The Fund Grade · free · no account needed
What grade does SDOG get?
Morningstar rates funds on what they returned. We grade them on where their money sits today: how much of the book overlaps with the converged buys of the top specialist stock pickers.
Fundprints Fund Grade · as of 2026-09-01
ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF
#11 of 440 graded active funds · value · mid segment peer group
The point · specialist footprint
SDOG sits mid pack for specialist backing among graded funds.
Bottom 20%
Bottom 40%
● Middle
Top 40%
Top 20%
The middle rungs sat between the extremes, and the pattern was monotonic: every step up in specialist backing came with better subsequent results. Not damning, not compelling. The fee decides whether it is worth it.
2,825 graded funds · 2.7 years of filings, measured as they were published · evidence, not advice
You pay 0.36% a year for a A.
The grade scores this fund's specialist share — the slice that overlaps what the top 1% of proven funds are building. We ignore index ballast and names outside our edge on purpose: that slice is small, and it's what decides the outcome.
Conviction exposure
19.4%
of the book in specialist-converged names
Late-stage weight
14.9%
of the book in Crowded or Fading names
Active share
95.8%
how far it strays from the index
The best grades have beaten the worst by about +5% a year since we began grading. The gap held in 9 out of 10 months. Measured on filings as they were published, no hindsight.
Inside the book — top names by stage · as of 2026-09-09
We email you the day it crosses 50% crowded, and where you stand every month.
Graded monthly from point-in-time filings. A description of where the money sits, not a recommendation. Evidence, not advice.
The read · what to do with it
SDOG earns an A grade and ranks 11 out of 440 funds, a strong result for a 0.36% fee dividend strategy. Specialists are building early positions in HPE, TXN, and TROW, which is encouraging, though CVS and PFE show specialists actively leaving. The fund's broad sector diversification keeps any single crowded or fading bet small.
→ Watch CVS and PFE closely; specialist exit from both Crowded and Fading positions together signals meaningful near-term headwinds for those holdings.
→ The early conviction in HPE at 3.8% weight is the fund's most distinctive specialist-backed bet; monitor whether that conviction grows or stalls.
Support leaving these positions
Read from today's disclosed book. Evidence, not advice.
The evidence base updates this week.
The specialists — not the whales — are already positioned for what comes next. Stop finding out last.
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