SDOG ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs

F. Federal Income Taxation and Tax Basis Information

Alerian MLP ETF

The Fund is taxed as a regular C-corporation for federal income tax purposes and as such is obligated to pay federal and state income tax. This treatment differs from most investment companies, which elect to be treated as “regulated investment companies” under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) in order to avoid paying entity level income taxes. Under current law, the Fund is not eligible to elect treatment as a regulated investment company due to its investments primarily in MLPs invested in energy assets. The Fund expects that substantially all of the distributions it receives from MLPs may be treated as a tax-deferred return of capital, thus reducing the Fund’s current tax liability. However, the amount of taxes paid by the Fund will vary depending on the amount of income and gains derived from investments and/or sales of MLP interests and such taxes will reduce your return from an investment in the Fund.

Since the Fund will be subject to taxation on its taxable income, the NAV of the Fund shares will also be reduced by the accrual of any deferred tax liabilities. The Underlying Index however is calculated without any deductions for taxes. As a result, the Fund's after tax performance could differ significantly from the Underlying Index even if the pretax performance of the Fund and the performance of Underlying Index are closely related.

Cash distributions from MLPs to the Fund that exceed the Fund’s allocable share of such MLP’s net taxable income are considered a tax deferred return of capital that will reduce the Fund’s adjusted tax basis in the equity securities of the MLP. These reductions in the Fund’s adjusted tax basis in the MLP equity securities will increase the amount of any taxable gain (or decrease the amount of any tax loss) recognized by the Fund on a subsequent sale of the securities. The Fund will accrue deferred income taxes for any future tax liability associated with (i) that portion of MLP distributions considered to be a tax-deferred return of capital as well as (ii) capital appreciation of its investments. Upon the sale of an MLP security, the Fund may be liable for previously deferred taxes. The Fund will rely to some extent on information provided by the MLPs, which is not necessarily timely, to estimate the deferred tax liability for purposes of financial statement reporting and determining the Fund’s NAV. From time to time, the Adviser will modify the estimates or assumptions related to the Fund’s deferred tax liability as new information becomes available. The Fund will generally compute deferred income taxes based on the federal income tax rate applicable to corporations and an assumed rate attributable to state taxes.

The Fund’s income tax expense/(benefit) consists of the following:

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effect of temporary differences between the carrying amount of assets and liabilities for financial reporting and tax purposes.

Alerian Exchange Traded Funds

Components of the Fund’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

Total income tax expense/(benefit) (current and deferred) differs from the amount computed by applying the federal statutory income tax rate of 21% to net investment income and realized and unrealized gain/(losses) on investment before taxes as follows:

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits:

The Fund recognizes interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits and penalties as income tax expense. For the period from inception to November 30, 2019, the Fund had no accrued penalties or interest.

The Fund recognizes the tax benefits of uncertain tax positions only where the position is “more-likely-than-not” to be sustained assuming examination by tax authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions, and has concluded that no liability for unrecognized tax benefits should be recorded related to uncertain tax positions taken on U.S. tax returns and state tax returns filed since inception of the Fund. Tax periods ended November 30, 2016 through November 30, 2018 remain subject to examination by tax authorities in the United States. Due to the nature of the Fund’s investments, the Fund may be required to file income tax returns in several states. The Fund is not aware of any tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will change materially in the next 12 months.

Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF

The timing and character of income and capital gain distributions are determined in accordance with income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP. Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under income tax regulations.

No provision for income taxes is included in the accompanying financial statements, as the Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF intends to distribute to shareholders all taxable investment income and realized gains and otherwise comply with Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to regulated investment companies. The Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF evaluates tax positions taken (or expected to be taken) in the course of preparing the Fund’s tax returns to determine whether these positions meet a “more-likely-than-not” standard that, based on the technical merits, have a more than fifty percent likelihood of being sustained by a taxing authority upon examination. A tax position that meets the “more-likely-than-not” recognition threshold is measured to determine the amount of benefit to recognize in the financial statements.

