Prospectus

 

March 31, 2022

 

ALPS ETF Trust

 

ALPS Active REIT ETF (Nasdaq: REIT)

 

An ALPS Advisors Solution

 

This ETF is different from traditional ETFs.

 

Traditional ETFs tell the public what assets they hold each day. This ETF will not. This may create additional risks for your investment. For example:

You may have to pay more money to trade the ETF’s shares. This ETF will provide less information to traders, who tend to charge more for trades when they have less information.

The price you pay to buy ETF shares on an exchange may not match the value of the ETF’s portfolio. The same is true when you sell shares. These price differences may be greater for this ETF compared to other ETFs because it provides less information to traders.

These additional risks may be even greater in bad or uncertain market conditions.

The ETF will publish on its website each day a “Portfolio Reference Basket” designed to help trading in shares of the ETF. While the Portfolio Reference Basket includes all the names of the ETF’s holdings, it is not the ETF’s actual portfolio.

 

The differences between this ETF and other ETFs may also have advantages. By keeping certain information about the ETF portfolio secret, this ETF may face less risk that other traders can predict or copy its investment strategy. This may improve the ETF’s performance. If other traders are able to copy or predict the ETF’s investment strategy, however, this may hurt the ETF’s performance.

 

For additional information regarding the unique attributes and risks of the ETF, see “Principal Investment Risks,” (in the Fund Summary section) “Additional Risk Considerations,” and “Additional Information about the Fund” (in the Other Information section) below.

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

     

Summary Section

2

Introduction—ALPS ETF Trust

6

ALPS Active REIT ETF

6

Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies 6

Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Investment Risks

7

Secondary Investment Strategies

10

Additional Risk Considerations

10

Investment Advisory Services

12

Purchase and Redemption of Shares

13

How to Buy and Sell Shares

14

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions

16

Fund Service Providers

16

Federal Income Taxation

16

Other Information

17

Financial Highlights

18

For More Information

Back Cover

 

 

alpsfunds.com

1-866-759-5679

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary Section

 

ALPS ACTIVE REIT ETF (THE “FUND”)

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

 

The Fund seeks total return through dividends and capital appreciation.

 

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.

 

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

 

 

Management Fees

0.68%

Other Expenses

0.00%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.68%

 

Example

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

 

 

One
Year

Three
Years

Five

Years

Ten

Years

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

$69

$218

$362 $810

 

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the period from February 25, 2021 (commencement of operations) through November 30, 2021, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 92% of the average value of the portfolio.

 

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

 

The Fund will, under normal circumstances, seek to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets in publicly traded equity securities of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). The Fund will primarily invest in publicly traded common equity securities of U.S. REITs. The Fund may also invest a portion of its assets in publicly traded common equity of U.S. real estate operating companies (not structured as REITs), publicly traded preferred equity of U.S. REITs and real estate operating companies, and cash and cash equivalents. GSI Capital Advisors LLC, the Fund’s sub-adviser (“GSI Capital” or the “Sub-Adviser”), is responsible for implementing the Fund’s investment strategy in connection with its active management of the Fund.

 

The Sub-Adviser implements a methodical, data driven investment approach in implementing the Fund’s investment strategy. The primary factor influencing the Fund’s investment strategy is individual stock selection based on fundamental research and the Sub-Adviser’s analysis of the intrinsic value of the underlying properties held by REITs, as well as the corresponding intrinsic value of the publicly traded U.S. REITs in which the Fund seeks to invest. The Sub-Adviser’s research and investment process is driven by assessing the relative merits of a company based on a set of variables determined by the Sub-Adviser, with an emphasis on those variables most likely to influence total return. Using this investment process, the Sub-Adviser seeks to invest in eligible companies that trade at the largest discounts to the Sub-Adviser’s assessment of intrinsic value relative to other eligible companies.

 

The Sub-Adviser’s valuation methodology incorporates multiple complex inputs, including capitalization rates, net operating income growth estimates, the valuation of land and other income or non-income generating assets, and adjustments for marking to market the value of the company’s debt, which are driven by a broad set of proprietary, third-party and public data sources. The Fund may invest in small-, mid- and large-capitalization companies. The Fund considers a “U.S.” company to be one (i) domiciled or with a principal place of business or primary securities trading market in the United States, or (ii) that derives more than 50% of its total revenues or profits from the United States and its stock is listed on an exchange that trades contemporaneously with the Shares.

 

Semi-Transparent Actively-Managed ETF with Portfolio Reference Basket Structure. The Fund is an actively-managed, semi-transparent exchange traded fund (“ETF”). Unlike traditional ETFs, which generally publish their portfolio holdings on a daily basis, the Fund discloses a portfolio transparency substitute—the Portfolio Reference Basket—and certain related information about the Portfolio Reference Basket relative to the Fund’s actual portfolio (“Actual Portfolio”) holdings (the “Portfolio Reference Basket Disclosures”), which are intended to help keep the market price of the Fund’s shares (“Shares”) trading at or close to the underlying NAV per Share of the Fund. While the Portfolio Reference Basket includes all of the Fund’s holdings, it is not the Fund’s Actual Portfolio because

 

2

Prospectus | March 31, 2022

 

 

 

the holdings will be weighted differently, subject to a minimum weightings overlap of 90% with the Fund’s Actual Portfolio at the beginning of each trading day. The Fund also discloses the maximum deviation between the weightings of the specific securities in the Portfolio Reference Basket and the weightings of those specific securities in the Actual Portfolio, as well as between the weighting of the respective cash positions (the “Guardrail Amount”). The Guardrail Amount is intended to ensure that no individual security in the Portfolio Reference Basket will be overweighted or underweighted by more than the publicly disclosed percentage when compared to the actual weighting of each security within the Actual Portfolio as of the beginning of each trading day. The Fund is actively-managed and does not seek to track an 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 money.

 

Portfolio Reference Basket Structure Risk. Unlike traditional ETFs that provide daily disclosure of their portfolio holdings, the Fund discloses daily the identities of all portfolio holdings, but not the exact quantities or weightings. Instead, the Fund discloses a Portfolio Reference Basket generated each day by a proprietary algorithmic process that is designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio on any given trading day. Although the Portfolio Reference Basket and Portfolio Reference Basket Disclosures are intended to provide authorized participants and other market participants with enough information to allow them to engage in effective arbitrage transactions that will help keep the market price of the Shares trading at or close to the underlying NAV per Share of the Fund, there is a risk that market prices will vary significantly from the underlying NAV of the Fund, which may be heightened during periods of market disruption or volatility. Similarly, Shares may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than shares of traditional ETFs and may therefore be more costly for investors to trade, which may be heightened during periods of market disruption or volatility. Additionally, the Portfolio Reference Basket structure itself may result in additional trading costs because the Fund may receive or deliver holdings in different weightings on any given day than the weightings of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio, which may result in portfolio turnover, and related transaction costs, to re-align the Actual Portfolio with the Fund’s intended investment strategy. In addition, although the Fund seeks to benefit from keeping its Actual Portfolio secret, market participants may attempt to use the Portfolio Reference Basket to identify the Fund’s trading strategy, which if successful, could result in such market participants engaging in certain predatory practices, such as front-running the Fund’s trading activity or free-riding on the Fund’s investment strategy, that may potentially harm the Fund and its shareholders. There can be no assurance that the Portfolio Reference Basket structure will operate as intended. The Portfolio Reference Basket structure is novel and not yet proven as an effective arbitrage mechanism. The effectiveness of the Portfolio Reference Basket structure as an arbitrage mechanism is contingent upon, among other things, the effectiveness of the proprietary algorithmic process employed to create a Portfolio Reference Basket that performs in a manner substantially identical to the performance of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio and the willingness of authorized participants and other market participants to trade based on the Portfolio Reference Basket. The Fund makes no warranty as to the accuracy of the Portfolio Reference Basket or that it will produce the intended results. In the event that the Portfolio Reference Basket structure does not result in effective arbitrage opportunities in the Fund Shares, the Fund may exhibit wider premiums/discounts, bid/ask spreads and tracking error (relative to the Actual Portfolio) than traditional ETFs. For at least the first three years after launch of the Fund, if the tracking error exceeds 1%, or if, for 30 or more days in any quarter or 15 days in a row, the absolute difference between either the closing price or the mid-point of the highest bid and lowest offer at the time of calculation of the NAV (the “Bid/Ask Price”), on one hand, and NAV, on the other, exceeds 2.00% or the bid/ask spread exceeds 2.00%, the Adviser will recommend appropriate remedial measures to the Fund’s Board of Trustees for its consideration, which may include, but are not limited to, liquidation of the Fund.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value. The net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund’s Shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for the Shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the “Nasdaq Exchange”). Neither the Adviser nor the Sub-Adviser can predict whether the Shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. Although the Portfolio Reference Basket structure is intended to provide market participants with enough information to allow for an effective arbitrage mechanism that will help to keep the market price of the Fund’s Shares at or close to the Fund’s NAV, there is a risk (which may increase during periods of market disruption or volatility) that market prices for Fund Shares will vary significantly from the Fund’s NAV. This risk may be greater for the Fund than for traditional ETFs that disclose their full portfolio holdings on a daily basis because the publication of the Portfolio Reference Basket does not provide the same level of transparency as the daily publication of the actual portfolio by a traditional ETF. This could cause the Fund’s Shares to have wider bid/ask spreads and larger premiums/discounts than traditional ETFs using the same or similar investment strategies.

