How it started
History
Calamos began as a boutique investment manager in the 1970s, developing strategies designed to maximize the potential of convertible securities to generate excess returns and manage risk. Founder John Calamos notes that the modern convertible bond market developed side-by-side with the options market, and together they presented an opportunity to control risk more precisely than was historically possible. In 1990, the firm launched its Market Neutral Income Fund, billed as one of the first liquid alternative investment funds and providing access to hedge fund strategies for individual investors.
Calamos employs more than 300 individuals in Naperville, Illinois, as well as sales and client service professionals--and investment advisors affiliated with its wealth management unit, Calamos Wealth Management--throughout the United States. In 2016, as part of its succession planning, the firm hired John S. Koudounis as president and chief executive officer, with founder John Calamos serving as chairman and chief investment officer. Subsequent to Koudounis joining, the firm made a series of strategic asset manager acquisitions that broadened its product offerings to include global long-short equity, small-cap stocks and ESG investments.
From Wikipedia’s article on Calamos, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2