	President

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.

Signatures	Title	Date
/s/ Mary K. Anstine	Trustee	February 7, 2013
Mary K. Anstine*
/s/ Jeremy W. Deems	Trustee	February 7, 2013
Jeremy W. Deems*
/s/ Rick A. Pederson	Trustee	February 7, 2013
Rick A. Pederson*
/s/ Thomas A. Carter	Trustee and President	February 7, 2013
Thomas A. Carter
/s/ Patrick D. Buchanan	Treasurer	February 7, 2013
Patrick D. Buchanan

* Signature affixed by Tané T. Tyler pursuant to a power of attorney dated December 8, 2008.

EXHIBIT INDEX

Index No.	Description of Exhibit
EX-101.INS	XBRL Instance Document
EX-101.SCH	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
EX-101.CAL	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
EX-101.DEF	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
EX-101.LAB	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase
EX-101.PRE	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	ALPS ETF Trust
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Jan. 22, 2013
VelocityShares Russia Select DR ETF
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	VelocityShares Russia Select DR ETF (the “Fund”)
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of its underlying index, the BNY Mellon Russia Select DR Index (the “Underlying Index”).
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses of the Fund
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	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 costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker. These costs are not included in the expense example below.
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	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.
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	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:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	ALPS Advisors, Inc. (the “Adviser”) will seek to match the performance of the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index is an index designed to track the performance of depositary receipts of companies located in Russia. The Underlying Index is comprised of U.S. exchange-listed American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and London Stock Exchange (“LSE”)-traded Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance of the Underlying Index, before fees and expenses, by investing in ADRs and GDRs which comprise the Underlying Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in depositary receipts constituting its Underlying Index. In addition, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in depositary receipts of Russian issuers. The Fund is required to provide 60 days’ notice to its shareholders prior to a change in its 80% investment policy. Depositary receipts are issued by a bank that purchases shares of a non-U.S. company and issues shares based on the foreign holdings. ADRs are depositary receipts that trade on a U.S. exchange and thus are subject to registration and disclosure requirements under the Securities Acts of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. GDRs are depositary receipts which trade on the LSE. All of the depositary receipts included in the Underlying Index are sponsored depositary receipts. All Russian U.S. exchange-listed ADRs and LSE-traded GDRs are eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index, regardless of number of shares outstanding, or length of time elapsed since the date of listing. ADRs and GDRs are subject to a liquidity screen based on volume on the primary exchange where the ADR or GDR trades in order to be included in the Underlying Index.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	Investors should consider the following risk factors and special considerations associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause you to lose all or part of your money. Equity Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may 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 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. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market and may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. Foreign Investment Risk. The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. issuers, although limited to ADRs and GDRs, may involve unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers, including less market liquidity, generally greater market volatility than U.S. securities and less complete financial information than for U.S. issuers. In addition, adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the Fund’s investments or prevent the Fund from realizing the full value of its investments. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the United States. Emerging market countries are countries that major international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, generally consider to be less economically mature than developed nations. Emerging market countries can include every nation in the world except the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most countries located in Western Europe. Investing in foreign countries, particularly emerging market countries, entails the risk that news and events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. Countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets. The economies of emerging markets countries also may be based on only a few industries, making them more vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions and more sensitive to debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times. The Russian, Eastern and Central European, Chinese and Taiwanese stock markets are undergoing a period of growth and change which may result in trading volatility and difficulties in the settlement and recording of transactions, and in interpreting and applying the relevant law and regulations. Russia Risk. Investment in securities of Russian issuers, although limited to ADRs and GDRs, involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of your investment in the Fund. Such heightened risks include, among others, expropriation and/or nationalization of assets, restrictions on and government intervention in international trade, confiscatory taxation, political instability, including authoritarian and/or military involvement in governmental decision making, armed conflict, the impact on the economy as a result of civil war, and social instability as a result of religious, ethnic and/or socioeconomic unrest. The securities markets of Russia are underdeveloped and are often considered to be less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries. As a result, securities markets in Russia are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations, uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets, governmental control and heavy regulation of labor and industry. Moreover, trading on securities markets may be suspended altogether. The government in Russia may restrict or control to varying degrees the ability of foreign investors to invest in securities of issuers located or operating in Russia. These restrictions and/or controls may at times limit or prevent foreign investment in securities of issuers located or operating in Russia. Moreover, governmental approval or special licenses may be required prior to investments by foreign investors and may limit the amount of investments by foreign investors in a particular industry and/or issuer and may limit such foreign investment to a certain class of securities of an issuer that may have less advantageous rights than the classes available for purchase by domiciliaries of Russia and/or impose additional taxes on foreign investors. These factors, among others, make investing in issuers located or operating in Russia significantly riskier than investing in issuers located or operating in more developed countries, and any one of them could cause a decline in the value of the Fund’s Shares. Additionally, because Russia produces and exports large volumes of oil and gas, the Russian economy is particularly sensitive to the price of oil and gas on the world market, and a decline in the price of oil and gas could have a significant negative impact on the Russian economy. The value of the Russian Ruble may be subject to a high degree of fluctuation. The Fund’s assets will be invested primarily in equity securities of Russian issuers and the income received by the Fund will be principally in Russian Rubles. The Fund’s exposure to the Russian Ruble and changes in value of the Russian Ruble versus the U.S. dollar may result in reduced returns to the Fund. Moreover, the Fund may incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars and the Russian Ruble. In addition, the current economic turmoil in Russia and the effects on the current global economic crisis on the Russian economy may have significant adverse effects on the Russian Ruble and on the values of the Fund’s investments. Finally, while holders of a company’s sponsored depositary receipts generally have rights similar to those of the issuer’s common shareholders (and the limited precedents under Russian law are consistent with this principle), there can be no assurances that a Russian court would rule that a holder (such as the Fund) of sponsored ADRs or GDRs of a Russian company do in fact have the same rights under Russian law as a common shareholder of such company. Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund will hold the securities of non-U.S. companies in the form of ADRs and GDRs. ADRs are negotiable certificates issued by a U.S. financial institution that represent a specified number of shares in a foreign stock and trade on a U.S. national securities exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange. Sponsored ADRs are issued with the support of the issuer of the foreign stock underlying the ADRs and carry all of the rights of common shares, including voting rights. GDRs are similar to ADRs, but may be issued in bearer form and are typically offered for sale globally and held by a foreign branch of an international bank. The underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Issuers of unsponsored depositary receipts are not contractually obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. and, therefore, such information may not correlate to the market value of the unsponsored depositary receipt. The underlying securities of the ADRs and GDRs in the Fund’s portfolio are usually denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. As a result, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, because the underlying securities of ADRs and GDRs trade on foreign exchanges at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, the value of the securities underlying the ADRs and GDRs may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, regardless of whether there is an active U.S. market for shares of the Fund. Concentration Risk. The Fund seeks to track the Underlying Index, which itself may have concentration in certain regions, economies, countries, markets, industries or sectors. Underperformance or increased risk in such concentrated areas may result in underperformance or increased risk in the Fund. Oils/Energy Sector Risk. The profitability of companies in the oils/energy sector is related to worldwide energy prices, exploration, and production spending. Such companies also are subject to risks of changes in exchange rates, government regulation, world events, depletion of resources and economic conditions, as well as market, economic and political risks of the countries where energy companies are located or do business. Oil and gas exploration and production can be significantly affected by natural disasters. Oil exploration and production companies may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, interest rates, government regulation, world events, and economic conditions. Oil exploration and production companies may be at risk for environmental damage claims. Currency Risk. The Fund’s investment in depositary receipts subjects the Fund to currency risk. The underlying securities of the depositary receipts are typically non-dollar denominated. As such, dollar appreciation may have an adverse effect on underlying company’s value in dollars. As a result, the Fund’s target index has a large inverse exposure to the U.S. dollar. Investment Style Risk. Returns from depositary receipts of underlying issuers located in Russia may trail returns from the overall stock market. Such securities may experience cycles of doing better—or worse—than other segments of the stock market or the stock market in general, potentially for extended periods of time. Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Investment Adviser believes it is desirable to do so. The Fund’s investment in securities that are less actively traded or over time experience decreased trading volume may restrict its ability to take advantage of other market opportunities or to dispose of securities. This also may affect adversely the Fund’s ability to make dividend distributions to you. 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 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, cash flows or operational inefficiencies. 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.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	Investors should consider the following risk factors and special considerations associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause you to lose all or part of your money.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Fund Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	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.
Performance One Year or Less [Text]	rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess	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.
VelocityShares Russia Select DR ETF | VelocityShares Russia Select DR ETF
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Management fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.65%
Other expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	none
Total annual Fund operating expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.65%
One Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	66
Three Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	208

