SS&C ALPS Advisors Announces New REIT Dividend Dogs ETF (RDOG)

DENVER, Jan. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ALPS Advisors, Inc., an asset manager and wholly owned subsidiary of SS&C Technologies, Inc., announced a strategic move for the new Exchange Traded Fund called the ALPS REIT Dividend Dogs ETF [RDOG] that applies the "Dogs of the Dow Theory" to its rules-based investment strategy. RDOG intends to provide investors with equal exposure to the five highest yielding REITs ("Dividend Dogs") within nine equally-weighted REIT segments as determined by S-Network, the index provider. This approach excludes mortgage REITs and helps to smooth REIT volatility and segment biases, in addition to offering low overlap with major U.S. REIT indices. 

"ALPS Advisors is focused on evolving strategies to provide investors with the right investments to suit their needs," said Laton Spahr, President of SS&C ALPS Advisors. "We are thrilled to kick off 2020 with RDOG, providing investors with balanced risk exposure and potential high yield delivered at lower cost."

RDOG includes a separate "Technology REITs" segment that provides exposure to the strong growth opportunities within wireless towers and data centers, which can also act as a defensive attribute for the fund. RDOG excludes the "Mortgage REITs" segment to avoid inclusion of the REITs most sensitive to interest rates and credit spreads.

"When we looked across the existing REIT space, we noticed some large segment biases that may expose REIT investors to outsized risks," said Andy Hicks, Senior Vice President and Director of ETF Portfolio Management & Research at ALPS. "With RDOG's equal-weighting approach to both the high yielding REITs and nine segments, we believe investors can access dividend-based income and total returns while reducing overall risk."

The following highlights the main components of the strategic changes to the Cohen & Steers Global Realty Majors ETF (GRI) ETF:

• New Fund Name: The ALPS REIT Dividend Dogs ETF
• New Fund Ticker: RDOG
• New Index Name: S-Network® REIT Dividend Dogs Index
• New Index Ticker: RDOGX
• New Expense Ratio: 35 bps (basis points)
• Old Expense Ratio: 55 bps (basis points)

If you have any questions or need any assistance, please call 866-759-5679, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time, or visit our website at www.alpsfunds.com.         

About SS&C Technologies
SS&C SSNC is a global provider of services and software for the financial services and healthcare industries. Founded in 1986, SS&C is headquartered in Windsor, Connecticut, and has offices around the world. Some 18,000 financial services and healthcare organizations, from the world's largest companies to small and mid-market firms, rely on SS&C for expertise, scale and technology. For more information about SS&C visit www.ssctech.com. Follow SS&C on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About ALPS Advisors
ALPS Advisors, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SS&C Technologies, Inc., is a leading provider of investment products for advisors and institutions. With over $16 billion in assets under management (as of 12/31/2019), the firm provides access to asset classes and boutique asset managers in real assets, alternatives, thematic/factor and fixed income through both ETF and open-end mutual fund structures. For more information visit www.alpsfunds.com. 

Important Disclosures:
Investment Objective:  The Fund seeks investment results that replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the performance of an index called the S-Network REIT Dividend Dogs Index (ticker symbol RDOGX) (the "Underlying Index").

An investor should consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus, which contains this and other information, please call 1-866-75-5679 or visit www.alpsfunds.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

ALPS REIT Dividend Dogs ETF Shares are not individually redeemable. Investors buy and sell shares of the ALPS REIT Dividend Dogs ETF on a secondary market. Only market makers or "authorized participants" may trade directly with the Fund, typically in blocks of 50,000 shares.

An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of principal. Ownership of real estate is subject to fluctuations in the value of underlying properties, the impact of economic conditions on real estate values, the strength of specific industries renting properties and defaults by borrowers or tenants. Real estate is a cyclical business, highly sensitive to general and local economic conditions and developments, and characterized by intense competition and periodic overbuilding. Credit and interest rate risk may affect real estate companies' ability to borrow or lend money.

Definitions:
Basis points (bps) refers to a common unit of measure for percentages in finance. For example, one basis point is equal to 1/100th of 1%, or 0.01%.

Dogs of the Dow Theory: an investment strategy which proposes that an investor annually select for investment the ten Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks whose dividend is the highest fraction of their price.

Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT): Companies that own or finance income-producing real estate across a range of property sectors.

S-Network® REIT Dividend Dogs Index (RDOGX): a portfolio of stocks derived from the S-Network US Composite REIT Index (SNREIT). The RDOGX methodology selects the five stocks in each of the nine segments that make up SNREIT which offer the highest dividend yields as of the last trading day of November. The forty-five stocks that are selected for inclusion in the portfolio are equally weighted.

ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc. is the distributor for the Fund.

SOURCE SS&C / ALPS Advisors