John Koudounis, President and CEO of Calamos Investments, joined Julie Cooling, Founder and CEO of RIA Channel, at the CAIS Summit, to discuss risk-managed alternative investments.
John Calamos started managing convertible bonds and alternative investments 47 years ago. Calamos brought the risk management skills he learned as an Air Force pilot to his investment firm.
Today, Calamos Investments is one of the three largest liquid alternative managers in the world. Flows are growing so quickly in the RIA channel that they may soon eclipse investment flows dominated by the wirehouses for so long.
Calamos has been experiencing a growing appetite for principal-protected ETFs, allowing investors to gain exposure to the Nasdaq-100, the S&P 500, and the Russell 2000 with 100% downside protection. With markets at all-time highs, principal-protected ETFs can allow investors to move cash on the sidelines and participate in some portion of the upside in the equity markets without worrying about the downside risk.
Calamos also offers private alternative funds, such as the highly diversified private credit interval fund, in partnership with Aksia, a private markets consultant. Going beyond direct lending, the fund also allocates to distressed, mezzanine, and private real estate credit opportunities. With a $2,500 minimum investment, this democratized investment includes access to private credit offerings at Apollo, Carlyle, and Blackstone.
Warren Buffet holds an unprecedented $325 billion in cash, 28% of Berkshire’s asset value-the highest level since 1990. If that’s not enough to give you pause, consider that all U.S. equity markets, gold, and Bitcoin are at or near all-time highs.
Perhaps it is time to de-risk part of your clients’ equity exposure with a solution that provides 100% downside protection, an attractive upside cap, and tax alpha: http://www.calamos.com/protection.
Accepted for 1 CFP® / IWI / CFA CE Credit