XML

VelocityShares Emerging Markets DR ETF

SUMMARY SECTION

VelocityShares Emerging Markets DR ETF (the “Fund”)

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of its underlying index, the BNY Mellon Emerging Markets DR 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 (“Shares”). 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)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses	VelocityShares Emerging Markets DR ETF
Management fees	0.65%
Other expenses	none
Total annual Fund operating expenses	0.65%

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:

Expense Example (USD $)	One Year	Three Years
VelocityShares Emerging Markets DR ETF	66	208

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 an index designed to track the performance of depositary receipts of companies located in emerging markets. The Underlying Index is comprised of U.S. exchange-listed American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and London Stock Exchange (“LSE”)-traded Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance of the Underlying Index, before fees and expenses, by investing in ADRs and GDRs which comprise the Underlying Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in depositary receipts constituting its Underlying Index. In addition, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in depositary receipts of issuers located in emerging markets. The Fund is required to provide 60 days’ notice to its shareholders prior to a change in its 80% investment policy.

Depositary receipts are issued by a bank that purchases shares of a non-U.S. company and issues shares based on the foreign holdings. ADRs are depositary receipts that trade on a U.S. exchange and thus are subject to registration and disclosure requirements under the Securities Acts of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. GDRs are depositary receipts which trade on the LSE. All of the depositary receipts included in the Underlying Index are sponsored depositary receipts.

As of December 31^st, 2012, the countries included in the Underlying Index were:

Country	Weight
Brazil	20.39%
South Korea	16.83%
China	15.29%
Russia	15.16%
Taiwan	8.66%
India	6.82%
Mexico	5.98%
South Africa	2.90%
Chile	2.48%
Colombia	1.22%
Turkey	1.17%
Indonesia	0.59%
Egypt	0.56%
Peru	0.43%
Argentina	0.35%
Philippines	0.31%
Kazakhstan	0.31%
Nigeria	0.25%
Lebanon	0.21%
Oman	0.06%
Ukraine	0.03%

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 all or part of your money.

Equity Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may 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 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.

Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market and may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index.

Foreign Investment Risk. The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. issuers, although limited to ADRs and GDRs, may involve unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers, including less market liquidity, generally greater market volatility than U.S. securities and less complete financial information than for U.S. issuers. In addition, adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the Fund’s investments or prevent the Fund from realizing the full value of its investments. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the United States.

Emerging market countries are countries that major international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, generally consider to be less economically mature than developed nations. Emerging market countries can include every nation in the world except the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most countries located in Western Europe. Investing in foreign countries, particularly emerging market countries, entails the risk that news and events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. Countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets. The economies of emerging markets countries also may be based on only a few industries, making them more vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions and more sensitive to debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.

To the extent a substantial portion of the Index consists of securities from underlying issuers located in particular geographic areas, natural disasters, such as volcano eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, typhoons; epidemics; or other such events could have significant impact on the performance and/or risk of the Fund.

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund will hold the securities of non-U.S. companies in the form of ADRs and GDRs. ADRs are negotiable certificates issued by a U.S. financial institution that represent a specified number of shares in a foreign stock and trade on a U.S. national securities exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange. Sponsored ADRs are issued with the support of the issuer of the foreign stock underlying the ADRs and carry all of the rights of common shares, including voting rights. GDRs are similar to ADRs, but may be issued in bearer form and are typically offered for sale globally and held by a foreign branch of an international bank. The underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Issuers of unsponsored depositary receipts are not contractually obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. and, therefore, such information may not correlate to the market value of the unsponsored depositary receipt. The underlying securities of the ADRs and GDRs in the Fund’s portfolio are usually denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. As a result, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, because the underlying securities of ADRs and GDRs trade on foreign exchanges at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, the value of the securities underlying the ADRs and GDRs may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, regardless of whether there is an active U.S. market for shares of the Fund.

