Diverse opportunities in Global Convertibles, as well as structural features, provide tailwinds to counter rising rates and equity volatility. In rising rate environments, convertibles have historically done quite well relative to longer-duration traditional fixed income investments.

Given the many forces shaping the economy and markets, 2022 will be a stock picker’s—and a bond picker’s—market. Prices are indeed stretched in pockets of the market, but many areas offer attractive potential supported by compelling fundamentals and exposure to growth themes.

The receding pandemic should continue to provide a tailwind. However, as economies begin to normalize, expectations for the future path of monetary and fiscal policies are shifting. And as markets adapt to a post-Covid economy, we expect increased volatility, more rotational markets, and leadership changes. The risk of a policy error has also increased at the margin, with future Federal Reserve leadership and policy more uncertain today than a month ago.

During the second quarter, global equity markets extended their strong performance.

The weak dollar, low-interest rates, and accelerating growth—these are just three of an array of factors that argue in favor of increasing your clients exposure to emerging markets.

Join us Wednesday, March 10, for a review of EM investment opportunities. Headlining our webcast panel will be Calamos Founder, Chairman, and Global Chief Investment Officer John P. Calamos, Sr. Joining John will be:

• Nick Niziolek, CFA, Co-CIO, Head of International and Global Strategies, Senior Co-Portfolio Manager
• Todd Speed, CFA, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Specialist

In addition to covering secular growth themes (monetary and fiscal stimulus, China’s global leadership, growth and inflation expectations, the weaker dollar, and strengthening liquidity), you’ll hear the Calamos’ take on several thematic tailwinds driving the EM opportunity, including:

• Airlines
• EM technology
• Copper
• ESG
• Global payments ecosystem

We’ll conclude our discussion with a review of the differentiated approach of Calamos Evolving World Growth Fund (CNWIX), which has successfully pursued a favorable risk/reward skew through bottom-up security selection, top-down thematic analysis, and opportunistic use of less-well-known asset classes, such as convertible securities.

As a sequel to Advisor Perspectives’ best-attended sponsored webcast of 2020, our Feb. 4 webcast will prepare you to put convertibles to work to anticipate risks that include a new administration with new priorities, rising rates, and even the ever-changing convertible market.

Convertibles were by far the best performing major asset class last year, and hundreds of investment professionals experienced the benefit of using them for the first time. Join us as our panel of preeminent experts—including John P. Calamos, Sr., who is widely recognized as the pioneer of using converts to manage risk/reward—advance the discussion. You’ll learn about evolving convertible market dynamics (including near-record levels of issuance and new issuers) and the additive effect of actively managed convertibles as a risk-managed allocation.

What’s your best guess about what happens next? Seesaw markets? V-shaped recovery? Further equity declines?

Join us at 2 p.m. ET Thursday, May 7 to hear about how convertible securities can help you prepare for multiple possible scenarios. At all times, convertibles are a strategic allocation that can provide added diversification to a portfolio. What’s intriguing investment professionals in this turbulent environment is how convertibles have historically helped manage the risk of equity investing.

Because they’ve provided comparable equity returns with less volatility, including convertibles in a portfolio can help keep clients invested.

Headlining our webcast panel will be Calamos Founder, Chairman, and Global Chief Investment Officer John P. Calamos, Sr., widely recognized as the pioneer of the convertible asset class. Joining John will be:

• Eli Pars, CFA, Co-CIO, Head of Alternative Strategies and Co-Head of Convertible Strategies,
  Senior Co-Portfolio Manager, including of Calamos Market Neutral Income Fund (CMNIX), the industry’s largest alternative fund (Morningstar data, 3/31/20)
• Joseph Wysocki, CFA, Senior Vice President, Co-Portfolio Manager, including of the
  Calamos Convertible Fund (CICVX)

One month after the depths of the equity market decline, Brandon Nelson expresses optimism about the prospects for the country’s health, corporate profitability and what he calls “exciting” small companies in the Calamos Timpani Small Cap Growth Fund (CTSIX) portfolio.

While predicting that “economic activity in March and April will be the worst of our professional careers,” Grant nonetheless says markets see light at the end of the tunnel that includes economic recovery by July.

In a turbulent period for the markets, Calamos has been hosting a Calamos CIO Conference Call series for investment professionals.

The dual strategies of convertible arbitrage and hedged equity helped Calamos Market Neutral Income Fund (CMNIX) weather the recent drawdown while being positioned for future opportunities.

The stage is being set for what we internally call the “convertible trifecta.” The markets are uncertain right now. But when markets eventually calm, the team would expect to see the combined forces of equity upside, credit upside and convert valuation gaps closing, which can be very powerful on the way back up.