 

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

 

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

 

www.alpsfunds.com

3

 

 

 

 

 

Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. The values of equity securities, such as common stocks and preferred stock, may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic, political and social conditions, inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. Equity securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed-income securities. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics.

 

Real Estate Investment Risk. The Fund invests in companies in the real estate industry, including real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). Therefore, the Fund is subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to, possible declines in the value of real estate; adverse changes in national, state or local real estate conditions; obsolescence of properties; changes in the availability, cost and terms of mortgage funds (including changes in interest rates); the impact of changes in environmental laws; overbuilding in a real estate company’s market; and environmental problems. The real estate sector is particularly sensitive to economic downturns and changes to interest rates.

 

REITs Investment Risk. In addition to risks related to investments in real estate generally, investing in REITs involves certain other risks related to their structure and focus, which include, but are not limited to, management risk, non-diversification risk, financing risk, cash flow dependency risk, default risk, self-liquidation risk, mortgage financing and interest rate risks, and, in many cases, relatively small market capitalization, which may result in less market liquidity and greater price volatility. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities. REITs are also subject to unique federal tax requirements. Dividends received by the Fund from REITs generally will not constitute qualified dividend income.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s portfolio securities, the Sub-Adviser will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results.

 

Concentration Risk. Real estate companies may lack diversification due to ownership of a limited number of properties and concentration in a particular geographic region or property type.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Rising interest rates could result in higher costs of capital for real estate companies, which could negatively impact a real estate company’s ability to meet its payment obligations. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy, such as interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve.

 

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

 

Leverage Risk. Real estate companies may use leverage (and some may be highly leveraged), which increases investment risk and the risks normally associated with debt financing and could adversely affect a real estate company’s operations and market value in periods of rising interest rates.

 

Liquidity Risk. Real estate is relatively illiquid and, therefore, a real estate company may have a limited ability to vary or liquidate properties in response to changes in economic or other conditions. These risks are especially applicable in conditions of declining real estate values, such as those experienced for several years starting in 2007.

 

Management Risk. Real estate companies are dependent upon management skills and may have limited financial resources. Real estate companies are generally not diversified and may be subject to heavy cash flow dependency, default by borrowers and self-liquidation. In addition, transactions between real estate companies and their affiliates may be subject to conflicts of interest, which may adversely affect a real estate company’s shareholders.

 

Property Risk. Real estate companies may be subject to risks relating to functional obsolescence or reduced desirability of properties; extended vacancies; catastrophic events; and casualty or condemnation losses. Real estate income and values also may be greatly affected by demographic trends, changing tastes and values, or increasing vacancies or declining rents.

 

Regulatory Risk. Real estate income and values may be adversely affected by such factors as applicable domestic and foreign laws (including tax laws). Government actions, such as tax increases, zoning law changes or environmental regulations, also may have a major impact on real estate.

 

Repayment Risk. The prices of real estate company securities may drop because of the failure of borrowers to repay their loans, poor management, and the inability to obtain financing either on favorable terms or at all. If the properties do not generate sufficient income to meet operating expenses, ground lease payments, tenant improvements, third-party leasing

 

4

Prospectus | March 31, 2022

 

 

 

commissions and other capital expenditures, the income and ability of the real estate company to make payments of interest and principal on their loans will be adversely affected.

 

Geographic Concentration Risk. To the extent the Fund is significantly comprised of securities of issuers from a single country, such as the United States, the Fund would be more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country.

 

Small-, Mid- and Large-Capitalization Company Risk. Smaller and mid-size companies often have a more limited track record, narrower markets, less liquidity, more limited managerial and financial resources and a less diversified product offering than larger, more established companies. As a result, their performance can be more volatile, which may increase the volatility of the Fund’s portfolio. The large capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may underperform other segments of the equity market or the equity market as a whole.

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is considered non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of its assets in securities of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

New Fund Risk. The Fund currently has fewer assets than larger funds, and like other relatively new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund’s market exposure for limited periods of time. This impact may be positive or negative, depending on the direction of market movement during the period affected.

 

FUND PERFORMANCE

 

As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund has not yet completed a full calendar year of 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 a benchmark index selected for the Fund. Updated performance information, when available, will be available online at www.alpsfunds.com or by calling 866.759.5679.

 

INVESTMENT ADVISER AND SUB-ADVISER

 

ALPS Advisors, Inc. (“ALPS Advisors” or the “Adviser”) is the investment adviser to the Fund. GSI Capital Advisors LLC (“GSI Capital” or the “Sub-Adviser”) is the Sub-Adviser.

 

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

 

Nicholas Tannura, Chief Investment Officer, and Julie Pence, Portfolio Manager, each of GSI Capital are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Mr. Tannura and Ms. Pence have each served in such capacity since inception of the Fund.

 

PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES

 

The Trust issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in a large specified number of Shares called a “Creation Unit” or multiples thereof. A Creation Unit consists of 5,000 Shares. Creation Unit transactions are typically conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of in-kind securities and/or cash. As a practical matter, only authorized participants may purchase or redeem these Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable by the Fund. The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after an order is received in proper form by ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc. (the “Distributor”).

 

Individual Shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares are listed for trading on the Nasdaq Exchange under the ticker symbol REIT and, because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (i.e., a premium) or less than NAV (i.e., a discount).

 

TAX INFORMATION

 

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

 

PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

 

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

 

www.alpsfunds.com

5

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction—ALPS ETF Trust

 

ALPS ETF Trust (the “Trust”) is an investment company consisting of multiple separate exchange-traded funds. This Prospectus relates to the ALPS Active REIT ETF. ALPS Advisors, Inc. (“ALPS Advisors”) is the investment adviser for the Fund (the “Adviser”). GSI Capital Advisors LLC (“GSI Capital” or the “Sub-Adviser”) is the Sub-Adviser to the Fund.

 

The Fund’s shares (the “Shares”) are listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq Exchange”). The Fund’s Shares trade at market prices that may differ from the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Shares. Unlike mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis, at NAV, only in large specified blocks of 5,000 Shares, each of which is called a “Creation Unit.” Creation Units are issued and redeemed principally in-kind and/or for cash. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, Shares are not redeemable by the Fund.

 

ALPS Active REIT ETF

 

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks total return through dividends and capital appreciation. The Board of Trustees of the Trust may change the Fund’s investment objective and other non-fundamental policies without shareholder approval.

 

The Fund will, under normal circumstances, seek to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets in publicly traded equity securities of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). The Fund’s 80% investment policy is not fundamental and may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees upon 60 days’ prior notice to shareholders.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

 

The Board of Trustees may change the Fund’s investment strategy and non-fundamental policies without shareholder approval.

 

GSI Capital Advisors LLC, the Fund’s sub-adviser (“GSI Capital” or the “Sub-Adviser”), is responsible for implementing the Fund’s investment strategy in connection with its active management of the Fund.

 

The Fund’s investment strategy is implemented by the Sub-Adviser through a methodical, data driven investment approach based on fundamental real estate research. The strategy seeks to invest in a concentrated portfolio of REITs, typically 20-40 holdings.