Brazil Investment Risk. Investment in securities of Brazilian issuers, although limited to ADRs and GDRs, involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of your investment in the Fund. Such investment subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, security and economic risk specific to Brazil. Among other things, investments in securities of Brazilian companies are subject to regulatory and economic interventions that the Brazilian government has frequently exercised in the past, including the setting of wage and price controls, blocking access to bank accounts, imposing exchange controls and limiting imports. In addition, the Brazilian securities markets may be subject to greater market volatility, lower trading volume, greater risk of market shut down, higher transactional and custody costs, decreased market liquidity and various administrative difficulties, such as delays in clearing and settling portfolio transactions. The Brazilian government has often changed monetary, taxation, credit, tariff and other policies to influence the core of Brazil’s economy. Investments are also subject to certain restrictions on foreign investment as provided by Brazilian law. The market for Brazilian securities is directly influenced by the flow of international capital, and economic and market conditions of certain countries, especially emerging market countries. The Brazilian economy has historically been subject to high rates of inflation and a high level of debt, all of which may stifle economic growth. Brazil is heavily dependent on exports to its trading partners, including the United States, China and other countries in Central and South America, and reduction in spending on Brazilian products or adverse economic events in any of these countries may impact the Brazilian economy. Despite rapid development in recent years, Brazil still suffers from high levels of corruption, crime and income disparity. There is the possibility that such conditions may lead to social unrest and political upheaval in the future, which may have adverse effects on the Fund’s investments.

Concentration Risk. The Fund seeks to track the Underlying Index, which itself may have concentration in certain regions, economies, countries, markets, industries or sectors. Underperformance or increased risk in such concentrated areas may result in underperformance or increased risk in the Fund.

Computer/Technology Sector Risk. Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of companies in the computer/technology sector. Also, many of the products and services offered by computer and technology companies are subject to the risks of short product cycles and rapid obsolescence. Companies in the computer/technology sector also may be subject to competition from new market entrants. Such companies also may be subject to risks relating to research and development costs and the availability and price of components. As product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies could become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Other risks include those related to regulatory changes, such as the possible adverse effects on profits of recent increased competition among telecommunications companies and the uncertainties resulting from such companies’ diversification into new domestic and international businesses, as well as agreements by any such companies linking future rate increases to inflation or other factors not directly related to the actual operating profits of the enterprise.

Oils/Energy Sector Risk. The profitability of companies in the oils/energy sector is related to worldwide energy prices, exploration, and production spending. Such companies also are subject to risks of changes in exchange rates, government regulation, world events, depletion of resources and economic conditions, as well as market, economic and political risks of the countries where energy companies are located or do business. Oil and gas exploration and production can be significantly affected by natural disasters. Oil exploration and production companies may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, interest rates, government regulation, world events, and economic conditions. Oil exploration and production companies may be at risk for environmental damage claims.

Currency Risk. The Fund’s investment in depositary receipts subjects the Fund to currency risk. The underlying securities of the depositary receipts are typically non-dollar denominated. As such, dollar appreciation may have an adverse effect on underlying company’s value in dollars. As a result, the Fund’s target index has a large inverse exposure to the U.S. dollar.

Investment Style Risk. Returns from depositary receipts of underlying issuers located in emerging markets may trail returns from the overall stock market. Such securities may experience cycles of doing better—or worse—than other segments of the stock market or the stock market in general, potentially for extended periods of time.

Liquidity Risk. it may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Investment Adviser believes it is desirable to do so. The Fund’s investment in securities that are less actively traded or over time experience decreased trading volume may restrict its ability to take advantage of other market opportunities or to dispose of securities. This also may affect adversely the Fund’s ability to make dividend distributions to you.

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 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, cash flows or operational inefficiencies.

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.

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.

XML

VelocityShares Russia Select DR ETF

VelocityShares Russia Select DR ETF (the “Fund”)

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of its underlying index, the BNY Mellon Russia Select DR 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 (“Shares”). 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)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses	VelocityShares Russia Select DR ETF
Management fees	0.65%
Other expenses	none
Total annual Fund operating expenses	0.65%

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:

Expense Example (USD $)	One Year	Three Years
VelocityShares Russia Select DR ETF	66	208

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 an index designed to track the performance of depositary receipts of companies located in Russia. The Underlying Index is comprised of U.S. exchange-listed American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and London Stock Exchange (“LSE”)-traded Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance of the Underlying Index, before fees and expenses, by investing in ADRs and GDRs which comprise the Underlying Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in depositary receipts constituting its Underlying Index. In addition, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in depositary receipts of Russian issuers. The Fund is required to provide 60 days’ notice to its shareholders prior to a change in its 80% investment policy.

Depositary receipts are issued by a bank that purchases shares of a non-U.S. company and issues shares based on the foreign holdings. ADRs are depositary receipts that trade on a U.S. exchange and thus are subject to registration and disclosure requirements under the Securities Acts of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. GDRs are depositary receipts which trade on the LSE. All of the depositary receipts included in the Underlying Index are sponsored depositary receipts.

All Russian U.S. exchange-listed ADRs and LSE-traded GDRs are eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index, regardless of number of shares outstanding, or length of time elapsed since the date of listing. ADRs and GDRs are subject to a liquidity screen based on volume on the primary exchange where the ADR or GDR trades in order to be included in the Underlying Index.

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 all or part of your money.

Equity Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may 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 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.

Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market and may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index.

Foreign Investment Risk. The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. issuers, although limited to ADRs and GDRs, may involve unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers, including less market liquidity, generally greater market volatility than U.S. securities and less complete financial information than for U.S. issuers. In addition, adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the Fund’s investments or prevent the Fund from realizing the full value of its investments. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the United States.

