CALAMOS ASSET MANAGEMENT Recognized for Growth-Equity Program


NAPERVILLE, Ill., March 27, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- CALAMOS ASSET MANAGEMENT has been recognized by Nelson Information (Thomson Financial)(Note 1), which ranks the World's Best Money Managers as published on its Nelson Investment Management Network. The firm's Growth Strategy achieved No. 1 status for both the 1- and 5-year periods ended 12/31/00 among 84 and 59 U.S. Mid-Cap Growth Equity managers respectively.

CALAMOS has built its reputation over two decades on its expertise in convertible-bond investing. Nelson's recognition of the firm's equity style reflects its strong focus on analyzing the growth prospects of companies. Understanding the potential for growth of an issuer's common stock is one of the four steps in the firm's convertible-bond investment process. Over ten years ago, to test and monitor the quantitative models it has developed to support this vital component, the firm funded an equity fund that segregates this step of the process.

CALAMOS' Aggressive Equity Growth Strategy was designed for institutional investors. It invests primarily in rapidly growing small- to mid-sized companies. The firm also offers the CALAMOS Growth Fund, which has also achieved leadership recognition in the financial industry. As of 12/31/00, the Fund has received a 5-star Overall Morningstar Rating (Note 2) out of 4,164 domestic equity funds and is ranked by Lipper (Note 3) as the No. 1 Mid-cap Growth Fund for 5 and 10 years out of 83 and 24 funds in that category.

Commenting on the ratings, John P. Calamos, president and CIO, said, "We are proud of our recognition as a top money manager by Nelson's. Our growth portfolios have performed very well despite the extremely difficult equity markets. The firm has made a tremendous investment in talent and quantitative models over the years, and we are pleased that our expertise in equities is being acknowledged in the industry."

About CALAMOS ASSET MANAGEMENT, INC.

CALAMOS ASSET MANAGEMENT, INC. is a money management firm specializing in convertible bond research and management. Headquartered in Naperville, CALAMOS serves as advisor to institutional and high-net-worth clients and a family of seven mutual funds. The firm has experience in convertible bonds since 1977 and currently manages approximately $6.4 billion in assets.

Note 1: Published on Nelson Investment Management Network (www.nelnet.com), first quarter 2001.

Note 2: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments by the CALAMOS Growth Fund in smaller companies present greater risks than investments in larger companies. Performance shown reflects the effects of an expense reimbursement, which improved results. 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. I-shares are also available for institutional investors.

Morningstar ratings as of 12/31/00: CALAMOS Growth Fund Class A (inception 9/4/90) 5 stars Overall and for 3, 5 and 10 years out of 4164, 4164, 2542 and 824 domestic equity funds respectively. Source: Morningstar, Inc. 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 3-, 5-, 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 Overall Morningstar Rating(tm) is a weighted average based on the 3-, 5- and 10- year risk-adjusted performance. The top 10% of funds in an investment category receive five stars, the next 22.5% receive four stars, the next 35% receive three stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. Ratings reflect the effect of sales charges. The funds were rated exclusively against U.S.-domiciled funds.

Note 3: 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. The CALAMOS Growth Fund was rated No. 1 out of 24 mid-cap growth funds for 10 years, No. 1 out of 83 for 5 years and No. 4 out of 236 for 1 year.



            

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