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Unstoppable Inflows: Calamos CAIE ETF Crosses $1 Billion on Its First Anniversary
When Calamos launched the groundbreaking Calamos Autocallable Income ETF (CAIE) one year ago on June 25th, it set out to achieve a challenging goal: package a sophisticated, institutional-grade derivative strategy into a daily-liquid retail vehicle.
One year later, it is safe to say that the fund has done exactly that. As the CAIE celebrates its first anniversary, it holds over $1 billion in AUM (Assets Under Management).
However, the fund’s rise isn’t remarkable due to its sheer volume of capital alone. Perhaps more notable is the consistency at which those funds arrived. CAIE has achieved something senior Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas flagged as unprecedented, posting positive net inflows every week throughout the year since it launched.
CAIE has achieved positive inflow every week since its inception. Image source: Eric Balchunas
In simpler words, more investors have been buying shares of CAIE than selling them, indicating growing confidence in both the fund manager and the fund’s strategy.
CAIE has proven itself to be immune to the usual profit-taking periods and down weeks that plague even the most explosive funds, making it one of the most successful debuts in recent alternative ETF history.
What Does the CAIE Do?
CAIE over a one-year period
The fund gives everyday investors access to a strategy previously gatekept behind institutional minimums, accredited investor paperwork, and high-net-worth advisory platforms. While autocallable notes make up the majority of the almost $200 billion structured products market in the US, they have traditionally been out of reach for the average investor.
With the CAIE, ordinary investors can take advantage of autocallable yield notes, providing structured income packaged in a tax-efficient ETF structure that investors can buy and sell like any other ticker. To smooth out income and reduce timing risk, the CAIE holds a laddered portfolio of 52+ autocallable notes that mature and reset at different times, mapped to the MerQube US Large-Cap Vol Advantage Index.
Paired with Treasury and collateral holdings, the fund is an innovative ETF that has maintained a weighted average coupon distribution rate of 14% and a total annualized return of 25.52% on a NAV basis.
The fund provides a generous protective barrier level of -40%. As long as the underlying index doesn’t crash beyond that -40% barrier, the fund will continue to generate structured, steady monthly income. This allows investors to diversify their assets with an investment that outpaces traditional bond yields, providing a comfortable cushion against market downturns and fluctuations.
The industry has already taken notice. During the first year since its inception, the CAIE has won various awards and honors, including at the 2025 SRP Americas Awards, the SPI’s Awards for Excellence 2025, and the 2026 Mutual Fund & ETF Awards from With Intelligence.
Building on the success of the CAIE, Calmos has since rolled out a similar fund, the CAIQ, which is built on the MerQube Nasdaq-100® Vol Advantage Index for investors who prefer Nasdaq 100 exposure. For investors seeking long-term, amplified growth, Calamos launched CAGE (Calamos Autocallable Growth ETF), which currently provides a 23.8% 10-year annualized total return. The CAIE, however, remains the proof of concept, illustrating the high retail demand for an accessible structured income framework.
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