Calamos Investments announced this month that its newly launched Calamos Autocallable Income ETF (NYSE Arca: CAIE) has delivered its first distribution, representing an annualized yield of 17.48%, or $0.38592 per share.
This strong initial performance underscores a promising start for the fund, which seeks to provide high, consistent income by employing structured strategies typically accessible only to high-net-worth, institutional investors.
A new era of income access through Calamos ETF
The CAIE ETF (Calamos Autocallable Income ETF) launched on June 25, 2025 to meet rising demand for differentiated income solutions amid volatile interest rate environments. Designed around autocallable notes, the fund introduces a simplified way to capture structured coupon income—now accessible via a liquid, exchange-traded wrapper.
John Koudounis, President and CEO of Calamos Investments, emphasized that this distribution represents more than strong performance—it’s a milestone for democratizing complex income strategies.
“This first payout showcases how investors can now access a strategy once limited to custom private notes—without the drawbacks of limited liquidity, high complexity, or unfavorable tax treatment,” he stated.
Calamos ETF: Built for steady income delivery
CAIE’s investment strategy is based on a laddered portfolio of more than 52 autocallable notes, each designed to deliver structured coupon payments on a weekly basis. This weekly issuance model allows the fund to maintain consistent cash flows and mitigate timing risk, while also smoothing out exposure across different market cycles.
Matt Kaufman, the head of ETFs at Calamos, notes:
“CAIE is meant to be the easy button for investors looking for high income without relying on traditional credit or interest rate plays. With autocallables, we’re tapping into a segment of the market that behaves differently—and provides income based on equity index performance, not bond yields.”
Monthly distribution schedule announced
Calamos also revealed the upcoming monthly distribution schedule for CAIE, which follows a regular pattern of declaration, ex-date, record date, and payment. The schedule is as follows:
|
DECLARATION DATE |
EX DATE |
RECORD DATE |
PAYABLE DATE |
DISTRIBUTION |
|
07/31/2025 |
08/01/2025 |
08/01/2025 |
08/08/2025 |
$0.38592 |
|
08/29/2025 |
09/02/2025 |
09/02/2025 |
09/08/2025 |
–TBD |
|
09/30/2025 |
10/01/2025 |
10/01/2025 |
10/07/2025 |
–TBD |
|
10/31/2025 |
11/03/2025 |
11/03/2025 |
11/07/2025 |
–TBD |
|
12/22/2025 |
12/23/2025 |
12/23/2025 |
12/30/2025 |
–TBD |
This structured schedule helps investors plan around expected payouts while offering the potential for attractive income.
Backed by institutional infrastructure
The ETF works with top-tier financial partners. JP Morgan handles the swap agreements, and MerQube provides the custom index that helps shape the fund’s investment strategy.
With this strong debut, CAIE appears well-positioned to fill a growing demand among income-focused investors for transparent, liquid, and tax-efficient access to structured strategies once reserved for elite portfolios.
We rang the @NYSE Closing Bell to launch $CAIE—the first-of-its-kind ETF to democratize the $100 B+ autocallable market. Averaging 14.6 % yield¹, with J.P. Morgan as swap counterparty and MerQube Indices as index provider.
¹ As of 07/16/25. Based on weighted average coupon of… pic.twitter.com/yVs2PVVL4F
— Calamos Investments (@Calamos) July 18, 2025
Koudounis on RIA Channel: Launch of First Autocallable Income ETF Marks Major Market Shift
Speaking from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in a recent interview with Julie Cooling, Founder and CEO of RIA Channel, Calamos CEO John Koudounis discussed the launch of the first-ever autocallable income ETF — a product he says will “revolutionize a large part of the market
“We’re really proud of our team to launch this,” Koudounis said. “It’s the first autocallable income ETF on the market, and it is something that’s going to revolutionize a lot of the market. It’s already over a $100 billion market.”
Traditionally, these types of structured products were limited to ultra-high-net-worth investors. “Before this, it was only available to people that were extremely high net worth — we’re talking about a minimum buy-in of at least $250,000,” he explained. “There were K-1s involved, it was very intricate. You had to reset all the options to take the notes.”
“It’s available to everybody”
Now, through the ETF format, this complex strategy has been simplified and made broadly accessible. “This is what we call the easy button,” Koudounis said. “It’s available to everybody. As an ETF format, it’s traded daily, liquid, with high income — which is phenomenal.”
The fund’s monthly coupon currently yields 14.7 percent, offering an attractive income stream to investors. However, Koudounis did highlight the inherent risks tied to market performance: “The only downside is if the market falls below — it takes a hit, over 40% equity markets — then you start to see a little deterioration of your coupon, and then possibly your principal, depending on how long it stays there.”
Importantly, the ETF structure makes the product far more accessible for both advisors and retail investors. “It’s making it a lot easier for a lot of the advisors to sell this type of product,” Koudounis noted. “It’s democratizing the product so everyone can buy it — as small as $25 a share — versus the buy-in before, over a quarter of $1 million.”
Calamos Investments is a diversified global investment firm that offers innovative investment strategies, including alternatives, multi-asset, convertible, fixed income, private credit, equity, and sustainable equity.
As of June 16, 2025, the firm manages over $41 billion in assets, including more than $19 billion in liquid alternatives. Its strategies are offered through ETFs, mutual funds, closed-end funds, interval funds, Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS), and separately managed accounts.
