SDOG Quarterly Scorecard 4th Quarter 2014 what s INSIDE ETF Stats Ticker: Underlying Index: Listing Exchange: SDOG SDOGXTR NYSE Arca CUSIP: 00162Q 858 Fund Inception: 6/29/2012 Dividends Paid: Quarterly Most Recent Dividend**: $0.3390 Gross Expense Ratio: 0.40% NAV*: $38.05 Shares Outstanding: * As of 12/31/2014 ** Dividend Paid on 1/2/2015 28.5 million Investment Objective The Fund seeks investment results that replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the performance of the S-Network Sector Dividend Dogs Index (the Underlying Index ). PERFORMANCE At the conclusion of Q4 2014, ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (SDOG) closed at $38.05, up 3.14% for the quarter. This lagged the S&P 500 s (SPX) gain of 4.93%. For the year ended December 31, 2014, SDOG returned 15% compared to 13.7% in SPX. SECTOR ANALYSIS The top performing sector in SDOG for Q4 2014 was Utilities (+12.45%), followed by Consumer Discretionary (+12.05). The worst performing sector was Materials (-13.22%), followed by Telecommunications (-5.51%). COMPANY BREAKDOWN For the quarter, contribution to return was positive for 41 names and negative for 27^. The top performing security was IRM (+20.73%), while the worst performer was FCX (-36.88%). DIVIDEND REVIEW As of December 31st, 2014 the S-Network Sector Dividend Dogs Index had a TTM dividend yield of 4.35% relative to 4.04% on September 30th, 2014. PERFORMANCE as of 12/31/14 Contributors Mike Akins Portfolio Manager Brian Burke Index Analyst Jeremy Brown Index Analyst Contact Info www.alpssectordividenddogs.com sdog@alpsinc.com Total Returns Sector Dividend Dogs Series 6 Month YTD 1 Year Cumulative Since Inception 1 Annualized Since Inception 1 3 Month ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (Net Asset Value) 3.14% 3.47% 15.00% 15.00% 67.35% 22.80% ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (Market Price) 2 3.09% 3.42% 14.93% 14.93% 67.35% 22.80% S&P 500 Total Return Index (Benchmark) 4.93% 6.12% 13.69% 13.69% 59.47% 20.46% S-Network Sector Dividend Dogs TR Index (Benchmark) 3.30% 3.72% 15.60% 15.60% 69.47% 23.42% Performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than actual data quoted. Call 1.866.675.2639 or visit www.alpssectordividenddogs.com for current month end performance. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. 1 Fund inception date of 6/29/2012. 2 Market Price is based on the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4 p.m. ET and does not represent the returns an investor would receive if shares were traded at other times. ^ Numbers include the 18 add/drops from 12/19/14 reconstitution www.alpssectordividenddogs.com 866.675.2639
PERFORMANCE SDOG 1 Year Performance (NAV) $40 12/3/2014 All Time High $39.03 $38 $36 2/3/2014 Low $32.12 $34 $32 $30 $28 12/31/13 1/31/14 2/28/14 3/31/14 4/30/14 5/30/14 6/30/14 7/31/14 8/29/14 9/30/14 10/31/14 11/28/14 12/31/14 *Source: Bloomberg NAV returns as of 12/31/14. Past performance is not indicative of future results. RISK STATISTICS 3 Months 6 Months Year To Date 1 Year 2 Years (Annual.) SI* (Annual.) Portfolio Statistics SDOG SPX SDOG SPX SDOG SPX SDOG SPX SDOG SPX SDOG SPX Total Return 3.14 4.93 3.47 6.12 15.00 13.69 15.00 13.69 21.21 20.15 22.80 20.46 Standard Deviation (Annualized) 1.49 1.33 2.09 2.12 8.40 7.91 8.40 7.91 8.65 8.29 8.27 7.84 Downside Risk (Annualized) 2.11 0.50 3.56 2.80 4.61 3.99 4.61 3.99 3.24 3.84 3.27 3.66 Tracking Error (Annualized) 0.24 0.23 3.73 3.73 4.23 5.49 Sharpe Ratio 2.56 4.60 0.97 1.71 1.78 1.73 1.78 1.73 2.70 2.72 2.62 2.61 Information