Emerging market countries are countries that major international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, generally consider to be less economically mature than developed nations. Emerging market countries can include every nation in the world except the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most countries located in Western Europe. Investing in foreign countries, particularly emerging market countries, entails the risk that news and events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. Countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets. The economies of emerging markets countries also may be based on only a few industries, making them more vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions and more sensitive to debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.

The Russian, Eastern and Central European, Chinese and Taiwanese stock markets are undergoing a period of growth and change which may result in trading volatility and difficulties in the settlement and recording of transactions, and in interpreting and applying the relevant law and regulations.

Russia Risk. Investment in securities of Russian issuers, although limited to ADRs and GDRs, involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of your investment in the Fund. Such heightened risks include, among others, expropriation and/or nationalization of assets, restrictions on and government intervention in international trade, confiscatory taxation, political instability, including authoritarian and/or military involvement in governmental decision making, armed conflict, the impact on the economy as a result of civil war, and social instability as a result of religious, ethnic and/or socioeconomic unrest.

The securities markets of Russia are underdeveloped and are often considered to be less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries. As a result, securities markets in Russia are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations, uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets, governmental control and heavy regulation of labor and industry. Moreover, trading on securities markets may be suspended altogether.

The government in Russia may restrict or control to varying degrees the ability of foreign investors to invest in securities of issuers located or operating in Russia. These restrictions and/or controls may at times limit or prevent foreign investment in securities of issuers located or operating in Russia. Moreover, governmental approval or special licenses may be required prior to investments by foreign investors and may limit the amount of investments by foreign investors in a particular industry and/or issuer and may limit such foreign investment to a certain class of securities of an issuer that may have less advantageous rights than the classes available for purchase by domiciliaries of Russia and/or impose additional taxes on foreign investors. These factors, among others, make investing in issuers located or operating in Russia significantly riskier than investing in issuers located or operating in more developed countries, and any one of them could cause a decline in the value of the Fund’s Shares.

Additionally, because Russia produces and exports large volumes of oil and gas, the Russian economy is particularly sensitive to the price of oil and gas on the world market, and a decline in the price of oil and gas could have a significant negative impact on the Russian economy.

The value of the Russian Ruble may be subject to a high degree of fluctuation. The Fund’s assets will be invested primarily in equity securities of Russian issuers and the income received by the Fund will be principally in Russian Rubles. The Fund’s exposure to the Russian Ruble and changes in value of the Russian Ruble versus the U.S. dollar may result in reduced returns to the Fund. Moreover, the Fund may incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars and the Russian Ruble. In addition, the current economic turmoil in Russia and the effects on the current global economic crisis on the Russian economy may have significant adverse effects on the Russian Ruble and on the values of the Fund’s investments. Finally, while holders of a company’s sponsored depositary receipts generally have rights similar to those of the issuer’s common shareholders (and the limited precedents under Russian law are consistent with this principle), there can be no assurances that a Russian court would rule that a holder (such as the Fund) of sponsored ADRs or GDRs of a Russian company do in fact have the same rights under Russian law as a common shareholder of such company.

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund will hold the securities of non-U.S. companies in the form of ADRs and GDRs. ADRs are negotiable certificates issued by a U.S. financial institution that represent a specified number of shares in a foreign stock and trade on a U.S. national securities exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange. Sponsored ADRs are issued with the support of the issuer of the foreign stock underlying the ADRs and carry all of the rights of common shares, including voting rights. GDRs are similar to ADRs, but may be issued in bearer form and are typically offered for sale globally and held by a foreign branch of an international bank. The underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Issuers of unsponsored depositary receipts are not contractually obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. and, therefore, such information may not correlate to the market value of the unsponsored depositary receipt. The underlying securities of the ADRs and GDRs in the Fund’s portfolio are usually denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. As a result, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, because the underlying securities of ADRs and GDRs trade on foreign exchanges at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, the value of the securities underlying the ADRs and GDRs may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, regardless of whether there is an active U.S. market for shares of the Fund.

Concentration Risk. The Fund seeks to track the Underlying Index, which itself may have concentration in certain regions, economies, countries, markets, industries or sectors. Underperformance or increased risk in such concentrated areas may result in underperformance or increased risk in the Fund.

Oils/Energy Sector Risk. The profitability of companies in the oils/energy sector is related to worldwide energy prices, exploration, and production spending. Such companies also are subject to risks of changes in exchange rates, government regulation, world events, depletion of resources and economic conditions, as well as market, economic and political risks of the countries where energy companies are located or do business. Oil and gas exploration and production can be significantly affected by natural disasters. Oil exploration and production companies may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, interest rates, government regulation, world events, and economic conditions. Oil exploration and production companies may be at risk for environmental damage claims.

Currency Risk. The Fund’s investment in depositary receipts subjects the Fund to currency risk. The underlying securities of the depositary receipts are typically non-dollar denominated. As such, dollar appreciation may have an adverse effect on underlying company’s value in dollars. As a result, the Fund’s target index has a large inverse exposure to the U.S. dollar.

Investment Style Risk. Returns from depositary receipts of underlying issuers located in Russia may trail returns from the overall stock market. Such securities may experience cycles of doing better—or worse—than other segments of the stock market or the stock market in general, potentially for extended periods of time.

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Investment Adviser believes it is desirable to do so. The Fund’s investment in securities that are less actively traded or over time experience decreased trading volume may restrict its ability to take advantage of other market opportunities or to dispose of securities. This also may affect adversely the Fund’s ability to make dividend distributions to you.

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 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, cash flows or operational inefficiencies.

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.

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.

XML

Document and Entity Information	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 22, 2013
Risk/Return:
Document Type	485BPOS
Document Period End Date	Jan. 22, 2013
Registrant Name	ALPS ETF Trust
Central Index Key	0001414040
Amendment Flag	false
Document Creation Date	Jan. 22, 2013
Document Effective Date	Jan. 22, 2013
Prospectus Date	Jan. 22, 2013

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

ALPS ETF Trust

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Jan. 22, 2013

VelocityShares Emerging Asia DR ETF

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

VelocityShares Emerging Asia DR ETF (the “Fund”)

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of its underlying index, the BNY Mellon Emerging Asia DR Index (the “Underlying Index”).

