The folks at a $38.5-billion-AUM (as of July 31), Chicago area fund firm are rolling out an ETF-of-ETFs that bundles together different downside protection funds.

John S. Koudounis Calamos Investments President, CEO

Last week, John Koudounis, president and CEO of Calamos Investments LLC [profile], unveiled the upcoming launch of the Calamos Laddered S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF (CPSL on the Cboe BZX). Calamos Advisors LLC serves as the new ETF's investment advisor.

According to the Calamos team, CPSL is the first ever ETF to bundle together ETFs designed to offer 100-percent downside protection over one-year intervals. The new fund is specifically designed to be built out of a laddered portfolio of 12 Calamos S&P 500 Structure Alt Protection ETFs (four of which they've already debuted), which each track SPY while offering downside protection in exchange for caps on upside gains.

CPSL's inception date was this past Monday (September 9), as planned, and as of yesterday (Tuesday, September 10) the fund had $15 million in AUM. It comes with an expense ratio of 79 basis points.

The new ETF's PM team includes: Jason Hill, senior vice president and senior co-portfolio manager; David O'Donohue, SVP, senior co-PM, and co-head of alternative strategies; Eli Pars, SVP, senior co-PM, co-chief investment officer, co-head of alternative strategies, and co-head of convertible strategies; Anthony Vecchiolla, VP and co-PM; and Jimmy Young, SVP and co-PM.

Koudounis puts the launch of CPSL in the context of clients expressing "interest in having a single-ticker portfolio solution which eleiminates short term selection risk while creating an attractive risk/reward outcome."

"Calamos remains steadfast in its commitment to innovate, now offering laddered exposure across our series of 100% downside protected S&P 500 Structured Protection ETFs," Koudounis states.

CPSL's other service providers include: Calamos Financial Services LLC (CFS) as distributor; Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent accounting firm; Ropes & Gray LLP as counsel; and State Street Bank and Trust Company as administrator, custodian, fund accountant, and transfer agent. 

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