 

The primary factor influencing the Fund’s investment strategy is individual stock selection based on fundamental research and the Sub-Adviser’s analysis of the intrinsic value of the underlying properties held by REITs as well as the corresponding intrinsic value of the publicly traded U.S. REITs in which the Fund seeks to invest. The Sub-Adviser’s research and investment process is driven by assessing the relative merits of a company based on a set of variables determined by the Sub-Adviser, with an emphasis on those variables most likely to influence total return. Using this investment process, the Sub-Adviser seeks to invest in eligible companies that trade at the largest discounts to the Sub-Adviser’s assessment of intrinsic value relative to other eligible companies.

 

The Sub-Adviser’s valuation methodology has been constructed to assess relative valuation by identifying those REITs that are most and least attractively valued, as determined the Sub-Adviser. The methodology incorporates multiple complex inputs, including capitalization rates, net operating income growth estimates, the valuation of land and other income or non-income generating assets, and adjustments for marking to market the value of the company’s debt, which are driven by a broad set of proprietary, third-party and public data sources. The Fund may invest in small-, mid- and large-capitalization companies. The Fund considers a “U.S.” company to be one (i) domiciled or with a principal place of business or primary securities trading market in the United States, or (ii) that derives more than 50% of its total revenues or profits from the United States.

 

In addition to individual company research and analysis, the Sub-Adviser also may consider macro views, relative valuation of real estate compared to other asset classes, relative valuation between the private and public market, sector views and return expectations, thoughts regarding temporary dislocations, and probabilities regarding corporate transactions as it determines how to best implement the investment strategy of the Fund.

 

Unlike traditional ETFs that provide daily disclosure of their portfolio holdings, the Fund discloses the identities of all portfolio holdings daily, but not the exact quantities or weightings. Instead, the Fund discloses a Portfolio Reference Basket generated each day by a proprietary algorithmic process that is designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio on any given trading day. A description of the policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Statement of Additional Information.

 

Given that this structure is unlike fully-transparent active ETFs, the Adviser will monitor on an on-going basis how Shares trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to NAV and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. For at least the first three years after launch of the Fund, the Adviser will promptly call a meeting of the Board (and will present to the Board for its consideration, recommendations for appropriate remedial measures), and the Board will promptly meet, if the tracking error exceeds 1%, or if, for 30 or more days in any quarter or 15 days in a row, the absolute difference between either the closing price or the Bid/Ask Price, on one hand, and NAV, on the other, exceeds 2.00% or the bid/ask spread exceeds 2.00%. In such a circumstance, the Board of Trustees will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/

 

6

Prospectus | March 31, 2022

 

 

 

discount or spread, or tracking error, as applicable. The Board of Trustees will then decide whether to take any such action. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units, changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund.

 

Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Investment Risks

 

Investors should consider the following additional information about the Fund’s principal investment risks.

 

Portfolio Reference Basket Structure Risk. Unlike traditional ETFs that provide daily disclosure of their portfolio holdings, the Fund discloses daily the identities of all portfolio holdings, but not the exact quantities or weightings. Instead, the Fund discloses a Portfolio Reference Basket generated each day by a proprietary algorithmic process that is designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio on any given trading day. Although the Portfolio Reference Basket and Portfolio Reference Basket Disclosures are intended to provide authorized participants and other market participants with enough information to allow them to engage in effective arbitrage transactions that will help keep the market price of the Shares trading at or close to the underlying NAV per Share of the Fund, there is a risk that market prices will vary significantly from the underlying NAV of the Fund, which may be heightened during periods of market disruption or volatility. Similarly, Shares may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than shares of traditional ETFs and may therefore be more costly for investors to trade, which may be heightened during periods of market disruption or volatility. “Bid” refers to the highest price a buyer will pay to buy a specified number of shares of a stock at any given time. “Ask” refers to the lowest price at which a seller will sell the stock. The difference between the bid price and the ask price is called the “spread.” Additionally, the Portfolio Reference Basket structure itself may result in additional trading costs because the Fund may receive or deliver holdings in different weightings on any given day than the weightings of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio, which may result in portfolio turnover, and related transaction costs, to re-align the Actual Portfolio with the Fund’s intended investment strategy. In addition, although the Fund seeks to benefit from keeping its Actual Portfolio secret, market participants may attempt to use the Portfolio Reference Basket to identify the Fund’s trading strategy, which if successful, could result in such market participants engaging in certain predatory practices, such as front-running the Fund’s trading activity or free-riding on the Fund’s investment strategy, that may potentially harm the Fund and its shareholders. There can be no assurance that the Portfolio Reference Basket structure will operate as intended. The Portfolio Reference Basket structure is novel and not yet proven as an effective arbitrage mechanism. The effectiveness of the Portfolio Reference Basket structure as an arbitrage mechanism is contingent upon, among other things, the effectiveness of the proprietary algorithmic process employed to create a Portfolio Reference Basket that performs in a manner substantially identical to the performance of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio and the willingness of authorized participants and other market participants to trade based on the Portfolio Reference Basket. Although the Fund provides an independent third party with information to generate the Portfolio Reference Basket, the Fund is not involved in the actual calculation of the Portfolio Reference Basket and is not responsible for the calculation or dissemination of the Portfolio Reference Basket. The Fund makes no warranty as to the accuracy of the Portfolio Reference Basket or that it will produce the intended results. In the event that the Portfolio Reference Basket structure does not result in effective arbitrage opportunities in the Fund Shares, the Fund may exhibit wider premiums/discounts, bid/ask spreads and tracking error (relative to the Actual Portfolio) than traditional ETFs. For at least the first three years after launch of the Fund, if the tracking error exceeds 1%, or if, for 30 or more days in any quarter or 15 days in a row, the absolute difference between either the closing price or the Bid/Ask Price, on one hand, and NAV, on the other, exceeds 2.00% or the bid/ask spread exceeds 2.00%, the Adviser will recommend appropriate remedial measures to the Fund’s Board of Trustees for its consideration, which may include, but are not limited to, liquidation of the Fund.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value. The NAV of the Fund’s Shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for the Shares on the Nasdaq Exchange. Neither the Adviser nor the Sub-Adviser can predict whether the Shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for the Shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the Fund’s holdings trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Nasdaq Exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Fund’s Shares. Although the Portfolio Reference Basket structure is intended to provide market participants with enough information to allow for an effective arbitrage mechanism that will help to keep the market price of the Fund’s Shares at or close to the Fund’s NAV, there is a risk (which may increase during periods of market disruption or volatility) that market prices for Fund Shares will vary significantly from the Fund’s NAV. This risk may be greater for the Fund than for traditional ETFs that disclose their full portfolio holdings on a daily basis because the publication of the Portfolio Reference Basket does not provide the same level of transparency as the daily publication of the actual portfolio by a traditional ETF. This could cause the Fund’s Shares to have wider bid/ask spreads and larger premiums/discounts than traditional ETFs using the same or similar investment strategies.

 

Equity Risk. The values of equity securities, such as common stocks and preferred stock, may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic

 

www.alpsfunds.com

7

 

 

 

 

 

conditions, inflation (or expectations for inflation), changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. Equity securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed-income securities.

 

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

 

Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. A principal risk of investing in the Fund is market risk, which is the risk that the value of the securities held by the Fund will fall due to general market, economic, political and social 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. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics.

 

For example, the outbreak of COVID-19, a novel coronavirus disease, has negatively affected economies, markets and individual companies throughout the world, including those in which the Fund invests. The effects of this pandemic to public health and business and market conditions, including exchange trading suspensions and closures may continue to have a significant negative impact on the performance of the Fund’s investments, increase the Fund’s volatility, negatively impact the Fund’s arbitrage and pricing mechanisms, exacerbate pre-existing political, social and economic risks to the Fund, and negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations. The Fund’s operations may be interrupted as a result, which may contribute to the negative impact on investment performance. In addition, governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions in response to the pandemic that affect the instruments in which the Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that could have a significant negative impact on the Fund’s investment performance. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, or other future epidemics or pandemics, is currently unknown.

 

In addition, common stock of an issuer in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in price if the issuer fails to make anticipated dividend payments because, among other reasons, the issuer of the security experiences a decline in its financial condition. Common stock is subordinated to preferred stocks, bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure, in terms of priority to corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred stocks or debt instruments of such issuers. 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.