Ratio -9.73-6.97 0.35 0.35 0.38 0.29 Source: Factset. * Fund inception date of 6/29/2012. Annualized performance. INDEX CHARACTERISTICS Fundamentals & Risk Profile Description Value Dividend Yield 4.35% Price to Earnings Ratio 13.98 Max Market Cap (Million $) $292,703 Price to Earnings Ratio using Fiscal Year 1 Estimate 14.21 Min Market Cap (Million $) $3,668 Price to Earnings Ratio using Fiscal Year 2 Estimate 13.58 Total Market Cap (Agg, Million $) $2,678,704 Price to Book Ratio 1.90 Weighted Avg. Market Cap (Agg, Million $) $52,792 Price to Sales Ratio 1.48 Market Cap Breakdown Price to Cash Flow Ratio 7.52 Large Cap 71.54% Beta 0.86 Mid Cap 28.48% Volatility 10.44% Small Cap 0.00%
SECTOR ATTRIBUTION 4TH QUARTER Overall sector allocation was negative, with its largest positive effects coming from an overweight to Utilities and largest negative effects coming from the relative overweight to Telecom and Materials. Selection effect was also negative, with the biggest gains coming from Energy and biggest losses coming from Materials. Avg % Wgt Contribution to Return Total Return Total Attribution Allocation Effect Selection Effect SDOG SPX +/- SDOG SPX +/- SDOG SPX +/- Consumer Discretionary 10.40% 11.79% -1.39% 1.21% 1.01% 0.20% 12.05% 8.74% 3.31% 0.25% -0.05% 0.31% Consumer Staples 10.48% 9.80% 0.68% 0.77% 0.78% -0.01% 7.31% 8.15% -0.84% -0.05% 0.04% -0.09% Energy 9.49% 8.88% 0.60% -0.55% -1.03% 0.48% -5.16%-10.68% 5.52% 0.46% -0.05% 0.52% Financials 11.74% 16.47% -4.73% 1.06% 1.17% -0.11% 9.03% 7.25% 1.78% 0.10% -0.10% 0.20% Health Care 10.06% 14.22% -4.16% 0.48% 1.04% -0.56% 5.04% 7.48% -2.43% -0.34% -0.12% -0.23% Industrials 8.16% 10.38% -2.22% 0.22% 0.71% -0.49% 3.19% 6.76% -3.57% -0.34% -0.04% -0.30% Information Technology 10.01% 19.65% -9.63% 0.65% 1.02% -0.37% 6.57% 5.24% 1.33% 0.11% -0.03% 0.13% Materials 9.22% 3.27% 5.95% -1.35% -0.06% -1.28%-13.22% -1.80%-11.42% -1.57% -0.43% -1.14% Telecommunication Services 9.86% 2.38% 7.48% -0.56% -0.10% -0.46% -5.51% -4.16% -1.34% -0.84% -0.70% -0.15% Utilities 10.59% 3.15% 7.43% 1.27% 0.40% 0.87% 12.45% 13.19% -0.74% 0.50% 0.58% -0.07% Past performance is not indicative of future results. Subject to change. SECTOR RETURNS 4 QUARTERS ROLLING The dispersion of sector returns from 3rd Quarter to 4th Quarter was largest in Utilities (16.26%) and Telecom (14.12%). Quarterly SDOG Returns by Sector 2014 20% 1st QTR '14 2nd QTR '14 3rd QTR '14 4th QTR 14 15% 10% 5% 0% -5% -10% -15% Cons Disc Cons Stpls Energy Financials Health Care Industrials Info Tech Materials Telecom Utilities Past performance is not indicative of future results.
BY COMPANY The leading individual contributor for Q4 was Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM), adding 47 basis points with a return of 20.73%. The leading detractor for the quarter was Freeport-McMoran Inc. (FCX), subtracting 47 basis points with a quarterly return of -27.72%. Constituent Contribution Basis Points Q4 IRM (-) LEG (-) STX TE FE (-) CVC (-) DRI ETR (-) KRFT ABBV (-) CA CINF RAI KMI (-) DO INTC (-) MO WM LMT EXC (-) WFC (-) PAYX DD (-) PFE LLY PBCT LO FTR GRMN (-) BBT IVZ (-) BAX MAT (+) SPLS (+) GE PBI COH (+) MCD (-) POM (-) JNJ (+) JPM (+) ED (+) D (+) SO (+) PPL (+) CTL PM PRU (+) BMS (+) MCHP ETN (+) GME (+) T MRK KLAC (+) LYB (+) VZ SE (-) RIG (+) ESV (+) NUE NE (+) COP DOW WMB (-) NEM (-) WIN FCX -50-40 -30-20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 (+) = New Add from 12/19/14 rebalance (-) = Drop from 12/19/14 rebalance Past performance is not indicative of future results. Subject to change.