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

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 costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker. These costs are not included in the expense example below.

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

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

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

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.

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

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:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

ALPS Advisors, Inc. (the “Adviser”) will seek to match the performance of the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index is an index designed to track the performance of depositary receipts of companies located in “emerging Asian” countries. The Underlying Index is comprised of U.S. exchange-listed American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and London Stock Exchange (“LSE”)-traded Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance of the Underlying Index, before fees and expenses, by investing in ADRs and GDRs which comprise the Underlying Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in depositary receipts constituting its Underlying Index. In addition, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in depositary receipts of issuers located in emerging Asian markets. The Fund is required to provide 60 days’ notice to its shareholders prior to a change in its 80% investment policy.

Depositary receipts are issued by a bank that purchases shares of a non-U.S. company and issues shares based on the foreign holdings. ADRs are depositary receipts that trade on a U.S. exchange and thus are subject to registration and disclosure requirements under the Securities Acts of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. GDRs are depositary receipts which trade on the LSE. All of the depositary receipts included in the Underlying Index are sponsored depositary receipts.

All Emerging Asia U.S. exchange-listed ADRs and LSE-traded GDRs are eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index, regardless of number of shares outstanding, or length of time elapsed since the date of listing. ADRs and GDRs are subject to a liquidity screen based on volume on the primary exchange where the ADR or GDR trades in order to be included in the Underlying Index.

As of December 31^st, 2012, the countries included in the Underlying Index were:

Country	Weight
South Korea	34.70%
China	31.54%
Taiwan	17.86%
India	14.05%
Indonesia	1.22%
Philippines	0.63%

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

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

Equity Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may 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 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.

Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market and may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index.

Foreign Investment Risk. The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. issuers, although limited to ADRs and GDRs, may involve unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers, including less market liquidity, generally greater market volatility than U.S. securities and less complete financial information than for U.S. issuers. In addition, adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the Fund’s investments or prevent the Fund from realizing the full value of its investments. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the United States.

Emerging market countries are countries that major international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, generally consider to be less economically mature than developed nations. Emerging market countries can include every nation in the world except the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most countries located in Western Europe. Investing in foreign countries, particularly emerging market countries, entails the risk that news and events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. Countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets. The economies of emerging markets countries also may be based on only a few industries, making them more vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions and more sensitive to debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.

The emerging market Asia-Pacific countries in which the Fund may invest are subject to certain additional or specific risks. In many of these markets, there is a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of investors and financial intermediaries. Many of these markets also may be affected by developments with respect to more established markets in the region such as in Japan and Hong Kong. Brokers in emerging market Asia-Pacific countries typically are fewer in number and less well capitalized than brokers in the United States. These factors, combined with the U.S. regulatory requirements for open-end investment companies, result in potentially fewer investment opportunities for the Fund and may have an adverse impact on the investment performance of the Fund.

Many of the emerging market Asia-Pacific countries may be subject to a greater degree of economic, political and social instability than is the case in the United States and Western European countries. Such instability may result from, among other things: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision-making, including changes in government through extra-constitutional means; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic and social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; and (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection. In addition, the governments of many of such countries, such as Indonesia, have a substantial role in regulating and supervising the economy. Another risk common to most such countries is that the economy is heavily export oriented and, accordingly, is dependent upon international trade. The existence of overburdened infrastructure and obsolete financial systems also presents risks in certain countries, as do environmental problems. Certain economies also depend to a significant degree upon exports of primary commodities and, therefore, are vulnerable to changes in commodity prices that, in turn, may be affected by a variety of factors.

Governments of many emerging market Asia-Pacific countries have exercised and continue to exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In certain cases, the government owns or controls many companies, including the largest in the country. Accordingly, government actions in the future could have a significant effect on economic conditions in emerging market Asia-Pacific countries, which could affect private sector companies and the Fund itself, as well as the value of securities in the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, economic statistics of emerging market Asia-Pacific countries may be less reliable than economic statistics of more developed nations.

To the extent a substantial portion of the Underlying Index consists of securities from underlying issuers located in particular geographic areas, natural disasters, such as volcano eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, typhoons; epidemics; or other such events could have significant impact on the performance and/or risk of the Fund.

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund will hold the securities of non-U.S. companies in the form of ADRs and GDRs. ADRs are negotiable certificates issued by a U.S. financial institution that represent a specified number of shares in a foreign stock and trade on a U.S. national securities exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange. Sponsored ADRs are issued with the support of the issuer of the foreign stock underlying the ADRs and carry all of the rights of common shares, including voting rights. GDRs are similar to ADRs, but may be issued in bearer form and are typically offered for sale globally and held by a foreign branch of an international bank. The underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Issuers of unsponsored depositary receipts are not contractually obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. and, therefore, such information may not correlate to the market value of the unsponsored depositary receipt. The underlying securities of the ADRs and GDRs in the Fund’s portfolio are usually denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. As a result, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, because the underlying securities of ADRs and GDRs trade on foreign exchanges at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, the value of the securities underlying the ADRs and GDRs may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, regardless of whether there is an active U.S. market for shares of the Fund.

China Investment Risk. Investment in securities of Chinese issuers involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of your investment in the Fund. Such investment subjects the Fund to a considerable degree of economic, political and social instability risk. Among other things, disparities of wealth and the pace of economic liberalization may lead to social turmoil, violence and labor unrest. A greater risk of social unrest and conflicts with other countries may lead to currency fluctuations, currency convertibility restrictions, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. In addition, sudden and significant investment losses could arise from unanticipated political or social developments. The risk of loss due to expropriation, nationalization, or confiscation of assets and property or the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and on repatriation of capital invested is greater than in many developed markets due to the extensive involvement of the Chinese government in economic regulation and intervention.

South Korea Investment Risk. Investment in securities of South Korean issuers involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of your investment in the Fund. Such investment subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security and economic risk specific to South Korea. Among other things, substantial political tensions exist between North Korea and South Korea and these political tensions have recently escalated. Either the threat of an outbreak of hostilities or the outright outbreak of hostilities between the two nations would likely adversely impact the South Korean economy. In addition, due mainly to a rapidly aging population and structural problems, South Korea’s economic growth potential has recently been on a decline.