 

Real Estate Investment Risk. The Fund invests in companies in the real estate industry, including real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). Investing in real estate is subject to such risks as decreases in real estate values, overbuilding, increased competition and other risks related to local or general economic conditions, increases in operating costs and property taxes, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, possible environmental liabilities, regulatory limitations on rent, possible lack of availability of mortgage financing, market saturation, fluctuations in rental income and the value of underlying properties and extended vacancies of properties. Certain real estate securities have a relatively small market capitalization, which may tend to increase the volatility of the market price of these securities. Real estate securities have limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in operating and financing a limited number of projects. Real estate securities are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency and defaults by borrowers or tenants. The real estate sector is particularly sensitive to economic downturns and changes to interest rates.

 

REITs Investment Risk. In addition to risks related to investments in real estate generally, investing in REITs involves certain other risks related to their structure and focus, which include, but are not limited to, dependency upon management skills, limited diversification, the risks of locating and managing financing for projects, heavy cash flow dependency, possible default by borrowers, the costs and potential losses of self-liquidation of one or more holdings, the risk of a possible lack of mortgage funds and associated interest rate risks, overbuilding, property vacancies, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, losses due to environmental damages, changes in neighborhood values and appeal to purchases, the possibility of failing to maintain exemptions from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) and, in many cases, relatively small market capitalization, which may result in less market liquidity and greater price volatility. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities. In addition, like mutual funds and ETFs, REITs have expenses,

 

8

Prospectus | March 31, 2022

 

 

 

including advisory and administration fees, that are paid by their shareholders. As a result, you will absorb duplicate levels of fees when the Fund invests in REITs.

 

REITs are also subject to unique federal tax requirements. REITs that fail to comply with federal tax requirements affecting REITs may be subject to federal income taxation, which may affect the value of such REITs and the characterization of such REITs’ distributions, and REITs that fail to comply with the federal tax requirement that REITs distribute substantially all of their net income to their respective shareholders may result in such REITs having insufficient capital for future expenditures. The failure of one or more companies to qualify as REITs could have adverse consequences for the Fund, including significantly reducing return to the Fund on its investment in such companies.

 

REITs often do not provide complete tax information until after the calendar year-end. Consequently, because of the delay, it may be necessary for the Fund to request permission to extend the deadline for issuance of Forms 1099-DIV. Dividends received by the Fund from REITs generally will not constitute qualified dividend income.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s portfolio securities, the Sub-Adviser will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results.

 

Concentration Risk. Real estate companies may lack diversification due to ownership of a limited number of properties and concentration in a particular geographic region or property type.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Rising interest rates could result in higher costs of capital for real estate companies, which could negatively impact a real estate company’s ability to meet its payment obligations. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy, such as interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve. The risks associated with changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets and the Fund’s investments. A sudden or unpredictable increase in interest rates may cause volatility in the market and may decrease liquidity in the securities markets, making it harder for the Fund to sell its investments at an advantageous time. Decreased market liquidity also may make it more difficult to value some or all of the Fund’s securities holdings. Additionally, certain countries have experienced negative interest rates on certain debt securities. Negative or very low interest rates could magnify the risks associated with interest rate risk. In general, changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, could have unpredictable effects on markets and may expose debt and related markets to heightened volatility. A low interest rate environment may pose additional risks to the Fund because low yields on the Fund’s portfolio holdings may have an adverse impact on the Fund’s ability to provide a positive yield to its shareholders, pay expenses out of Fund assets, or minimize the volatility of the Fund’s NAV per share.

 

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

 

Leverage Risk. Real estate companies may use leverage (and some may be highly leveraged), which increases investment risk and the risks normally associated with debt financing and could adversely affect a real estate company’s operations and market value in periods of rising interest rates. Financial covenants related to a real estate company’s leveraging may affect the ability of the real estate company to operate effectively. In addition, real property may be subject to the quality of credit extended and defaults by borrowers and tenants.

 

Liquidity Risk. Real estate is relatively illiquid and, therefore, a real estate company may have a limited ability to vary or liquidate properties in response to changes in economic or other conditions. These risks are especially applicable in conditions of declining real estate values, such as those experienced for several years starting in 2007.

 

Management Risk. Real estate companies are dependent upon management skills and may have limited financial resources. Real estate companies are generally not diversified and may be subject to heavy cash flow dependency, default by borrowers and self-liquidation. In addition, transactions between real estate companies and their affiliates may be subject to conflicts of interest, which may adversely affect a real estate company’s shareholders. A real estate company may also have joint venture investments in certain of its properties and, consequently, its ability to control decisions relating to such properties may be limited.

 

Property Risk. Real estate companies may be subject to risks relating to functional obsolescence or reduced desirability of properties; extended vacancies due to economic conditions and tenant bankruptcies; catastrophic events such as earthquakes, hurricanes and terrorist acts; and casualty or condemnation losses. Real estate income and values also may be greatly affected by demographic trends, such as population shifts or changing tastes and values, or increasing vacancies or declining rents resulting from legal, cultural, technological, global or local economic developments.

 

Regulatory Risk. Real estate income and values may be adversely affected by such factors as applicable domestic and foreign laws (including tax laws). Government actions, such as tax increases, zoning law changes or environmental regulations, also may have a major impact on real estate.

 

Repayment Risk. The prices of real estate company securities may drop because of the failure of borrowers to repay their loans, poor management, and the inability to obtain financing either on favorable terms or at all. If the properties do not generate

 

www.alpsfunds.com

9

 

 

 

 

 

sufficient income to meet operating expenses, including, where applicable, debt service, ground lease payments, tenant improvements, third-party leasing commissions and other capital expenditures, the income and ability of the real estate company to make payments of interest and principal on their loans will be adversely affected. These risks are especially applicable in conditions of declining real estate values, such as those experienced for several years starting in 2007. Many real estate companies utilize leverage, which increases investment risk and could adversely affect a company’s operations and market value in periods of rising interest rates.

 

Geographic Concentration Risk. To the extent the Fund is significantly comprised of securities of issuers from a single country, such as the United States, the Fund would be more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country. For example, political and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax or economic policy in a country could significantly affect the market in that country and in surrounding or related countries and have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Small-, Mid-, and Large Capitalization Company Risk. Investing in securities of small and medium capitalization companies involves greater risk than customarily is associated with investing in larger, more established companies. A small capitalization company is defined as a company with a market capitalization between $300 million and $2 billion. A medium capitalization company is defined as a company with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. These companies’ securities may be more volatile and less liquid than those of more established companies. These securities may have returns that vary, sometimes significantly, from the overall securities market. Often small and medium capitalization companies and the industries in which they focus are still evolving and, as a result, they may be more sensitive to changing market conditions. The large capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may underperform other segments of the equity market or the equity market as a whole.

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is considered non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of its assets in securities of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

New Fund Risk. The Fund currently has fewer assets than larger funds, and like other relatively new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund’s market exposure for limited periods of time. This impact may be positive or negative, depending on the direction of market movement during the period affected.

 

Secondary Investment Strategies

 

As a non-principal investment strategy, the Fund may invest its remaining assets in ETFs, exchange listed common stocks (other than penny stocks), common stocks listed on a foreign exchange that trade on such exchange contemporaneously with the Fund, exchange traded preferred stocks, as well as cash and cash equivalents. Cash equivalents are short-term U.S. Treasury securities, government money market funds, and repurchase agreements.

 

The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. In connection with such loans, the Fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio securities being lent. This collateral is marked to market on a daily basis, and will be maintained in an amount equal to at least 100% of the value of the portfolio securities being lent.

 

The investment objective and policies described herein constitute non-fundamental policies that may be changed by the Board of Trustees without shareholder approval. Certain other fundamental policies of the Fund are set forth in the Statement of Additional Information under “Investment Restrictions.”

 

Additional Risk Considerations

 

In addition to the risks described previously, there are certain other risks related to investing in the Fund.