Matt provides a framework that he and his team use to make sense of the headlines and the price bids flashing on their monitors. His realistic, yet hopeful outlook provides a roadmap for successfully navigating this universal crisis together.

Even with all the benefits attributable to closed-end funds—intraday trading, low financing costs of leverage, ability to be fully invested, and consistent source of income—they have some idiosyncrasies that present challenges, especially during extreme volatility

The pace of government and private sector response will likely be slower than we may like, but we have the collective knowledge to address the pandemic, including support to individuals and businesses.

Michael Grant is preparing for rebound in equities and has positioned the long/short portfolio accordingly. To use a Wayne Gretzky analogy, he is skating to where the puck will be, not where it is.

Global markets have not yet reached a bottom, but Nick Niziolek believes the global economy and markets could be in recovery mode by the second half of the year, with China and other overseas markets making strong contributions.

Equity markets have bounced around rather dramatically in recent weeks (up and down) as investors are trying to get a grasp of the impacts of Covid-19 (aka Coronavirus). While there will clearly be economic softening from Covid-19, the base case is that it will be transitory.

Never underestimate the growth potential of a small company with a good idea and a solid plan. The rest of the world may be on pause, but there’s no stopping the forward momentum of U.S. creators, innovators and disruptors.

Join us at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday, September 24, 2019, to learn why the Calamos Timpani Small Cap Growth Fund (CTSIX) team is enthusiastic about the opportunities it’s finding today. With small caps trading at a discount not seen since 2003, the price is right—and the potential for growth is irresistible.

Presenting on this Advisor Perspectives-produced Webcast will be Brandon M. Nelson, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager, and Ryan Isherwood, CFA, Senior Research Analyst, Co-Portfolio Manager. Nelson and Isherwood joined Calamos following our 2019 acquisition of Timpani Capital Management, the company Nelson co-founded in 2008. Nelson served as Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager of the Timpani strategies since inception. The Calamos Timpani Small Cap Growth Fund combines fundamental research with the analysis of market estimates to identify the underestimated growth differential between a company’s business strength and market expectations of that strength.

The S&P 500 had its best first half of the year in 22 years and its best June since 1955. And yet, many investors have been calling the end of the bull market for months.

Looking forward, we believe the U.S. economy will extend its steady expansion through this year and beyond. The global economy is positioned for moderate growth, with a pickup in the second half of the year. The relatively weaker earnings season currently underway reflects a high bar in terms of year-over-year earnings growth...

Is the stock market correct in its optimism that monetary normalization is over and equities have more runway in 2019?

Following a painful and broad fourth quarter selloff, risk assets rebounded in the first weeks of 2019 as optimism has grown about Fed accommodation, earnings, China stimulus and an eventual trade dispute resolution. However, investors should be prepared for choppy markets, especially through the first half of the year.

December’s market volatility was what most investors would expect to see only in a stress test scenario. The VIX jumped from 16 to 36 and back down to 25 all in the span of one month. We talked to Dave O’Donohue, Senior Vice President and Co-Portfolio Manager, about how he and the Calamos Market Neutral Income Fund (CMNIX) and Calamos Hedged Equity Income Fund (CIHEX) team view volatility and how they reacted to the big swings in volatility during December.

Whether or not one believes in the “October Effect,” investors can’t be blamed for giving it credence this year. Worries about trade, the Federal Reserve and global growth roiled the markets as the fourth quarter began. Even U.S. equities—which had roared through the third quarter as investors focused on positive economic data—succumbed to the selloff that gripped risk assets.

I believe the economy can withstand this short-term pullback and continue on its growth trajectory for the next year, if not longer. There are many reasons to be positive on the U.S. economy. Even if markets move sideways over these next months and volatility intensifies, there are still many opportunities, including in equities, convertibles, fixed income and alternative strategies.

Fears of an imminent U.S. recession are premature; tax policy and a more business-friendly regulatory environment provide long-term catalysts for the economy. Although conditions outside the U.S. are less encouraging, positive global growth should continue, albeit with growing divergence among countries.

During the second half of the year, convertibles should benefit in advancing but volatile equity markets. Convertibles have outperformed bonds during rising rate environments. Thanks to their equity characteristics, convertible securities have performed well versus bonds during periods of rising interest rates—including this most recent period.

Last week’s Barron’s cover story asked whether U.S. value stocks are primed to break out of their “funk” after 10 years of underperformance vs. growth stocks. Many of the “growth” companies that dominate growth indexes/portfolios and look more “expensive” are actually the winners of secular changes that have occurred while value indices/portfolios are littered with casualties of the change.

Conditions we are seeing today are more normal than recent years, when investors grew accustomed to record low interest rates, a near-absence of inflation and the subdued volatility. We expect coordinated global economic expansion will continue through 2018, although improvements in some economic fundamentals may have peaked.