David O’Donohue, Senior Vice President and Co-Head of Alternative Strategies and Senior Co-Portfolio Manager for Calamos Investments, joined Keith Black, Managing Director of RIA Channel, to discuss the market debut of the Calamos Active Hedged Equity ETF (CHDG).
Launched on August 4, 2026, CHDG is designed to provide defensive equity exposure, allowing investors to participate in equity market upside while benefiting from downside protection, lower volatility, and the potential for meaningful returns.
Although CHDG is a new ETF, O’Donohue explains that Calamos has managed similar strategies for decades through the Hedged Equity Mutual Fund (CIHEX) and Market Neutral Income Mutual Fund (CMNIX). Together, the two funds manage approximately $19 billion in assets, including more than $10 billion dedicated to hedged equities. O’Donohue notes that Calamos launched CHDG in response to strong investor demand for an ETF that can deliver a risk-return profile similar to CIHEX and CMNIX.
O’Donohue explains that many competing hedge equity strategies follow a systematic approach, implementing the same hedge on a predetermined schedule. However, he believes that an active management approach, like the one taken by CHDG, can produce better outcomes. Since market conditions, volatility, skew, and interest rates are constantly changing, he argues that there is no single hedge that consistently works. Instead, Calamos continuously analyzes market conditions to build and adjust a more efficient hedge in real time.
O’Donohue also highlights CHDG’s approach to volatility as a key differentiator of the ETF. He explains that many hedged equity funds tend to perform best in rising markets but can struggle during periods of heightened volatility. By contrast, CHDG can benefit from higher volatility. According to O’Donohue, Calamos can establish hedges for CHDG at relatively low-cost during periods of low volatility and actively adjust positions as volatility rises to generate realized profits. As a result, he believes CHDG’s active approach is well positioned to outperform during more volatile market environments.
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Before investing, carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Please see the prospectus and summary prospectus containing this and other information which can be obtained by calling 1-866-363-9219. Read it carefully before investing.
An investment in the Fund is subject to risks, and you could lose money on your investment in the Fund. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Your investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. The risks associated with an investment in the Fund can increase during times of significant market volatility. The Fund also has specific principal risks, which are described below. More detailed information regarding these risks can be found in the Fund’s prospectus.
The principal risks of investing in the Calamos Active Hedged Equity ETF include: American depository receipts risk, authorized participant concentration risk, cash holdings risk, costs of buying and selling fund shares, correlation risk, covered call writing risk, currency risk, debt securities risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, default risk, derivatives risk, equity securities risk, FLEX options risk, foreign securities risk, forward foreign currency contract risk, futures and forward contracts risk, liquidity risk, market maker risk, market risk, new fund risk, options risk, other investment companies risk, portfolio selection risk, portfolio turnover risk, premium-discount risk, secondary market trading risk, sector risk, tax risk, trading issues risk, uncovered call writing risk.
–Other Investment Companies Risk: The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies to the extent that such investments are consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives and permissible under the 1940 Act.
– FLEX Options Risk: The Fund will utilize FLEX Options issued and guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). In the unlikely event that the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise unable to meet its settlement obligations, the Fund(s) could suffer significant losses. Additionally, FLEX Options may be less liquid than standard options. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the Fund(s) may have difficulty closing out certain FLEX Options positions at desired times and prices. The values of FLEX Options do not increase or decrease at the same rate as the reference asset and may vary due to factors other than the price of reference asset. Shares are bought and sold at market price, not net asset value (NAV), and are not individually redeemable from the fund. NAV represents the value of each share’s portion of the fund’s underlying assets and cash at the end of the trading day. Market price returns reflect the midpoint of the bid/ask spread as of the close of trading on the exchange where fund shares are listed.
The principal risks of investing in the Calamos Market Neutral Income Fund include: equity securities risk consisting of market prices declining in general, convertible securities risk consisting of the potential for a decline in value during periods of rising interest rates and the risk of the borrower to miss payments, synthetic convertible instruments risk, convertible hedging risk, covered call writing risk, options risk, short sale risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, high yield risk, liquidity risk, portfolio selection risk, and portfolio turnover risk.
The principal risks of investing in the Calamos Hedged Equity Fund include: covered call writing risk, options risk, equity securities risk, correlation risk, mid-sized company risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, portfolio turnover risk, portfolio selection risk, foreign securities risk, American depository receipts, and REITs risks.