Concentration Risk. The Fund seeks to track the Underlying Index, which itself may have concentration in certain regions, economies, countries, markets, industries or sectors. Underperformance or increased risk in such concentrated areas may result in underperformance or increased risk in the Fund.

Computer/Technology Sector Risk. Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of companies in the computer/technology sector. Also, many of the products and services offered by computer and technology companies are subject to the risks of short product cycles and rapid obsolescence. Companies in the computer/technology sector also may be subject to competition from new market entrants. Such companies also may be subject to risks relating to research and development costs and the availability and price of components. As product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies could become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Other risks include those related to regulatory changes, such as the possible adverse effects on profits of recent increased competition among telecommunications companies and the uncertainties resulting from such companies’ diversification into new domestic and international businesses, as well as agreements by any such companies linking future rate increases to inflation or other factors not directly related to the actual operating profits of the enterprise.

Currency Risk. The Fund’s investment in depositary receipts subjects the Fund to currency risk. The underlying securities of the depositary receipts are typically non-dollar denominated. As such, dollar appreciation may have an adverse effect on underlying company’s value in dollars. As a result, the Fund’s target index has a large inverse exposure to the U.S. dollar.

Investment Style Risk. Returns from depositary receipts of underlying issuers located in “emerging Asian” countries may trail returns from the overall stock market. Such securities may experience cycles of doing better—or worse—than other segments of the stock market or the stock market in general, potentially for extended periods of time.

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Investment Adviser believes it is desirable to do so. The Fund’s investment in securities that are less actively traded or over time experience decreased trading volume may restrict its ability to take advantage of other market opportunities or to dispose of securities. This also may affect adversely the Fund’s ability to make dividend distributions to you.

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 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, cash flows or operational inefficiencies.

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.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

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

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Fund Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

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.

Performance One Year or Less [Text]

rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess

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.

VelocityShares Emerging Asia DR ETF | VelocityShares Emerging Asia DR ETF

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.65%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

none

Total annual Fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.65%

One Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

66

Three Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

208

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	ALPS ETF Trust
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Jan. 22, 2013
Document Creation Date	dei_DocumentCreationDate	Jan. 22, 2013

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

ALPS ETF Trust

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Jan. 22, 2013

VelocityShares Emerging Markets DR ETF

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

SUMMARY SECTION

VelocityShares Emerging Markets DR ETF (the “Fund”)

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of its underlying index, the BNY Mellon Emerging Markets DR Index (the “Underlying Index”).

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

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 costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker. These costs are not included in the expense example below.

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

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

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

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.

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

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:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

ALPS Advisors, Inc. (the “Adviser”) will seek to match the performance of the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index is an index designed to track the performance of depositary receipts of companies located in emerging markets. The Underlying Index is comprised of U.S. exchange-listed American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and London Stock Exchange (“LSE”)-traded Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance of the Underlying Index, before fees and expenses, by investing in ADRs and GDRs which comprise the Underlying Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in depositary receipts constituting its Underlying Index. In addition, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in depositary receipts of issuers located in emerging markets. The Fund is required to provide 60 days’ notice to its shareholders prior to a change in its 80% investment policy.

Depositary receipts are issued by a bank that purchases shares of a non-U.S. company and issues shares based on the foreign holdings. ADRs are depositary receipts that trade on a U.S. exchange and thus are subject to registration and disclosure requirements under the Securities Acts of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. GDRs are depositary receipts which trade on the LSE. All of the depositary receipts included in the Underlying Index are sponsored depositary receipts.

As of December 31^st, 2012, the countries included in the Underlying Index were:

Country	Weight
Brazil	20.39%
South Korea	16.83%
China	15.29%
Russia	15.16%
Taiwan	8.66%
India	6.82%
Mexico	5.98%
South Africa	2.90%
Chile	2.48%
Colombia	1.22%
Turkey	1.17%
Indonesia	0.59%
Egypt	0.56%
Peru	0.43%
Argentina	0.35%
Philippines	0.31%
Kazakhstan	0.31%
Nigeria	0.25%
Lebanon	0.21%
Oman	0.06%
Ukraine	0.03%

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

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

Equity Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may 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 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.

Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market and may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index.

Foreign Investment Risk. The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. issuers, although limited to ADRs and GDRs, may involve unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers, including less market liquidity, generally greater market volatility than U.S. securities and less complete financial information than for U.S. issuers. In addition, adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the Fund’s investments or prevent the Fund from realizing the full value of its investments. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the United States.

Emerging market countries are countries that major international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, generally consider to be less economically mature than developed nations. Emerging market countries can include every nation in the world except the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most countries located in Western Europe. Investing in foreign countries, particularly emerging market countries, entails the risk that news and events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. Countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets. The economies of emerging markets countries also may be based on only a few industries, making them more vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions and more sensitive to debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.

To the extent a substantial portion of the Index consists of securities from underlying issuers located in particular geographic areas, natural disasters, such as volcano eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, typhoons; epidemics; or other such events could have significant impact on the performance and/or risk of the Fund.

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund will hold the securities of non-U.S. companies in the form of ADRs and GDRs. ADRs are negotiable certificates issued by a U.S. financial institution that represent a specified number of shares in a foreign stock and trade on a U.S. national securities exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange. Sponsored ADRs are issued with the support of the issuer of the foreign stock underlying the ADRs and carry all of the rights of common shares, including voting rights. GDRs are similar to ADRs, but may be issued in bearer form and are typically offered for sale globally and held by a foreign branch of an international bank. The underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Issuers of unsponsored depositary receipts are not contractually obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. and, therefore, such information may not correlate to the market value of the unsponsored depositary receipt. The underlying securities of the ADRs and GDRs in the Fund’s portfolio are usually denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. As a result, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, because the underlying securities of ADRs and GDRs trade on foreign exchanges at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, the value of the securities underlying the ADRs and GDRs may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, regardless of whether there is an active U.S. market for shares of the Fund.

