SS&C ALPS Advisors Incorporates Sustainable Guidelines for the ALPS Clean Energy ETF (ACES)

News provided by

Mar 25, 2020, 10:00 ET

DENVER, March 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SS&C ALPS Advisors has announced that The ALPS Clean Energy ETF (Ticker: ACES) now incorporates sustainability guidelines into the portfolio management process to meet Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards.

Sustainable investing is an investment approach that takes into consideration environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors during the investment decision-making process. Effective January 31, 2020, ACES began to adhere to sustainability guidelines, developed by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), when casting proxy votes on the fund's holdings.

ACES methodology incorporated environmental criteria in its proxy voting by design. The fund has since incorporated the social and governance standards.

"We believe that a fund that meets ESG standards should have its holdings meet all of the ESG criteria," said Andy Hicks, Portfolio Manager at SS&C ALPS Advisors. "As a result, ACES is a product that may allow investors to better align their investments with their personal beliefs."

According to Morningstar Research, in 2019, investors placed approximately $21.4 billion into socially responsible funds—a 4x increase over the previous calendar-year record, which occurred in 2018.¹

About The ALPS Clean Energy ETF

The ALPS Clean Energy ETF (ACES) tracks the CIBC Atlas Clean Energy Index, which provides exposure to a diverse set of U.S. or Canadian-based companies involved in the clean energy sector, including renewables and clean technology. ACES provides investors with the following unique characteristics:

Clean Energy Pure-Plays: Companies must derive over 50% of their value from a clean energy business.
U.S. and Canadian-Listed: Companies listed in the U.S. and Canada provide a higher level of financial reporting transparency that generally results in improved capital stewardship and pure-play analysis.

About the SS&C ALPS Advisors
ALPS Advisors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SS&C Technologies, Inc., provides differentiated portfolio exposure utilizing both active and passive investments. We have a deep knowledge of the ETF landscape since 1995 and have partnered with best-in class managers with focused, dedicated investment expertise since 2006.

Important Disclosures:

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 1-866-759-5679 or visit www.alpsfunds.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

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

There are risks involved with investing in ETFs including the loss of money. Additional information regarding the risks of this investment is available in the prospectus.

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

Clean Energy Sector Risk. Obsolescence of existing technology, short product cycles, falling prices and profits, competition from new market entrants and general economic conditions can significantly affect companies in the clean energy sector. In addition, intense competition and legislation resulting in more strict government regulations and enforcement policies and specific expenditures for cleanup efforts can significantly affect this sector. Risks associated with hazardous materials, fluctuations in energy prices and supply and demand of alternative energy fuels, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects and tax and other government regulations can significantly affect companies in the clean energy sector. Also, supply and demand for specific products or services, the supply and demand for oil and gas, the price of oil and gas, production spending, government regulation, world events and economic conditions may affect this sector. Currently, certain valuation methods used to value companies involved in the clean energy sector, particularly those companies that have not yet traded publicly, have not been in widespread use for a significant period of time. As a result, the use of these valuation methods may serve to increase further the volatility of certain clean energy company share prices.

Concentration Risk. The fund seeks to track the underlying index, which itself may have concentration in certain regions, economies, countries, markets, industries or sectors. Underperformance or increased risk in such concentrated areas may result in underperformance or increased risk in the fund.

Canadian Investment Risk. The fund may be subject to risks relating to its investment in Canadian securities. The Canadian economy may be significantly affected by the U.S. economy, given that the united states is Canada's largest trading partner and foreign investor. Any negative changes in commodity markets could have a great impact on the Canadian economy. Because the fund will invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies and the income received by the fund will generally be in foreign currency, changes in currency exchange rates may negatively impact the fund's return.

Micro-Capitalization Company Risk. Micro-cap stocks involve substantially greater risks of loss and price fluctuations because their earnings and revenues tend to be less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses), and their share prices tend to be more volatile. The shares of micro-cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the future ability to sell these securities.

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. Smaller and mid-size companies often have 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.

Large Capitalization Company Risk. The large capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may underperform other segments of the equity market or the equity market as a whole.

ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc. is the distributor for the ALPS Clean Energy ETF.

¹ Morningstar Research, "Sustainable Funds U.S. Landscape Report", February 14, 2020

SOURCE SS&C / ALPS Advisors