The team at a $46-billion-AUM* alts fund firm near Chicago are rolling out a sibling to an exchange-traded fund they launched back less than five months ago.

Yesterday, John Koudounis, president and CEO of Calamos [profile], and Matt Kaufman, head of ETFs, unveiled the launch of the Calamos Nasdaq Autocallable Income ETF (CAIQ on the Nasdaq). Naperville, Illinois-based Calamos Advisors LLC serves as investment advisor to the new ETF.

CAIQ's inception date is today. The new fund comes with an expense ratio of 74 basis points.

The underlying reference index for CAIQ is the MerQube Nasdaq-100 Advantage Autocallable Index. The new ETF's PM team includes:

Shaheen Iqubal, senior vice president; and

Jordan Rosenfeld, VP.

CAIQ is Calamos' second "autocallable ETF." The first, CAIE, debuted back in June and has since grown to $412.1 million in AUM.** Koudounis lays claim to his team being the driver of what he calls "the autocallable income revolution in the ETF marketplace." Kaufman adds that the two ETFs represent "an entirely new deriviative income category" brought to the ETF world.

"Building the definitive Autocallable ETF franchise is exactly the kind of genuine innovation that has defined Calamos for decades," Koudounis states. "We don't follow trends, we create them."

"Our Autocallable ETFs represent a fundamental shift in how investors may now derive tax-efficient income from equities," Kaufman states. "CAIE proved the categorical demand, and now CAIQ is extending this transformation to the Nasdaq-100.

CAIQ is a non-diversified, actively managed series of the Calamos ETF Trust. The new fund's other service providers include:

Calamos Financial Services LLC (CFS) as distributor and principal underwriter;

Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent accounting firm;

Ropes & Gray LLP as counsel; and

State Street Bank and Trust Company as administrator, custodian, dividend paying agent, fund accountant, and transfer agent.

*As of October 31, 2025.

**As of November 20, 2025 (today). 

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