Brazil Investment Risk. Investment in securities of Brazilian issuers, although limited to ADRs and GDRs, involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of your investment in the Fund. Such investment subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, security and economic risk specific to Brazil. Among other things, investments in securities of Brazilian companies are subject to regulatory and economic interventions that the Brazilian government has frequently exercised in the past, including the setting of wage and price controls, blocking access to bank accounts, imposing exchange controls and limiting imports. In addition, the Brazilian securities markets may be subject to greater market volatility, lower trading volume, greater risk of market shut down, higher transactional and custody costs, decreased market liquidity and various administrative difficulties, such as delays in clearing and settling portfolio transactions. The Brazilian government has often changed monetary, taxation, credit, tariff and other policies to influence the core of Brazil’s economy. Investments are also subject to certain restrictions on foreign investment as provided by Brazilian law. The market for Brazilian securities is directly influenced by the flow of international capital, and economic and market conditions of certain countries, especially emerging market countries. The Brazilian economy has historically been subject to high rates of inflation and a high level of debt, all of which may stifle economic growth. Brazil is heavily dependent on exports to its trading partners, including the United States, China and other countries in Central and South America, and reduction in spending on Brazilian products or adverse economic events in any of these countries may impact the Brazilian economy. Despite rapid development in recent years, Brazil still suffers from high levels of corruption, crime and income disparity. There is the possibility that such conditions may lead to social unrest and political upheaval in the future, which may have adverse effects on the Fund’s investments.

Concentration Risk. The Fund seeks to track the Underlying Index, which itself may have concentration in certain regions, economies, countries, markets, industries or sectors. Underperformance or increased risk in such concentrated areas may result in underperformance or increased risk in the Fund.

Computer/Technology Sector Risk. Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of companies in the computer/technology sector. Also, many of the products and services offered by computer and technology companies are subject to the risks of short product cycles and rapid obsolescence. Companies in the computer/technology sector also may be subject to competition from new market entrants. Such companies also may be subject to risks relating to research and development costs and the availability and price of components. As product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies could become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Other risks include those related to regulatory changes, such as the possible adverse effects on profits of recent increased competition among telecommunications companies and the uncertainties resulting from such companies’ diversification into new domestic and international businesses, as well as agreements by any such companies linking future rate increases to inflation or other factors not directly related to the actual operating profits of the enterprise.

Oils/Energy Sector Risk. The profitability of companies in the oils/energy sector is related to worldwide energy prices, exploration, and production spending. Such companies also are subject to risks of changes in exchange rates, government regulation, world events, depletion of resources and economic conditions, as well as market, economic and political risks of the countries where energy companies are located or do business. Oil and gas exploration and production can be significantly affected by natural disasters. Oil exploration and production companies may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, interest rates, government regulation, world events, and economic conditions. Oil exploration and production companies may be at risk for environmental damage claims.

Currency Risk. The Fund’s investment in depositary receipts subjects the Fund to currency risk. The underlying securities of the depositary receipts are typically non-dollar denominated. As such, dollar appreciation may have an adverse effect on underlying company’s value in dollars. As a result, the Fund’s target index has a large inverse exposure to the U.S. dollar.

Investment Style Risk. Returns from depositary receipts of underlying issuers located in emerging markets may trail returns from the overall stock market. Such securities may experience cycles of doing better—or worse—than other segments of the stock market or the stock market in general, potentially for extended periods of time.

Liquidity Risk. it may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Investment Adviser believes it is desirable to do so. The Fund’s investment in securities that are less actively traded or over time experience decreased trading volume may restrict its ability to take advantage of other market opportunities or to dispose of securities. This also may affect adversely the Fund’s ability to make dividend distributions to you.

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 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, cash flows or operational inefficiencies.

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.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

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

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Fund Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

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.

Performance One Year or Less [Text]

rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess

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.

VelocityShares Emerging Markets DR ETF | VelocityShares Emerging Markets DR ETF

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.65%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

none

Total annual Fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.65%

One Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

66

Three Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

208

XML

VelocityShares Emerging Asia DR ETF

VelocityShares Emerging Asia DR ETF (the “Fund”)

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of its underlying index, the BNY Mellon Emerging Asia DR 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 (“Shares”). 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)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses	VelocityShares Emerging Asia DR ETF
Management fees	0.65%
Other expenses	none
Total annual Fund operating expenses	0.65%

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:

Expense Example (USD $)	One Year	Three Years
VelocityShares Emerging Asia DR ETF	66	208

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 an index designed to track the performance of depositary receipts of companies located in “emerging Asian” countries. The Underlying Index is comprised of U.S. exchange-listed American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and London Stock Exchange (“LSE”)-traded Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance of the Underlying Index, before fees and expenses, by investing in ADRs and GDRs which comprise the Underlying Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in depositary receipts constituting its Underlying Index. In addition, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in depositary receipts of issuers located in emerging Asian markets. The Fund is required to provide 60 days’ notice to its shareholders prior to a change in its 80% investment policy.

Depositary receipts are issued by a bank that purchases shares of a non-U.S. company and issues shares based on the foreign holdings. ADRs are depositary receipts that trade on a U.S. exchange and thus are subject to registration and disclosure requirements under the Securities Acts of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. GDRs are depositary receipts which trade on the LSE. All of the depositary receipts included in the Underlying Index are sponsored depositary receipts.

All Emerging Asia U.S. exchange-listed ADRs and LSE-traded GDRs are eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index, regardless of number of shares outstanding, or length of time elapsed since the date of listing. ADRs and GDRs are subject to a liquidity screen based on volume on the primary exchange where the ADR or GDR trades in order to be included in the Underlying Index.

As of December 31^st, 2012, the countries included in the Underlying Index were:

Country	Weight
South Korea	34.70%
China	31.54%
Taiwan	17.86%
India	14.05%
Indonesia	1.22%
Philippines	0.63%

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 all or part of your money.

Equity Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may 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 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.

Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market and may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index.

Foreign Investment Risk. The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. issuers, although limited to ADRs and GDRs, may involve unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers, including less market liquidity, generally greater market volatility than U.S. securities and less complete financial information than for U.S. issuers. In addition, adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the Fund’s investments or prevent the Fund from realizing the full value of its investments. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the United States.