 

Trading Issues. If 10% or more of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio does not have readily available market quotations, the Fund will promptly request that Nasdaq Exchange halt trading in the Fund’s Shares. This requirement arises from the Fund’s semi-transparent structure, and is not a requirement applicable to traditional ETFs that disclose their holdings daily. Trading halts may have more effect on the Fund because of its semi-transparent structure. In addition, because of the Fund’s semi-transparent structure, Shares may trade at a wider bid/ask spread and may experience a wider premium/discount than traditional ETFs that disclose their holdings daily, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade especially during periods of market disruption or volatility. Trading in Shares on the Nasdaq Exchange may also be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Nasdaq Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Nasdaq Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Nasdaq Exchange “Circuit breaker” rules. If a trading halt or unanticipated early closing of Nasdaq Exchange occurs, a shareholder may be unable to purchase or sell Shares of the Fund. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Nasdaq Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.

 

While the creation/redemption feature is designed to help the Shares trade close to the Fund’s NAV, market prices are not expected to correlate exactly to the Fund’s NAV due to timing reasons, supply and demand imbalances and other factors. In addition, disruptions to creations and redemptions, adverse developments impacting market makers, authorized participants or other market participants, high market volatility or lack of an active trading market for the Shares (including

 

10

Prospectus | March 31, 2022

 

 

 

through a trading halt) may result in market prices for Shares of the Fund that differ significantly from its NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings. If an investor purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV of the Shares or sells at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV of the Shares, then the investor may sustain losses.

 

When you buy or sell Shares of the Fund through a broker, you will likely incur a brokerage commission or other charges imposed by brokers. In addition, the market price of Shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid/ask spread” charged by the market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. The spread of the Fund’s Shares varies over time based on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity and may increase if the Fund’s trading volume, the spread of the Fund’s underlying securities, or market liquidity decrease. In times of severe market disruption, including when trading of the Fund’s holdings may be halted, the bid/ask spread may increase significantly. This means that Shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest during significant market volatility. During such periods, you may be unable to sell your Shares or may incur significant losses if you sell your Shares. There are various methods by which investors can purchase and sell shares of the Fund and various orders that may be placed. Investors should consult their financial intermediary before purchasing or selling shares of the Fund.

 

Predatory Trading Practices Risk. Although the Fund seeks to benefit from keeping its portfolio holdings information secret, market participants may attempt to use the Portfolio Reference Basket and related Portfolio Reference Basket Disclosures to identify the Fund’s holdings and trading strategy. If successful, this could result in such market participants engaging in predatory trading practices that could harm the Fund and its shareholders. The Portfolio Reference Basket and related Portfolio Reference Basket Disclosures have been designed to minimize the risk that market participants could “reverse engineer” the Fund’s portfolio and investment strategy, but they may not be successful in this regard.

 

Tracking Error Risk. Although the Portfolio Reference Basket is designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio on any given trading day, there is a risk that the performance of the Portfolio Reference Basket will diverge from the performance of the Actual Portfolio, potentially materially.

 

Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including other funds advised by the Adviser, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s Shares. In addition, a third party investor, the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser, an authorized participant, a market maker or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment. Redemptions by shareholders could have a negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Fund’s listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Shares.

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of intermediaries that act as authorized participants, and none of these authorized participants are or will be obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these intermediaries exit the business or are unable to or choose not to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders (including in situations where authorized participants have limited or diminished access to capital required to post collateral), with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, Shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market). The authorized participant concentration risk may be heightened in scenarios where authorized participants have limited or diminished access to the capital required to post collateral. The fact that the Fund is offering a novel structure as compared to traditional ETFs may decrease the number of entities willing to act as authorized participants.

 

No Guarantee of Active Trading Market Risk. While Shares are listed on Nasdaq Exchange, there can be no assurance that active trading markets for the Shares will be maintained by market makers or authorized participants. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or “step away” from these activities in times of market stress may inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying value of the Fund’s holdings and the Fund’s NAV. Such reduced effectiveness could result in the Fund’s Shares trading at a discount to its NAV and also in greater than normal intraday bid/ask spreads for the Fund’s Shares. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s Shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings. This adverse effect on liquidity for the Fund’s Shares in turn could lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s Shares and the Fund’s NAV per Share. During times of market stress, authorized participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF.

 

Securities Lending. Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In the event of a bankruptcy of the borrower, the Fund could experience losses or delays in recovering the loaned securities. Loans of securities also involve a risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities or deliver the proper amount of collateral, which may result in a loss to the Fund. In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that it invests.

 

www.alpsfunds.com

11

 

 

 

 

 

Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or system failures. The Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address. Given the novel structure of this type of ETF as compared to traditional ETFs, operational risk may be heightened.

 

Cash Transactions Risk. Unlike other ETFs, the securities in the Fund’s basket of securities exchanged for a Creation Unit will not correspond pro rata to the positions in the Fund’s portfolio, and the Fund may effect its creations and redemptions partially or wholly for cash rather than on an in-kind basis. Because of this, the Fund may incur costs such as brokerage costs or be unable to realize certain tax benefits associated with in-kind transfers of portfolio securities that may be realized by other ETFs. These costs may decrease the Fund’s NAV to the extent that the costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an authorized participant. Shareholders may be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise have been subject to and/or at an earlier date than if the Fund had effected redemptions wholly on an in-kind basis.

 

These risks are described further in the Statement of Additional Information.

 

Investment Advisory Services

 

Investment Adviser

ALPS Advisors, Inc. (“ALPS Advisors” or the “Adviser”) acts as the Fund’s investment adviser pursuant to an advisory agreement with the Trust on behalf of the Fund (the “Advisory Agreement”). The Adviser, located at 1290 Broadway, Suite 1000, Denver, Colorado 80203, is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser. As of December 31, 2021, the Adviser provided supervisory and management services on approximately $17.3 billion in assets through closed-end funds, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser manages the investment and reinvestment of the Fund’s assets and administers the affairs of the Fund subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees.

 

Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Fund pays the Adviser a unitary fee for the services and facilities it provides payable on a monthly basis at the annual rate of 0.68% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. From time to time, the Adviser may waive all or a portion of its fee. The Adviser’s unitary management fee is designed to pay substantially all the Fund’s expenses and to compensate the Adviser for providing services for the Fund.

 

Out of the unitary management fee, the Adviser pays substantially all expenses of the Fund, including the cost of sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit, trustees and other services, except for interest expenses, distribution fees or expenses, brokerage expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses such as litigation and other expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business.

 

Sub-Adviser

GSI Capital Advisors LLC (“GSI Capital” or the “Sub-Adviser”) acts as the Fund’s Sub-Adviser pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement with the Trust and ALPS Advisors (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”). GSI Capital is located at 23 Corporate Plaza, Suite 150, Newport Beach, CA 92660. GSI Capital is an investment adviser registered with the Securities Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and is wholly-owned by its employees. As of December 31, 2021, GSI Capital had approximately $233 million in assets under advisement (discretionary and nondiscretionary assets). Pursuant to the Sub-Advisory Agreement with the Trust on behalf of the Fund, and ALPS Advisors, GSI Capital furnishes an investment program for the Fund and manages the investment operations and composition of the Fund.

 

The Fund enters into contractual arrangements with various parties, including, among others, the Fund’s investment adviser, who provide services to the Fund. Shareholders are not parties to, or intended (or “third-party”) beneficiaries of those contractual arrangements.

 

This Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information provide information concerning the Fund that you should consider in determining whether to purchase shares of the Fund. The Fund may make changes to this information from time to time. Neither this Prospectus nor the Statement of Additional Information is intended to give rise to any contract rights or other rights in any shareholder, other than any rights conferred by federal or state securities laws.

 

Approval of Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement is available in the Fund’s semi-annual report

 

12

Prospectus | March 31, 2022

 

 

 

to shareholders for the period ending May 31, 2021, and will be available for the period ending November 30, 2022.

 

Manager of Managers Structure

The Trust and the Adviser operate under a manager-of-managers structure under an order issued by the SEC (the “Order”). The Order permits the Adviser to enter into, terminate or materially amend sub-advisory agreements without shareholder approval. This means the Adviser has the ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, to oversee the Sub-Adviser and recommend the hiring, termination and replacement of a sub-adviser.