DIVIDEND UPDATE SDOG Distribution History Declaration Ex Date Record Payable SDOG Div / Share 12/23/14 12/24/14 12/29/14 1/2/15 0.3390 9/23/14 9/24/14 9/26/14 10/1/14 0.3112 6/24/14 6/25/14 6/27/14 7/2/14 0.3188 3/25/14 3/26/14 3/28/14 4/2/14 0.3113 12/24/13 12/26/13 12/30/13 1/3/14 0.3040 9/24/13 9/25/13 9/27/13 10/2/13 0.2915 6/25/13 6/26/13 6/28/13 7/3/13 0.2906 3/19/13 3/20/13 3/22/13 3/27/13 0.2940 12/24/12 12/26/12 12/28/12 1/3/13 0.3332 9/25/12 9/26/12 9/28/12 10/3/12 0.2868 Past performance is not indicative of future results. Sector Yield Breakdown The S-Networks Sector Dividend Dogs Index s focus on yield on a sector-by-sector basis as its primary screen continues to provide meaningfully higher yields than the broad based benchmark across all 10 GICS Sectors. TTM Yield* 9% 8% S-Net Sector Dividend Dogs S&P 500 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% 0% Cons Disc Cons Stpls Energy Financials Health Care Industrials Info Tech Materials Telecom Utilities Total * Excluding special dividends. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Dividend Commentary Of the 50 SDOG constituents, 15 companies, or 30% of the fund holdings, increased their dividend from Q3 to Q4, while there were no decreases. 33 companies, or 66% of the fund holdings, increased their dividend year- over- year from 2013, while only two companies, FirstEnergy (FE) and Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM), decreased their dividend. At the fund level, SDOG s 4th quarter distribution increased 11.5% year- over- year from Q4 2013, while its 2014 annual distribution increased 8.5% relative to 2013.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES & DEFINITIONS An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus which contain this and other information call 866.675.2639 or visit www.alpsfunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF Shares are not individually redeemable. Investors buy and sell shares of the ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF on a secondary market. Only market makers or authorized participants may trade directly with the Fund, typically in blocks of 50,000 shares. There are risks involved with investing in ETFs including the loss of money. Additional information regarding the risks of this investment is available in the prospectus. The Fund is subject to the additional risks associated with concentrating its investments in companies in the market sector. Diversification does not eliminate the risk of experiencing investment losses. The Fund s investments in non-u.s. issuers may involve unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers, including, among others, 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. Finally, the value of the currency of the country in which the Fund has invested could decline relative to the value of the U.S. dollar, which may affect the value of the investment to U.S. investors. An investor cannot invest directly in an index. The S-Network Sector Dividend Dogs Index (Ticker: SDOGX) is designed to serve as a fair, impartial and transparent measure of the performance of US large cap equities with above average dividend yields. Dogs of the Dow Theory: an investment strategy which proposes that an investor annually select for investment the ten Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks whose dividend is the highest fraction of their price. The S&P 500 (Ticker: SPX) is an index of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry grouping among other factors. S&P 500: an index of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry grouping among other factors. Downside risk: the probability that an asset will fall in price. It is also the measure of the possible loss from that decline. Tracking error: a measure of how closely a portfolio follows the index to which it is benchmarked. Sharpe ratio: a measure that indicates the average return minus the risk-free return divided by the standard deviation of return on an investment. Information ratio: A ratio of portfolio returns above the returns of a benchmark (usually an index) to the volatility of those returns. Price to earnings ratio: an equity valuation multiple. It is defined as market price per share divided by annual earnings per share. Price to book ratio: a financial ratio used to compare a company s current market price to its book value. Beta: A measure of the volatility, or systematic risk, of a security or a portfolio in comparison to the market as a whole. Dividend yield: a dividend expressed as a percentage of a current share price. Basis point: A unit that is equal to 1/100th of 1%, and is used to denote the change in a financial instrument. ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc. is the distributor for the ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF. DOG000298 4/30/15