Fund Evaluator:
Calamos Merger Arbitrage A (CMRAX)
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Best Performing in Event Driven Over the Last Year
| 5.1% | NexPoint Merger Arbitrage Z (HMEZX) |
| -1.5% | NexPoint Event Driven Z (HHCZX) |
Fund Details
Calamos Merger Arbitrage A Overview
Calamos Merger Arbitrage A (CMRAX) is an actively managed Alternative Event Driven fund. Calamos launched the fund in 2023.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The manager utilizes an actively managed merger arbitrage strategy by establishing long and short positions in the securities of companies that are involved in significant corporate events or transactions. Under normal market conditions, it will invest at least 80% of its net assets in common stock, convertibles, SPACs, preferred stock, corporate bonds, warrants and options of U.S. and non-U.S. companies which are involved, or which the advisor believes will be involved, in a variety of significant corporate events including, but not limited to merger-arbitrage investments. The fund is non-diversified.
About Calamos Merger Arbitrage A (CMRAX)
There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.84 years: Eli Pars (2023), Jason Hill (2023), David O’Donohue (2023), Jimmy Young (2023), Anthony Vecchiolla (2023). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100%. Calamos Merger Arbitrage A has 49 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 60.2% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Calamos Merger Arbitrage A is part of the Alternative Strategies global asset class and is within the Alternative fund group. Calamos Merger Arbitrage A has 0.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 55.2%. There is 0.7% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.1% (0.1% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 27.4% convertible bond). Calamos Merger Arbitrage A has 16.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $226 million in total assets, which is below the $329 million average for the Event Driven category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
CMRAX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Calamos Merger Arbitrage A expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Event Driven category. Calamos Merger Arbitrage A has an expense ratio of 1.98%, which is 3% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Calamos Merger Arbitrage A has a portfolio turnover rate of 177%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 218% for the Event Driven category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Calamos Merger Arbitrage A returned 1.1%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Event Driven category had an average return of 0.0%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Calamos Merger Arbitrage A has a trailing yield of 1.07%, which is below the 2.23% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Calamos Merger Arbitrage A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 2.7%, 0.3 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 7.2% over the past year (grade of B).
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CMRAX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| CMRAX Return (NAV) | 1.1% | 1.0% | 7.2% | na | na | na |
| CMRAX Grade | A | B | B | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 1.1% | 0.3% | 1.2% | na | na | na |
| Event Driven Avg | 0.0% | 0.7% | 6.0% | 6.3% | 3.9% | 4.4% |
| CMRAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.8% | na | na | na |
CMRAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| CMRAX Return (NAV) | 2.7% | 10.5% | -2.0% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| CMRAX Grade | B | A | F | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 0.3% | 1.7% | -6.2% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Event Driven Avg | 2.4% | 8.9% | 4.2% | 4.8% | -1.6% | 2.4% | 7.7% | 7.0% | 3.1% | 4.6% | 2.8% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | na |
| Total Risk Index: | na |
| Category Risk Index: | na |
| Category Risk Grade: | |
| Beta: | na |
| R-Squared: | na |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Mid-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 1.1% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $2 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 0 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 177% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 5 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 2.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 2.8 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Pars Eli (2023), Hill Jason (2023), O’Donohue David (2023), Young Jimmy (2023), Vecchiolla Anthony (2023) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 5/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 49 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 60.2% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.7% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 55.2% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.7% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.1% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 27.4% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 16.6% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Calamos |
| Phone Number: | 800-582-6959 |
| Website: | www.calamos.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | September 29, 2023 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $2,500 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 500 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 2.75% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.98% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.92% |
| Share Class: | Calamos Merger Arbitrage I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