As of and during the year ended November 30, 2019, the Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF did not have a liability for any unrecognized tax benefits. The Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF files U.S. federal, state, and local tax returns as required. The Fund’s tax returns are subject to examination by the relevant tax authorities until expiration of the applicable statute of limitations, which is generally three years after the filing of the tax return, but may extend to four years in certain jurisdictions. Tax returns for open years have incorporated no uncertain tax positions that require a provision for income taxes.

Alerian Exchange Traded Funds

For the year ended November 30, 2019, permanent book and tax differences resulting primarily from differing treatment of investments in partnerships and redemptions in kind were identified and reclassified among components of the Fund’s net assets as follows:

The tax character of the distributions paid during the fiscal years ended November 30, 2019 and November 30, 2018 were as follows:

The character of distributions made during the year may differ from its ultimate characterization for federal income tax purposes.

The Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF used capital loss carryovers during the year ended November 30, 2019 in the amount of $413,965.

Under current law, capital losses maintain their character as short-term or long-term and are carried forward to the next tax year without expiration. As of November 30, 2019, the following amounts are available as carry forwards to the next tax year:

As of November 30, 2019, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

As of November 30, 2019, the costs of investments for federal income tax purposes and accumulated net unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) on investments were as follows:

The difference between cost amounts for financial statement purposes is due primarily to the recognition of pass-through income from a Fund’s investments in master limited partnerships and wash sales.

G. Lending of Portfolio Securities

The Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF has entered into a securities lending agreement with State Street Bank & Trust Co. (“SSB”), the Fund’s lending agent. The Fund may lend its portfolio securities only to borrowers that are approved by SSB. The Fund will limit such lending to not more than 33 1/3% of the value of its total assets. The Fund’s securities held at SSB as custodian shall be available to be lent except those securities the Fund or ALPS Advisors, Inc. specifically identifies in writing as not being available for lending. The borrower pledges and maintains with the Fund collateral consisting of cash (U.S. Dollars only), securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, and cash equivalents (including irrevocable bank letters of credit) issued by a person other than the borrower or an affiliate of the borrower. The initial collateral received by the Fund is required to have a value of no less than 102% of the market value of the loaned securities for U.S equity securities and a value of no less than 105% of the market value for non-U.S. equity securities. The collateral is maintained thereafter, at a market value equal to not less than 102% of the current value of the U.S. equity securities on loan and not less than 105% of the current value of the non-U.S. equity securities on loan. The market value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. During the term of the loan, the Fund is entitled to all distributions made on or in respect of the loaned securities. Loans of securities are terminable at any time and the borrower, after notice, is required to return borrowed securities within the customary time period for settlement of securities transactions.

Alerian Exchange Traded Funds

Any cash collateral received is reinvested in a money market fund managed by SSB as disclosed in the Fund’s Schedule of Investments and is reflected in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities as a payable for collateral upon return of securities loaned. Non-cash collateral, in the form of securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, is not disclosed in the Fund’s Statements of Assets and Liabilities as it is held by the lending agent on behalf of the Fund, and the Fund does not have the ability to re-hypothecate these securities. Income earned by the Fund from securities lending activity is disclosed in the Statement of Operations.

The following is a summary of the Fund's securities lending agreement and related cash and non-cash collateral received as of November 30, 2019:

Out of the unitary management fees, the Adviser pays substantially all expenses of each Fund, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit, independent trustees and other services, except for interest expenses, distribution fees or expenses, brokerage expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of each Fund's business. The Adviser’s unitary management fee is designed to pay substantially all of each Fund’s expenses and to compensate the Adviser for providing services for each Fund.

ALPS Fund Services, Inc., an affiliate of the Adviser, is the administrator of the Funds.

Each Trustee who is not an officer or employee of the Adviser, any sub-adviser or any of their affiliates (“Independent Trustees”) receives (1) a quarterly retainer of $5,000, (2) a per meeting fee for regularly scheduled meetings of $3,750, (3) $1,500 for any special meeting held outside of a regularly scheduled board meeting, and (4) reimbursement for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at meetings. In addition, the Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee each receives a quarterly retainer of $2,000, in connection with their respective roles.