 

The Trust will furnish to shareholders of the Fund all information about a new sub-adviser or sub-advisory agreement that would be included in an information statement within 90 days after the addition of the new sub-adviser or the implementation of any material change in the sub-advisory agreement. The Order enables the Fund to operate with greater efficiency and without incurring the expense and delays associated with obtaining further shareholder approval of sub-advisory agreements. The Order does not permit investment advisory fees paid by the Fund to be increased or change the Adviser’s obligation under the Advisory Agreement, including the Adviser’s responsibility to monitor and oversee sub-advisory services furnished to the Fund, without further shareholder approval. Pursuant to the Order, the Adviser is not required to disclose its contractual fee arrangement with any sub-adviser.

 

The Adviser will not enter into a sub-advisory agreement with any sub-adviser that is an affiliated person, as defined in Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the “1940 Act”), of the Trust or the Adviser other than by reason of serving as a sub-adviser to one or more funds without such agreement, including the compensation to be paid thereunder, being approved by the shareholders of the Fund. The Adviser compensates each sub-adviser out of its management fee.

 

Portfolio Management

The Sub-Adviser furnishes an investment program for the Fund, manages the investment portfolio of the Fund and directs the purchase and sale of the Fund’s investment securities.

 

The portfolio managers are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. The individuals listed below are members of the investment management team at GSI Capital that manages the Fund’s investments and reinvestment of assets.

 

Nicholas Tannura, Chief Investment Officer of GSI Capital, has been a Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception. Mr. Tannura is responsible for leading the research and investment efforts of GSI Capital. Most recently, Mr. Tannura was the Founder and Portfolio Manager for Silverpath Capital Management – a long/short equity hedge fund focused on real asset securities. Prior to his role at Silverpath Capital Management, Mr. Tannura was responsible for the equities investment business of Brookfield Investment Management until 2011. He has over thirty years of experience as an investment manager with significant public and private market experience. Mr. Tannura received his M.B.A. in international finance from the University of Chicago and his B.B.A. from Loyola University.

 

Julie Pence, Portfolio Manager of GSI Capital, has been a Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception. Ms. Pence is responsible for the daily operations of portfolio management, including trading activity and capital flows. Prior to becoming a Portfolio Manager in 2011, Ms. Pence was a Research Associate at Green Street Advisors, LLC, covering the health care, strip center, and mall sectors. Before joining Green Street Advisors, LLC in 2005, Ms. Pence was a Senior Business Planner at Tricon Global Restaurants (currently YUM! Brands, Inc.). Ms. Pence earned her M.B.A. in Finance from the Anderson School at UCLA and her B.A. from University of California, Santa Barbara.

 

The Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation structure, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities of the Fund.

 

Purchase and Redemption of Shares

 

General

The Shares are issued or redeemed by the Fund at NAV per Share only in Creation Unit size. See “How to Buy and Sell Shares.”

 

Most investors buy and sell Shares of the Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed for trading in the secondary market on the Nasdaq Exchange. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares. There is no minimum investment. Although Shares are generally purchased and sold in “round lots” of 100 Shares, brokerage firms typically permit investors to purchase or sell Shares in smaller “odd lots,” at no per share price differential. When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. The Fund trades on the Nasdaq Exchange at prices that may differ to varying degrees from the daily NAV of the Shares. Given that the Fund’s Shares can be issued and redeemed in Creation Units, large discounts and premiums to NAV should not be sustained for long. The Fund trades under the Nasdaq Exchange ticker symbol REIT.

 

Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per Share.

 

Investors may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and shareholders may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund, only in Creation Units of 5,000 Shares, as discussed in the “How to Buy and Sell Shares” section below.

 

www.alpsfunds.com

13

 

 

 

 

 

Book-Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all Shares for all purposes (except for tax purposes).

 

Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. Participants in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other stocks that you hold in book-entry or “street name” form.

 

How to Buy and Sell Shares

 

Pricing Fund Shares

The trading price of the Fund’s Shares on the Nasdaq Exchange may differ from the Fund’s daily NAV and can be affected by market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors.

 

The Nasdaq Exchange disseminates the approximate value of Shares of the Fund every fifteen seconds. The approximate value calculations are based on local market prices and may not reflect events that occur subsequent to the local market’s close. As a result, premiums and discounts between the approximate value and the market price could be affected. This approximate value should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the NAV per Share of the Fund because the approximate value may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed once a day, generally at the end of the business day. The Fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the approximate value and the Fund does not make any warranty as to its accuracy.

 

The NAV per Share for the Fund is determined once daily as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, each day the NYSE is open for trading. NAV per Share is determined by dividing the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities, cash and other assets (including accrued interest), less all liabilities (including accrued expenses), by the total number of Shares outstanding.

 

Equity securities are valued at the last reported sale price on the principal exchange on which such securities are traded, as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE on the day the securities are being valued or, if there are no sales, at the mean of the most recent bid and asked prices. For securities traded on the Nasdaq Exchange, the Nasdaq Exchange’s Official Closing Price generally will be used. Mutual funds, such as government money market funds, are valued at their last closing net asset value. Short-term securities with a maturity of 60 days or less are valued on the basis of amortized cost provided such amount approximates market value. Securities for which market quotations are not readily available, including restricted securities, are valued by a method that the Trustees believe accurately reflects fair value. Securities will be valued at fair value when market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, such as when a security’s value or meaningful portion of the Fund’s portfolio is believed to have been materially affected by a significant event. Such events may include a natural disaster, an economic event like a bankruptcy filing, a trading halt in a security, an unscheduled early market close or a substantial fluctuation in domestic and foreign markets that has occurred between the close of the principal exchange and the NYSE. In such a case, the value for a security is likely to be different from the last quoted market price. In addition, due to the subjective and variable nature of fair market value pricing, it is possible that the value determined for a particular asset may be materially different from the value realized upon such asset’s sale.

 

Creation Units

Investors such as market makers, large investors and institutions who wish to deal in Creation Units (large specified blocks of 5,000 Shares) directly with the Fund must have entered into an authorized participant agreement (such investors being “Authorized Participants” or “APs”) with ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc. (the “Distributor”), and accepted by the transfer agent, or purchase through a dealer that has entered into such an agreement. Set forth below is a brief description of the procedures applicable to purchase and redemption of Creation Units. For more detailed information, see “Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations” in the Statement of Additional Information.

 

How to Buy Shares

In order to purchase Creation Units of the Fund, an investor must generally deposit a designated portfolio of equity securities (the “Deposit Securities”) (and/or an amount in cash in lieu of some or all of the Deposit Securities) and generally make a cash payment referred to as the “Cash Component.” For those APs that are not eligible for trading a Deposit Security, and in such other circumstances as the Sub-Adviser believes are in the best interests of the Fund, custom orders are available. The list of the names and the amounts of the Deposit Securities is made available by the Fund’s custodian through the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (the “NSCC”) immediately prior to the opening of business each day of the Nasdaq Exchange. The names and quantities of the instruments that constitute the Deposit Securities will be the same as the Portfolio Reference Basket except to the extent that the Fund requires purchases and redemptions to be made entirely or in part on a cash basis. The Cash Component represents the difference between the NAV of a Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities. In the case of custom orders, cash-in-lieu may be added to the Cash Component to replace

 

14

Prospectus | March 31, 2022

 

 

 

any Deposit Securities that either the AP may not be eligible to trade or the Sub-Adviser believes are in the best interests of the Fund not to accept in kind.

 

Orders must be placed in proper form by or through a participant of the DTC (“DTC Participant”) that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor, and accepted by the transfer agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. All standard orders must be placed for one or more whole Creation Units of Shares of the Fund and must be received by the Distributor in proper form no later than the close of regular trading on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) (“Closing Time”) in order to receive that day’s closing NAV per Share. In the case of custom orders, as further described in the Statement of Additional Information, the order must be received by the Distributor no later than one hour prior to Closing Time in order to receive that day’s closing NAV per Share. A custom order may be placed by an AP in the event that the Trust permits or requires the substitution of an amount of cash to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security which may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or which may not be eligible for trading by such AP or the investor for which it is acting or any other relevant reason.

 

A fixed creation transaction fee of $150 per transaction (the “Creation Transaction Fee”) is applicable to each transaction regardless of the number of Creation Units purchased in the transaction. An additional variable charge for cash creations or partial cash creations may also be imposed to compensate the Fund for the costs associated with buying the applicable securities. The Fund may adjust these fees from time to time based on actual experience. The price for each Creation Unit will equal the daily NAV per Share times the number of Shares in a Creation Unit plus the fees described above and, if applicable, any transfer taxes.