Emerging market countries are countries that major international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, generally consider to be less economically mature than developed nations. Emerging market countries can include every nation in the world except the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most countries located in Western Europe. Investing in foreign countries, particularly emerging market countries, entails the risk that news and events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. Countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets. The economies of emerging markets countries also may be based on only a few industries, making them more vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions and more sensitive to debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.

The emerging market Asia-Pacific countries in which the Fund may invest are subject to certain additional or specific risks. In many of these markets, there is a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of investors and financial intermediaries. Many of these markets also may be affected by developments with respect to more established markets in the region such as in Japan and Hong Kong. Brokers in emerging market Asia-Pacific countries typically are fewer in number and less well capitalized than brokers in the United States. These factors, combined with the U.S. regulatory requirements for open-end investment companies, result in potentially fewer investment opportunities for the Fund and may have an adverse impact on the investment performance of the Fund.

Many of the emerging market Asia-Pacific countries may be subject to a greater degree of economic, political and social instability than is the case in the United States and Western European countries. Such instability may result from, among other things: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision-making, including changes in government through extra-constitutional means; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic and social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; and (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection. In addition, the governments of many of such countries, such as Indonesia, have a substantial role in regulating and supervising the economy. Another risk common to most such countries is that the economy is heavily export oriented and, accordingly, is dependent upon international trade. The existence of overburdened infrastructure and obsolete financial systems also presents risks in certain countries, as do environmental problems. Certain economies also depend to a significant degree upon exports of primary commodities and, therefore, are vulnerable to changes in commodity prices that, in turn, may be affected by a variety of factors.

Governments of many emerging market Asia-Pacific countries have exercised and continue to exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In certain cases, the government owns or controls many companies, including the largest in the country. Accordingly, government actions in the future could have a significant effect on economic conditions in emerging market Asia-Pacific countries, which could affect private sector companies and the Fund itself, as well as the value of securities in the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, economic statistics of emerging market Asia-Pacific countries may be less reliable than economic statistics of more developed nations.

To the extent a substantial portion of the Underlying Index consists of securities from underlying issuers located in particular geographic areas, natural disasters, such as volcano eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, typhoons; epidemics; or other such events could have significant impact on the performance and/or risk of the Fund.

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund will hold the securities of non-U.S. companies in the form of ADRs and GDRs. ADRs are negotiable certificates issued by a U.S. financial institution that represent a specified number of shares in a foreign stock and trade on a U.S. national securities exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange. Sponsored ADRs are issued with the support of the issuer of the foreign stock underlying the ADRs and carry all of the rights of common shares, including voting rights. GDRs are similar to ADRs, but may be issued in bearer form and are typically offered for sale globally and held by a foreign branch of an international bank. The underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Issuers of unsponsored depositary receipts are not contractually obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. and, therefore, such information may not correlate to the market value of the unsponsored depositary receipt. The underlying securities of the ADRs and GDRs in the Fund’s portfolio are usually denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. As a result, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, because the underlying securities of ADRs and GDRs trade on foreign exchanges at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, the value of the securities underlying the ADRs and GDRs may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, regardless of whether there is an active U.S. market for shares of the Fund.

China Investment Risk. Investment in securities of Chinese issuers involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of your investment in the Fund. Such investment subjects the Fund to a considerable degree of economic, political and social instability risk. Among other things, disparities of wealth and the pace of economic liberalization may lead to social turmoil, violence and labor unrest. A greater risk of social unrest and conflicts with other countries may lead to currency fluctuations, currency convertibility restrictions, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. In addition, sudden and significant investment losses could arise from unanticipated political or social developments. The risk of loss due to expropriation, nationalization, or confiscation of assets and property or the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and on repatriation of capital invested is greater than in many developed markets due to the extensive involvement of the Chinese government in economic regulation and intervention.

South Korea Investment Risk. Investment in securities of South Korean issuers involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of your investment in the Fund. Such investment subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security and economic risk specific to South Korea. Among other things, substantial political tensions exist between North Korea and South Korea and these political tensions have recently escalated. Either the threat of an outbreak of hostilities or the outright outbreak of hostilities between the two nations would likely adversely impact the South Korean economy. In addition, due mainly to a rapidly aging population and structural problems, South Korea’s economic growth potential has recently been on a decline.

Concentration Risk. The Fund seeks to track the Underlying Index, which itself may have concentration in certain regions, economies, countries, markets, industries or sectors. Underperformance or increased risk in such concentrated areas may result in underperformance or increased risk in the Fund.

Computer/Technology Sector Risk. Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of companies in the computer/technology sector. Also, many of the products and services offered by computer and technology companies are subject to the risks of short product cycles and rapid obsolescence. Companies in the computer/technology sector also may be subject to competition from new market entrants. Such companies also may be subject to risks relating to research and development costs and the availability and price of components. As product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies could become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Other risks include those related to regulatory changes, such as the possible adverse effects on profits of recent increased competition among telecommunications companies and the uncertainties resulting from such companies’ diversification into new domestic and international businesses, as well as agreements by any such companies linking future rate increases to inflation or other factors not directly related to the actual operating profits of the enterprise.

Currency Risk. The Fund’s investment in depositary receipts subjects the Fund to currency risk. The underlying securities of the depositary receipts are typically non-dollar denominated. As such, dollar appreciation may have an adverse effect on underlying company’s value in dollars. As a result, the Fund’s target index has a large inverse exposure to the U.S. dollar.

Investment Style Risk. Returns from depositary receipts of underlying issuers located in “emerging Asian” countries may trail returns from the overall stock market. Such securities may experience cycles of doing better—or worse—than other segments of the stock market or the stock market in general, potentially for extended periods of time.

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Investment Adviser believes it is desirable to do so. The Fund’s investment in securities that are less actively traded or over time experience decreased trading volume may restrict its ability to take advantage of other market opportunities or to dispose of securities. This also may affect adversely the Fund’s ability to make dividend distributions to you.

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 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, cash flows or operational inefficiencies.

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.

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.