AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF (Prospectus Summary) | AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF

AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF

ADVISORSHARES TRUST

AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF

NYSE Arca Ticker: HDGE

Supplement dated January 30, 2014

to the Summary and Statutory Prospectuses

dated October 28, 2013

This supplement provides new and additional information beyond that contained in the
Summary and Statutory Prospectuses (together, the “Prospectuses”) for the AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF (the “Fund”) and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectuses.

Effective immediately, the following replaces the last sentence of the first paragraph under the heading “Principal Investment Strategies” on page 2 of the Prospectuses:

On a day-to-day basis, for investment purposes and to cover its short positions, the Fund may hold U.S. government securities, short-term high quality fixed income securities, money market instruments, overnight and fixed-term repurchase agreements, cash and cash equivalents with maturities of one year or less, and ETFs that invest in these types of instruments.

Principal Investment Strategies

Effective immediately, the following replaces the last sentence of the first paragraph under the heading “Principal Investment Strategies” on page 2 of the Prospectuses:

On a day-to-day basis, for investment purposes and to cover its short positions, the Fund may hold U.S. government securities, short-term high quality fixed income securities, money market instruments, overnight and fixed-term repurchase agreements, cash and cash equivalents with maturities of one year or less, and ETFs that invest in these types of instruments.

PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.