A Midwestern NBA star is teaming up with a Chicago-area asset manager to enter the ETF business.

Matthew Todd "Matt" Kaufman Calamos Investments LLC Senior Vice President, Head of ETFs

Yesterday, Matt Kaufman, head of ETFs at Naperville, Illinois-based Calamos Investments LLC [profile], and Giannis Antetokounmpo, a player with the Milwaukee Bucks and minority owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, unveiled the launch of the Calamos Antetokounmpo Global Sustainable Equities ETF (SROI on the NYSE Arca). The fund's inception date was February 3, and it is a series of the Calamos ETF Trust. It is Calamos' first ETF.

To power the new fund, last year Calamos and Antetokounmpo created a joint venture, Calamos Antetokounmpo Asset Management, LLC (dba CGAM), owned by Calamos and (indirectly) by Antetokounmpo. CGAM (which started on July 5, 2022) will serve as SROI's advisor and will donate some profits to charity, while Calamos Advisors LLC (a subsidiary of Calamos Investments) will serve as the new fund's subadvisor. The fund's PM team includes: James Madden, senior vice president and co-portfolio manager at Calamos; Tony Tursich, SVP and co-PM; and Beth Williamson, vice president and associate PM.

The actively managed fund comes with an expense ratio of 95 basis points. It will invest in growth equities (in both developed and emerging markets) that meet certain Calamos' own ESG criteria.

"The partnership forged between Calamos and Giannis Antetokounmpo will allow for the greatest opportunity for societal return on investment on a global scale and will become a cornerstone for future growth in the ETF space at the firm," Kaufman states.

"The principles of family, community, and economic empowerment are tremendously important to the Antetokounmpo family," Antetokounmpo states. "I'm excited to join with Calamos to bring an exchange traded fund to market that invests for growth, and to form a partnership that gives back to the community in a meaningful way."

SROI's other service providers include: Chapman and Cutler LLP as counsel to Calamos; Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent accounting firm; Foreside Fund Services, LLC as distributor; Ropes & Gray LLP as counsel to the trust; and State Street Bank and Trust Company as administrator, custodian, and fund accounting and transfer agent. 

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