4. PURCHASES AND SALES OF SECURITIES

For the year ended November 30, 2019, the cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of investment securities, excluding short-term investments and in-kind transactions, were as follows:

For the year ended November 30, 2019, the cost of in-kind purchases and proceeds from in-kind sales were as follows:

For the year ended November 30, 2019, the Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF had in-kind net realized loss of $67,382.

Gains on in-kind transactions are not considered taxable for federal income tax purposes and losses on in-kind transactions are also not deductible for tax purposes.

5. MASTER LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS

MLPs are publicly traded partnerships engaged in, among other things, the transportation, storage and processing of minerals and natural resources, and are treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. By confining their operations to these specific activities, their interests, or units, are able to trade on public securities exchanges exactly like the shares of a corporation, without entity level taxation. To qualify as a MLP and to not be taxed as a corporation, a partnership must receive at least 90% of its income from qualifying sources as set forth in Section 7704(d) of the Code. These qualifying sources include, among other things, natural resource-based activities such as the processing, transportation and storage of mineral or natural resources. MLPs generally have two classes of owners, the general partner and limited partners. The general partner of an MLP is typically owned by a major energy company, an investment fund, the direct management of the MLP, or is an entity owned by one or more of such parties. The general partner may be structured as a private or publicly traded corporation or other entity. The general partner typically controls the operations and management of the MLP through an up to 2% equity interest in the MLP plus, in many cases, ownership of common units and subordinated units. Limited partners typically own the remainder of the partnership, through ownership of common units, and have a limited role in the partnership’s operations and management.

Alerian Exchange Traded Funds

MLPs are typically structured such that common units and general partner interests have first priority to receive quarterly cash distributions up to an established minimum amount (“minimum quarterly distributions” or “MQD”). Common and general partner interests also accrue arrearages in distributions to the extent the MQD is not paid. Once common and general partner interests have been paid, subordinated units receive distributions of up to the MQD; however, subordinated units do not accrue arrearages. Distributable cash in excess of the MQD is distributed to both common and subordinated units and generally on a pro rata basis. The general partner is also eligible to receive incentive distributions if the general partner operates the business in a manner which results in distributions paid per common unit surpassing specified target levels. As the general partner increases cash distributions to the limited partners, the general partner receives an increasingly higher percentage of the incremental cash distributions.

6. CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

Shares are created and redeemed by each Fund only in Creation Unit size aggregations of 50,000 Shares. Only broker-dealers or large institutional investors with creation and redemption agreements called Authorized Participants (“AP”) are permitted to purchase or redeem Creation Units from the Funds. Such transactions are generally permitted on an in-kind basis, with a balancing cash component to equate the transaction to the NAV per unit of each Fund on the transaction date. Cash may be substituted equivalent to the value of certain securities generally when they are not available in sufficient quantity for delivery, not eligible for trading by the AP or as a result of other market circumstances.

7. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The Funds engaged in cross trades between other funds in the Trust during the year ended November 30, 2019 pursuant to Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act. Cross trading is the buying or selling of portfolio securities between funds to which the Adviser serves as the investment adviser. The Board previously adopted procedures that apply to transactions between the Funds of the Trust pursuant to Rule 17a-7. These transactions related to cross trades during the period complied with the requirements set forth by Rule 17a-7 and the Trust’s procedures.

Transactions related to cross trades during the year ended November 30, 2019, were as follows:

Alerian Exchange Traded Funds

8. AFFILIATED COMPANIES

As defined by the Investment Company Act of 1940, an affiliated person, including an affiliated company, is one in which a Fund owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities, or a company which is under common ownership or control with the Fund.

For the year ended November 30, 2019, the Alerian MLP ETF held shares in the following affiliates, as defined by the Investment Company Act of 1940.