ALPS Advisers intends to roll out at least one exchange-traded fund in the first quarter of next year, said Ned Burke, CEO of ALPS Holdings, in an interview with The MFWire.

Denver-based ALPS plans to file papers with the SEC around December 1, said Burke, a 17-year ALPS veteran who earlier worked for Pioneer Investments and Fidelity.

This spring, ALPS took the wraps off its debut ETF, for which it partnered with Cohen & Steers (see The MFWire, May 9, 2008).

ALPS is working with another partner for the ETFs it is cooking up for the first quarter launch. Burke declined to discuss the identity of the partner in advance of the SEC filing.

Recently, ALPS Holdings put in a place a new corporate structure that aligns the duties of the executive team with the current business lines (see The MFWire, November 11, 2008). The new structure has Burke, who had been president, becoming CEO of ALPS Holdings, Jeremy May becoming president of ALPS Fund Services and Tom Carter becoming president of ALPS Advisers and ALPS Distributors. May and Carter were previously managing directors.

"We have grown substantially over the last five years," Burke said.

ALPS has focused on handling back-office operations for funds for much of its 23-year history. Now, the distribution and investment management businesses account for about half of ALPS' revenues, according to Burke. 

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