ETF Evaluator: ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF () Follow This ETF

ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF Overview

ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (SDOG) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Large Value exchange-traded fund (ETF). ALPS launched the ETF in 2012.

The investment seeks investment results that replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the performance of the S-Network® Sector Dividend Dogs Index. The underlying index generally consists of 50 stocks on each annual reconstitution date, which is the third Friday of December each year. The underlying index's stocks must be constituents of the S-Network U.S. Equity WR Large-Cap 500 Index, the leading benchmark index for U.S. large capitalization stocks.

About ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (SDOG)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.84 years: Ryan Mischker (2015) and Charles Perkins (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and S-Network Sector Dividend Dogs TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF has 52 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 22.0% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF has 4.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 95.5% There is 4.2% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF has 0.3% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is below the $5 billion average for the Large Value category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

SDOG Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Large Value category. ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF has an expense ratio of 0.36%, which is 4% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 51%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 40% for the Large Value category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF returned 4.7%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Large Value category had an average return of 2.4%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF has a trailing yield of 3.33%, which is above the 1.70% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 20.5%, 6.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 30.0% over the past year (grade of A), 15.8% over the past three years (grade of C) and 10.9% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 9.6% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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