Calamos had a 2012 characterized by outflows and decreased revenues, but management has outlined plans to try to improve the business this year.

First, the basics. The company reported fourth quarter non-GAAP earnings per share was 32-cents, an increase over both last quarter and fourth quarter 2011. Meanwhile, GAAP earnings per share were 22-cents for the quarter, which was one-cent lower than the third quarter and 22-cents higher than the year ago.

Total revenues for the fourth quarter was $77 million, a decrease of 6 percent from the third quarter, and 7 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Management fee revenues were $61 million for the fourth quarter and $256 million for the full year. The decrease in management fee revenues for both comparative periods presented was principally driven by declines in average total assets.

As for assets under management, total assets were $30.6 billion at the end of the year with average total assets for the quarter at $32.3 billion. Net outflows will drive this quarter with $3.1 billion in outflows, which company execs said was split primarily between U.S. growth strategies where they had performance challenges, and from other strategies which were closed to new investors for most of 2012.

If you check out the SeekingAlpha transcript of the Calamos earnings call, as well as the company's earnings information, you'll note three important takeaways to how the company plans to turn things around in 2013.

It's also important to note that Calamos yesterday named Jim Boyne to serve as president of the company.

Here are the three takeaways:

POINT #1: Calamos Is Trying Bolster Investment Performance
POINT #2: Calamos is Reopening Some Previously Closed Funds
POINT #3: Calamos is Trying to Embrace Alts


Now to elaborate on these points:

POINT #1: Calamos Is Trying Bolster Investment Performance
Chairman, chief executive and co-chief investment officer John Calamos, Sr. admitted that "our challenges were exacerbated by the headwinds of overall industry outflows in U.S. and international equities during the fourth quarter."

He had this to say about the company's performance challenges and what they were trying to do to address them:

We do feel that the enhancements we made to our investment platform last year with the value team and expansion of our alternatives platform through the acquisition of a Long/Short team will position the firm well to capitalize any broader opportunity set.

We did a number of things, which I feel will help going forward. we formalize our top-down view to an investment committee, which has helped performance over the very near-term. We have upgraded our top-down view to cautiously optimistic as we moved into 2013, and while we were too overly concerned about the fiscal cliff and some strategies, we were hedging the market for a market event and that turn out to be a detrimental performance.

So as a result, we have made and we’ll continue to make adjustments in the portfolio in a number of strategies. Our investment team is finding new opportunities in various sectors and asset class globally including the convertible market.

Additionally, we continue to make enhancement to our investment team and process and have added additional resources to improve performance going forward. Given our more positive outlook in January, we reopened several of our strategies, which have been closed to new investors for most of 2012, including our market neutral and our lower volatility equity strategies. We feel this will help attract new investors and also help flows. Also we are encouraged by recent numbers; we’re seeing going into the equity oriented products from an industrial point of view. Despite our shorter term performance challenges we remained pleased with the overall long-term performance of many Calamos strategies through multiple market cycles.

POINT #2: Calamos is Reopening Some Previously Closed Funds
Newly-minted president Boyne had this to say about the newly-opened funds:

Although we had challenges in garnering positive flows for the quarter, and for the year, we believe that the reopening of our market neutral and lower volatility equity strategies, together with our ability to garner new clients and assets in capabilities and products through the expansion of our alternatives platforms with the Long/Short team, and the addition of our value team would help provide we need to turnaround our net growth performance.

Meanwhile, Calamos expressed his hopes in this way at various points in the conversation. He couldn't help but sound tentative at one point.

In addition, we expect that the reopening of our market neutral and lower volatility equity strategies last month should position us to attract new investors and flows.

Well,… obviously we hear from clients all the time and responding to their interest in us reopening their fund, it was part of it, but also we feel that at this point the issues that surround the closing the funds have changed a bit here, and we feel that opening these funds will help us going forward, and we continue to manage those funds very effectively. I think it’s a little bit too soon to really look at the flows; we just made the announcement just a few weeks ago. So we haven’t really seen much cap in, we have received positive calls about this, so but I think it’s a little bit too soon for us to see the flows.

POINT #3: Calamos is Trying to Embrace Alts
Calamos had this to say on the subject:

A key factor for improving performance are the enhancements we made in 2012, and continue to make to our investment platform. An example is the addition of the value team and expansion of our alternatives platform through the acquisition of a Long/Short team. We believe these new capabilities create opportunities for the firm and for our clients.

For more information, check out the SeekingAlpha transcript of the Calamos earnings call, as well as the company's earnings information. 

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