Calamos Investments - Global Total Return Fund

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Global Total Return Fund
MARKET PRICE $13.93 $ CHANGE $0.25 PREMIUM/DISCOUNT -0.57% NAV $14.01 Data as of 9/05/10
OverviewPerformanceCompositionAttributionDistributions

Objective

The Fund seeks total return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income by investing in a globally diversified portfolio of equities, convertible securities and below-investment-grade (high-yield) fixed-income securities.

Approaching the Investment Process as a Team

At Calamos Investments, we've established ourselves as leaders in the asset management industry by investing according to John Calamos' vision: positioning our portfolios for risk management and staying fully invested through all stages of the market cycle. If you look behind the scenes, you'll see an entire team of experienced investment professionals implementing that vision.

Our "one team, one process" management philosophy means the same group of managers uses the same proprietary methodology to analyze companies and securities for every one of our portfolios. Although predicting the future is impossible, our research helps us hone in on indicators that a company may be undervalued or positioned for exceptional growth. Only after closely examining a company's balance sheet, credit quality, growth prospects, most probable range of price movement and fit within the portfolio do we determine whether its security is likely to benefit our strategy.

We've shown our skill at growing wealth for our clients during our nearly 30 years in the business. As active money managers, our ultimate goal—no matter what the market is doing—is to achieve the optimal risk/reward balance.

Investment Strategy

Taking a total return approach to global growth, the Fund seeks to participate in any long-term upward trends of the global equity markets but with the added benefit—and potential downside protection—of a stable monthly distribution. By combining equities, convertible bonds and higher-yielding corporate securities from around the globe, the Fund has the capacity to generate capital gains as well as income, taking advantage of its flexibility to manage risk and reward over the course of the global economy's cycle.

Fund Highlights As Of 7/31/10

  • Closed-end fund global portfolio with a mix of equities, convertible bonds and high-yield bonds
  • Attractive current annualized distribution rate of 8.82%1
  • Steady distribution since inception
  • Strong historical performance
  • Positioned as a total return portfolio that combines global equity exposure with stable monthly distributions
  • Can write call options against up to 33% of managed assets to generate additional income
  • Complements and diversifies the equity portion of an investor's asset allocation
  • Dividend Reinvestment Plan available
Past Performance
Performance data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. You can purchase or sell common shares daily. Like any other stock, market price will fluctuate with the market. Upon sale, your shares may have a market price that is above or below net asset value and may be worth more or less than your original investment. Shares of closed-end funds frequently trade at a market price that is below their net asset value.

Important Fund Information

The Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in foreign securities and invest in an array of security types and market-cap sizes, each of which has a unique risk profile. As a result of political or economic instability in foreign countries, there can be special risks associated with investing in foreign securities. These include fluctuations in currency exchange rates, increased price volatility, and difficulty obtaining information.

There are certain risks associated with an investment in a convertible bond such as default risk—that the company issuing a convertible security may be unable to repay principal and interest—and interest rate risk—that the convertible may decrease in value if interest rates increase.

Investments by the Fund in lower-rated securities involve substantial risk of loss and present greater risks than investments in higher-rated securities, including less liquidity and increased price sensitivity to changing interest rates and to a deteriorating economic environment.

Fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate risk; as interest rates go up, the value of debt securities in the Fund's portfolio generally will decline.

The Fund may invest in derivative securities, including options. The use of derivatives presents risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in traditional securities. There is no assurance that any derivative strategy used by the Fund will succeed. One of the risks associated with purchasing an option is that the Fund pays a premium whether or not the option is exercised.

The Fund may seek to purchase index put options to help reduce downside exposure however, the effectiveness of the Fund’s index option-based risk management strategy may be reduced if the Fund’s equity portfolio does not correlate to the performance of the underlying option positions. The Fund also risks losing all or part of the cash paid for purchasing index options. Unusual market conditions or lack of a ready market of any particular option at a specific time may reduce the effectiveness of the Fund’s option strategies, and for these and other reasons the Fund’s option strategies may not reduce the Fund’s volatility to the extent desired. From time to time, the Fund may reduce its holdings of put options, resulting in an increased exposure to a market decline.

Footnotes

1Current annualized distribution rate on market price is the rate at which the Fund distributes dividend, interest income, and gains earned on the Fund's portfolio, expressed as an annualized percentage of the Fund's current market price per share.

2Total return measures net investment income and capital gain or loss from portfolio investments, assuming reinvestment of income and capital gain distributions.

3Average annual return measures net investment income and capital gain or loss from portfolio investments as an annualized average, assuming reinvestment of income and capital gain distributions.

4Leverage creates risks which may adversely affect return, including the likelihood of greater volatility of net asset value and market price of common shares; and fluctuations in the variable rates of the leverage financing. The ratio is the percent of total managed assets.

5Credit quality shown reflects the higher of the ratings of Standards & Poor’s Corporation; Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or Fitch, Inc. Ratings are relative, subjective and not absolute standards of quality, represent the opinions of the independent Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSRO), and are adjusted to the scale shown. In addition, CAL has assigned its own ranking to the “unrated bonds” based on its fundamental and proprietary investment process and has years of experience actively managing risk. The security’s credit rating does not eliminate risk. The table excludes equity securities, cash and cash equivalents. For more information about securities ratings, please see the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information at www.calamos.com.

6Interest and related fees expense on payments made to the Fund's outstanding credit facility.
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