NAPERVILLE, Ill., Nov. 19, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Calamos Market Neutral Fund, a mutual fund that employs a convertible arbitrage strategy with an objective of high current income consistent with stability of principal, will be closed to new investors on November 30, 2001. The fund has been open since September 4, 1990.
Through October 31, the fund had $367 million in assets. Since the beginning of the year, the fund has received inflows of $303 million, an increase of 471%. The Fund's closing will facilitate the portfolio management team's ability to continue to manage the fund effectively.
"The response to the Calamos Market Neutral Fund demonstrates the strong interest in alternative investments and risk-managed investments," said John P. Calamos, President and Chief Investment Officer of Calamos Asset Management, Inc., the advisor to the fund.
Calamos is well-known for its pioneering use of convertible bonds as a risk-management tool. Several of its funds employ convertible securities, a hybrid investment vehicle that has fixed-income characteristics, which help protect investor's capital during down markets, as well as an equity component that can deliver the potential for participation in rising stock markets. Convertibles are often added to the fixed-income allocation of a portfolio, however they can also be used as a defensive equity tool. Calamos' Convertible Growth and Income Fund is ranked No. 1 convertible fund by Lipper(a) for five and 10 years out of 38 and 16 funds respectively as of September 30.
Calamos, providing investment management services for 25 years, has successfully replicated the investment discipline it employs in managing institutional portfolios in its Family of Funds. Calamos' proprietary investment process has proven effective not only in its convertible strategies, but also as applied to its equity evaluation. As of September 30, 2001, Morningstar ranked the Calamos Growth Fund No. 1 fund for three, five and 10 years out of 1,689, 964, and 283 funds respectively, out of all funds with a prospectus objective of growth(b).
Several of the Calamos Funds, including the Market Neutral Fund, have received Morningstar's(c) highest rating, five stars overall, as of September 30, 2001. Five stars were earned by the Calamos Convertible Growth and Income Fund (Nasdaq:CVTRX), Calamos Market Neutral Fund (Nasdaq:CVSIX) and Calamos Growth Fund (Nasdaq:CVGRX), all out of 4,633 domestic equity funds. As well, the Calamos Global Convertible Fund (Nasdaq:CVLOX) also received five stars out of 1,305 international equity funds.
The Market Neutral fund will remain open to new investors through November 30. After that date, only existing shareholders will be able to make additional investments. Effective November 9, 2001 the minimum initial investment is $10,000.
This is the first fund that Calamos has closed to new investors. While the firm has no definitive plans to reopen the fund in the future, re-opening the fund may be considered at a later time.
About Calamos Investments
Calamos Investments has provided professional money management services to clients that include major corporations, public and private institutions, pension funds, insurance companies and individuals since 1977. The firm, headquartered in Naperville, Illinois, has experience in a variety of strategies for serious money, focusing on equity and convertible securities. Currently, Calamos Asset Management, Inc. manages approximately $8.0 billion in assets, and is also the investment advisor to a family of seven mutual funds.
Call CALAMOS FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC., the Funds' distributor, at 800.582.6959 for a CALAMOS Family of Funds prospectus, which contains more complete information. Investors should read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
In addition to market risk, there are certain risks associated with an investment in a convertible bond such as default risk (risk that the company issuing a convertible security will be unable to repay principal and interest) and interest rate risk (risk that the security may decrease in value if interest rates increase).
Investments by the CALAMOS Growth Fund in smaller companies present greater risks than investments in larger companies.
Each Fund may invest up to 25% (Global Convertible Fund up to 100%) of its assets in foreign securities which present special risk considerations such as fluctuations in foreign currencies or difficulty obtaining information.
Average annual total return measures net investment income and capital gain or loss as an annualized average assuming reinvestment of dividends.
(a) Source Lipper Analytical Services, Inc. Lipper rankings are based
on net total return performance, and do not reflect the effect of
sales charges; if they had, results may have been less favorable.
As of 9/30/01: Convertible Growth and Income Fund: No. 18 of 74
for one year among convertible funds.
(b) Source: Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar compared all funds with a
prospectus objective of growth. CALAMOS Growth Fund ranked 1,112
out of 2,608 for one-year ended Sept. 30, 2001. Rankings are for
Class A shares at net asset value and do not reflect applicable
4.75% sales charges.
(c) Ratings are for Class A shares. Morningstar proprietary ratings
on U.S.-domiciled funds reflect historical risk-adjusted
performance and are subject to change every month. Ratings are
calculated from a Fund's three-, five- and 10-year average
annual returns in excess of 90-day T-bill returns with
appropriate fee adjustments and a risk factor that reflects fund
performance below 90-day T-bill returns. The top 10% of funds in
an investment category receive five stars, the next 22.5% receive
four stars, and the next 35% receive three stars, the next 22.5%
receive two stars and the bottom 10% receive one star. Ratings
reflect the effect of sales charges. The funds were rated
exclusively against U.S.-domiciled funds. As of 9/30/01: Growth
Fund: five stars for three, five and 10 years; Convertible Growth
and Income Fund: five stars for three, five, 10 year; Market
Neutral Fund: five stars for three and five years, four stars for
10 years all out of 4,633, 2,904 and 874 domestic equity funds
respectively. Global Convertible Fund: five stars for three and
five years of 1,305 and 845 international equity funds.