 

Shares of the Fund may be issued in advance of receipt of all Deposit Securities subject to various conditions, including a requirement to maintain cash at least equal to 115% of the market value of the missing Deposit Securities on deposit with the Trust.

 

For more detailed information, see “Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations” in the Statement of Additional Information.

 

Legal Restrictions on Transactions in Certain Stocks

An investor subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular stock required to be deposited in connection with the purchase of a Creation Unit may, at the Fund’s discretion, be permitted to deposit an equivalent amount of cash in substitution for any stock which would otherwise be included in the Deposit Securities applicable to the purchase of a Creation Unit. For more detailed information, see “Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations” in the Statement of Additional Information.

 

Redemption of Shares

Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV and only on a day the Nasdaq Exchange is open for business. The Fund’s custodian makes available immediately prior to the opening of business each day of the Nasdaq Exchange, through the facilities of the NSCC, the list of the names and the amounts of the Fund’s portfolio securities that will be applicable that day to redemption requests in proper form (“Fund Securities”). The names and quantities of the instruments that constitute the Fund Securities will be the same as the Portfolio Reference Basket except to the extent that the Fund requires purchases and redemptions to be made entirely or in part on a cash basis. Unless cash redemptions or partial cash redemptions are available or specified for the Fund, the redemption proceeds consist of the Fund Securities, plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Shares being redeemed as next determined after receipt by the transfer agent of a redemption request in proper form, and the value of the Fund Securities (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), less the applicable redemption fee and, if applicable, any transfer taxes. Should the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of Shares being redeemed, a compensating cash payment to the Fund equal to the differential, plus the applicable redemption fee and, if applicable, any transfer taxes will be required to be arranged for, by or on behalf of the redeeming shareholder.

 

An order to redeem Creation Units of the Fund may only be effected by or through an Authorized Participant. An order to redeem must be placed for one or more whole Creation Units and must be received by the transfer agent in proper form no later than the close of regular trading on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) in order to receive that day’s closing NAV per Share. In the case of custom orders, as further described in the Statement of Additional Information, the order must be received by the transfer agent no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.

 

A fixed redemption transaction fee of $150 per transaction (the “Redemption Transaction Fee”) is applicable to each redemption transaction regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction. An additional variable charge for cash redemptions or partial cash redemptions may also be imposed to compensate the Fund for the costs associated with selling the applicable securities. The Fund may adjust these fees from time to time based on actual experience. The Fund reserves the right to effect redemptions wholly or partially in cash. A shareholder may request a cash redemption or partial cash redemption in lieu of securities, however, the Fund may, in its discretion, reject any such request.

 

For more detailed information, see “Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations” in the Statement of Additional Information.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

The Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or its affiliates may make payments to broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries (each, an “Intermediary”) related to marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, the support of

 

www.alpsfunds.com

15

 

 

 

 

 

technology platforms and/ or reporting systems, or their making shares of the Fund and certain other series of the Trust available to their customers. Such payments, which may be significant to the Intermediary, are not made by the Fund. Rather, such payments are made by the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or its affiliates from their own resources, which come directly or indirectly in part from fees paid by the Trust, including the Fund. Payments of this type are sometimes referred to as revenue-sharing payments. An Intermediary may make decisions about which investment options it recommends or makes available, or the level of services provided, to its customers based on the revenue-sharing payments it is eligible to receive. Therefore, such payments to an Intermediary create conflicts of interest between the Intermediary and its customers and may cause the Intermediary to recommend the Fund or other series of the Trust over another investment. More information regarding these payments is contained in the SAI. Please contact your salesperson or other investment professional for more information regarding any such payments his or her firm may receive from the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or its affiliates.

 

Distributions

Dividends and Capital Gains. Fund shareholders are entitled to their share of the Fund’s income and net realized gains on its investments. The Fund pays out substantially all of its net earnings to its shareholders as “distributions.”

 

The Fund typically earns income dividends from stocks. These amounts, net of expenses, are passed along to Fund shareholders as “income dividend distributions.” The Fund realizes capital gains or losses whenever it sells securities. Net long-term capital gains are distributed to shareholders as “capital gain distributions.”

 

Income dividends, if any, are distributed to shareholders quarterly. Net capital gains are distributed at least annually. Dividends may be declared and paid more frequently to comply with the distribution requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Some portion of each distribution may result in a return of capital (which is a return of the shareholder’s investment in a fund). Fund shareholders will be notified regarding the portion of the distribution that represents a return of capital. Shareholders should read any written disclosures provided pursuant to Section 19(a) of and Rule 19a-1 under the 1940 Act carefully, and should not assume that the source of any distribution from the Fund is net profit.

 

Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through which the Shares were purchased makes such option available.

 

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions

 

The Fund imposes no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions. The Board of Trustees evaluated the risks of market timing activities by the Fund’s shareholders when they determined that no restriction or policy was necessary. The Board noted that the Fund’s Shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of trading in the Fund’s Shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve the Fund directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains. To the extent the Fund may effect the purchase or redemption of Creation Units in exchange wholly or partially for cash, the Board noted that such trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that the Fund’s Shares trade at or close to NAV. In addition, the Fund imposes fixed and variable transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades.

 

Fund Service Providers

 

ALPS Fund Services, Inc. (“ALPS”) is the administrator and fund accounting agent of the Fund.

 

State Street Bank and Trust Company is the custodian and transfer agent for the Fund.

 

Dechert LLP serves as counsel to the Fund.

 

Deloitte & Touche LLP served as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund.

 

Federal Income Taxation

 

As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be taxed. The tax information in this Prospectus is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares.

 

Unless your investment in the Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when:

 

 

The Fund makes distributions,

 

You sell your Shares listed on the Nasdaq Exchange, and

 

You purchase or redeem Creation Units.

 

Taxes on Distributions

Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid quarterly. The Fund may also pay a special distribution at the end of the calendar year to comply with federal tax requirements. In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax when they are paid, whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in the Fund. Dividends paid out of the Fund’s income and net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable as ordinary income. Distributions of net long-term capital gains, if any, in excess of net short-term capital losses are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held the Shares.

 

The maximum individual rate applicable to long-term capital gains is either 15% or 20%, depending on whether the individual’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts. In addition, some ordinary dividends declared and paid by the Fund to non-corporate shareholders may qualify for taxation

 

16

Prospectus | March 31, 2022

 

 

 

at the lower reduced tax rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided that holding period and other requirements are met by the Fund and the shareholder. Dividends received by the Fund from REITs generally will not constitute qualified dividend income.

 

An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund Shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts.

 

Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of your basis in the Shares, and as capital gain thereafter.

 

A distribution will reduce the Fund’s NAV per Share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain even though, from an investment standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.

 

Individuals (and certain other non-corporate entities) are generally eligible for a 20% deduction with respect to taxable ordinary dividends from REITs. IRS regulations allow the Fund to pass through to its shareholders such taxable ordinary dividends from REITs. Accordingly, individual (and certain other non-corporate) shareholders of the Fund that have received such taxable ordinary dividends from REITs may be able to take advantage of this 20% deduction with respect to any such amounts passed through through 2025.

 

Dividends, interest and gains received by the Fund may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, or if you are a foreign entity, the Fund’s ordinary income dividends (which include distributions of net short-term capital gains) will generally be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax (and certain capital gain dividends may be subject to a 21% withholding tax and may subject a non-U.S. investor to U.S. income tax filing obligations), unless a lower treaty rate applies or unless such income is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors concerning the applicability of the U.S. withholding tax.

 

The Fund generally would be required to withhold a percentage of your distributions and proceeds if you have not provided a taxpayer identification number (generally your social security number) or otherwise provide proof of an applicable exemption from backup withholding. The backup withholding rate for an individual is 24%.

 

Taxes on Exchange-Listed Shares Sales

Currently, any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.

 

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

An AP who exchanges equity securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the Cash Component paid. A person who exchanges Creation Units for equity securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the Cash Redemption Amount. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether the wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

 

If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many and at what price you purchased or sold Shares.

 

Unlike other ETFs, the securities in the Fund’s basket of securities exchanged for a Creation Unit will not correspond pro rata to the positions in the Fund’s portfolio, and the Fund may effect its creations and redemptions partially or wholly for cash rather than on an in-kind basis. Because of this, the Fund may be unable to realize certain tax benefits associated with in-kind transfers of portfolio securities that may be realized by other ETFs. Shareholders may be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise have been subject to and/or at an earlier date than if the Fund had effected redemptions wholly on an in-kind basis. 

 

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You may also be subject to state and local taxation on Fund distributions, and sales of Fund Shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Fund Shares under all applicable tax laws. Changes in applicable tax authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed above and could adversely affect the Fund, and such changes often occur.

 

Other Information

 

Additional Information about the Fund

The Fund is a semi-transparent actively managed ETF that operates pursuant to an SEC exemptive order. In many respects the Fund operates similarly to traditional ETFs. For example, as described in this Prospectus, shares of the Fund are generally purchased and redeemed in Creation Unit aggregations through Authorized Participants, Shares of the Fund are listed and traded on a stock exchange, and individual investors can

 

www.alpsfunds.com

17

 

 

 

 

 

purchase or sell shares in less than Creation Unit sizes and for cash in the secondary market through a broker. The Fund’s Creation Units generally can be purchased or redeemed in-kind and/or for cash in exchange for the Portfolio Reference Basket.

 

Portfolio Reference Basket Structure

However, the Fund has some novel features that differentiate it from traditional ETFs. As described above, the Fund does not disclose its Actual Portfolio each business day, and instead, the Fund discloses other information to the market that is designed to facilitate arbitrage opportunities in Fund Shares to maintain efficient secondary market trading of Shares. On each business day before the commencement of trading in Shares on the listing exchange, the Fund publishes on its website a Portfolio Reference Basket that is designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio. The Portfolio Reference Basket is comprised of all of the names of the securities in the Fund’s Actual Portfolio, and only the securities that are in the Fund’s Actual Portfolio (unless cash or cash equivalents are included), although the weightings of such holdings in the Portfolio Reference Basket will differ from the Actual Portfolio. The Portfolio Reference Basket will have a minimum weightings overlap of 90% with the Fund’s Actual Portfolio at the beginning of each trading day.

 

The Portfolio Reference Basket is constructed utilizing a proprietary algorithmic process to minimize daily deviations in return of the Portfolio Reference Basket relative to the Actual Portfolio and is used to facilitate the creation/redemption process and arbitrage. The Portfolio Reference Basket may be updated daily. In determining whether to update the Portfolio Reference Basket, the Sub-Adviser will consider various factors, including relative valuation of individual securities, liquidity of the securities in the Portfolio Reference Basket, tracking error of the Portfolio Reference Basket relative to the Actual Portfolio, and the cost to create and trade the Portfolio Reference Basket.

 

Guardrail Amount

In addition to the disclosure of the Portfolio Reference Basket, the Fund also publishes the Portfolio Reference Basket Disclosures (which include, among other things, the “Guardrail Amount”) on its website on each business day before the commencement of trading in Shares on the Nasdaq Exchange. The Guardrail Amount is the maximum deviation between the weightings of the specific securities in the Portfolio Reference Basket and the weightings of those specific securities in the Actual Portfolio, as well as between the weighting of the respective cash positions. The Guardrail Amount is intended to ensure that no individual security in the Portfolio Reference Basket will be overweighted or underweighted by more than the publicly disclosed percentage when compared to the actual weighting of each security within the Actual Portfolio as of the beginning of each trading day. The Guardrail Amount is designed to help investors evaluate the risk of tracking error, which is the degree to which the performance of the Portfolio Reference Basket deviates from the performance of the Actual Portfolio.

 

Investment in the Fund by Other Investment Companies

For purposes of the 1940 Act, the Fund is a registered investment company. Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in other investment companies, including Shares of the Fund. The SEC has adopted an exemptive rule permitting registered investment companies to invest in other investment companies, such as the Fund, beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1) subject to certain conditions.

 

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

Investors can access information about the Portfolio Reference Basket and Portfolio Reference Basket Disclosures for each business day on www.alpsfunds.com. The Fund discloses its complete portfolio holdings on www.alpsfunds.com on a quarterly basis with a 60 day lag. On a daily basis, per Share for the Fund, the prior Business Day’s NAV and the closing price or the Bid/Ask Price, and a calculation of the premium or discount of the Closing Price or Bid/Ask Price against such NAV is also available at www.alpsfunds.com. Other information regarding premiums/discounts that ETFs registered under the 1940 Act may be required to provide is also available on www.alpsfunds.com. A description of the Trust’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.

 

Premium/Discount Information

Information regarding how often the Shares of the Fund traded on the Nasdaq Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund during the most recently completed calendar year and subsequent quarters, when available, can be found at www.alpsfunds.com.

 

Financial Highlights

 

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for the fiscal period noted below. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, are included in the Fund’s annual report, which is available upon request by calling the Fund at 866.759.5679. This information is also available free of charge on the Fund’s website at www.alpsfunds.com.

 

 

18

Prospectus | March 31, 2022

 

 

Financial highlights

 

For a share outstanding throughout the periods presented

 

ALPS Active REIT ETF

 

 

 

For the Period
February 25, 2021
(Commencement
of Operations) to
November 30,
2021

 

NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD

  $ 24.62  

 

       

INCOME FROM OPERATIONS:

       

Net investment income(a)

    0.37  

Net realized and unrealized gain

    5.01  

Total from investment operations

    5.38  

 

       

DISTRIBUTIONS:

       

From net investment income

    (0.38 )

From net realized gains

    (0.06 )

Total distributions

    (0.44 )

 

       

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSET VALUE

    4.94  

NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD

  $ 29.56  

TOTAL RETURN(b)

    22.01 %

 

       

RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

       

Net assets, end of period (in 000s)

  $ 24,238  

 

       

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS

       

Ratio of expenses to average net assets

    0.68 %(c)

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

    1.69 %(c)

Portfolio turnover rate(d)

    92 %

 

(a)

Based on average shares outstanding during the period.

(b)

Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period and redemption at the net asset value on the last day of the period and assuming all distributions are reinvested at the reinvestment prices. Total return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

(c)

Annualized.

(d)

Portfolio turnover for periods less than one year are not annualized and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions in-kind.

 

 

www.alpsfunds.com

19

 

 

INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

 

 

INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

 

 

For More
Information

 

Existing Shareholders or Prospective Investors

● Call your financial professional

● www.alpsfunds.com

Dealers

● www.alpsfunds.com

● Distributor Telephone: 866.759.5679

Investment Adviser

ALPS Advisors, Inc.
1290 Broadway
Suite 1000
Denver, Colorado 80203

 

Distributor

ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc.
1290 Broadway
Suite 1000
Denver, Colorado 80203

 

Custodian

State Street Bank and Trust Company
225 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110

 

Legal Counsel

Dechert LLP
1095 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036

 

Sub-Adviser

GSI Capital Advisors LLC
23 Corporate Plaza, Suite 150
Newport Beach, CA 92660

 

Transfer Agent

State Street Bank and Trust Company
225 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110

 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Deloitte & Touche LLP
1601 Wewatta Street
Suite 400
Denver, Colorado 80202

A Statement of Additional Information dated March 31, 2022, which contains more details about the Fund, is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this Prospectus, which means that it is legally part of this Prospectus.

 

You will find additional information about the Fund in its annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, when available. The annual report explains the market conditions and investment strategies affecting the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year.

 

You can ask questions or obtain a free copy of the Fund’s shareholder reports or the Statement of Additional Information by calling 866.759.5679. Free copies of the Fund’s shareholder reports and the Statement of Additional Information are available from our website at www.alpsfunds.com.

 

The Fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact the transfer agent if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

 

Information about the Fund, including its reports and the Statement of Additional Information, has been filed with the SEC. It can be reviewed on the EDGAR database on the SEC’s internet site (http://www.sec.gov). You can also request copies of these materials, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the SEC’s e-mail address: [email protected].

 

PROSPECTUS

 

Distributor

ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc.
1290 Broadway
Suite 1000
Denver, Colorado 80203

 

March 31, 2022

 

 

 

Investment Company Act File No. 811-22175.