FUND performance Analysis APRIL 2010 www.calamos.com Calamos Financial Services LLC, Distributor High Yield Fund Fund Ticker Symbols A Shares B Shares C Shares I Shares CHYDX CAHBX CCHYX CIHYX > Performance with emphasis on higher rated sectors of high-yield market. page 2 > One-team investment process. page 3 > High yield, not distressed. page 4 A More Conservative Approach to High Yield Opportunities The surge in the high-yield market has been driven largely by the lowest-quality tiers. In 2009, the high yield bond CCC-rated tier soared 110.6%, while the B and BB tiers rose 45.4% and 41., respectively. We are often asked why we have not overweighted the most speculative names. The concern is risk. The historic default rate by those lowest rated issuers grows exponentially as you move down the credit scale (see table). We do not believe that there have been fundamental changes that will decrease the overall probability of default for the lowest quality names. Our investment philosophy, which concentrates on risk management, largely avoids the most speculative grade issues. Holding these issues this year, in our opinion, has largely been a market-timing decision rather than investments based on fundamentals. Figure 1. Average Default Rates 1 Year After Issuance 1981-2007 25% 25.59 DEFAULT RATE 15% 9.06 6.27 5% 0.15 0.23 0.31 0.52 0.81 1.44 2.53 BBB+ BBB BB- BBB- BB+ BB B+ B B- CCC/C CREDIT RATINGS Credit quality tiers reflect the ratings of Standard & Poor s Sources: Stand & Poor s Global Fixed Income Research amd Standard and Poor s Credit Pro. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The opinions referenced are as of the date of publication and are subject to change due to changes in the market or economic conditions and may not necessarily come to pass. Information contained herein is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Not FDIC Insured May Lose Value No Bank Guarantee Investments in lower-rated securities may present greater risks than investments in higher-rated securities. This is because there is a greater likelihood that the company issuing the lower-rated securities may default on income and principal payments.
Calamos High Yield Fund Performance Analysis Performance With Emphasis on Quality Calamos High Yield Fund has outperformed both the category averages for Lipper and Morningstar over all standardized time periods except the 1-year period. We aim to meet the Fund s objective by attempting to manage risk through higher quality investments in the high-yield market. We Focus on Fundamentals Unlike some other high-yield bond funds, our focus is not on buying distressed companies in hopes that they do not default. Our investment process focuses on companies with high-yield debt that we believe have sound profitability and balance sheets. Data as of 3/31/10. 8 7 68.29 High Yield Fund Credit Suisse High Yield Index AVERAGE ANNUALIZED RETURNS (%) Fund Returns Versus Morningstar, Lipper Categories As of 3/31/10 5 4 High Yield Fund A Shares at NAV Lipper High Current Yield Fund Morningstar High Yield Bond Funds 6 5 4 47.73 Debt/Capital 10.84 8.13 ROIC 1-Year 3-Year 5-Year 10-Year Since Inception Past performance does not guarantee or indicate future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance is for the Fund s Class A shares at net asset value and does not include the Fund s maximum front-end sales charge of 4.75% had it been included, the Fund s return would have been lower. Average Annual Returns as of 3/31/10 since 1-yr 3-yr 5-yr 10-yr inception Calamos High Yield Fund A shares at NAV 40.9 3.69% 5.69% 7.26% 6.65% A shares Load adjusted 34.16 2.02 4.66 6.74 6.16 Credit Suisse High Yield Index 52.27 5.83 7.16 7.68 7.10 Lipper High Current Yield Funds 47.35 3.62 5.56 5.42 4.94 Morningstar High Yield Bond Funds 47.60 3.64 5.52 5.32 4.75 Source: State Street Corporation; Mellon Analytical Solutions, LLC; and Morningstar Credit quality breakdown reflects the higher of the ratings of Standard & Poor s Corporation; Moody s Investors Service, Inc.; Fitch, Inc.; National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and Calamos proprietary credit scores and are adjusted to the scale shown. Ratings are relative, subjective and not absolute standards of quality. Nonrated securities receive a proprietary rating. Excludes equity securities and cash. Emphasis on Quality We tend to shy away from the more speculative securities in favor of higher quality as compared against the Fund s benchmark. Again, this aims to lower the likelihood of defaults in the portfolio. Data as of 3/31/10. AAA 0.0 0.0 AA A BBB BB B 0.0 0.6 2.9 4.7 13.0 11.9 High Yield Fund 18.3 Credit Suisse High Yield Index 35.4 36.8 59.7 CCC & below 1.4 15.3 4 5 6 Past performance does not guarantee or indicate future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Portfolios are managed according to their respective strategies which may differ significantly in terms of security holdings, industry weightings, and asset allocation from those of the benchmark(s). Portfolio performance, characteristics and volatility may differ from the benchmark(s) shown. The principal value and investment return of an investment will fluctuate so that your shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. You can obtain performance data current to the most recent month end by visiting www.calamos.com. Calendar year returns measure net investment income and capital gain or loss from portfolio investments for each period specified. Average annual total return measures net investment income and capital gain or loss from portfolio investments as an annualized average. All performance shown assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions. Class A shares load-adjusted returns are adjusted for the maximum front-end sales load of 4.75%. The Fund also offers Cl ass B and C shares, the performance of which may vary. Performance shown reflects an expense reimbursement that improved results. As of the prospectus dated 3/1/2010, the gross expense ratio for Class A shares is 1.23%. 2
APRIL 2010 Investment Process: One Team As opposed to individual portfolio managers assigned to each of our funds, the Calamos investment team evaluates securities for all the funds using one process. The team, led by Co-CIOs Nick Calamos and John Calamos, establishes the total value of firms and then assigns what it believes are fair prices to the securities in each firm s capital structure, including high-yield securities. Securities that we consider attractive investments are assigned to the portfolios of appropriate Calamos funds. SECURITY RESEARCH Credit analysis > Eliminate impaired credits Uncover improving business > Business valuation Evaluate security return > Risk/reward analysis INVESTMENT CANDIDATES PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION CONSIDERATIONS Reference top-down perspective Diversification > Themes > Sector > Number of holdings > Position size PORTFOLIO ONGOING MONITORING & RISK MANAGEMENT Scenario analysis Risk/reward Attribution analysis Liquidity analysis Portfolio characteristics Guideline compliance Responsibility of: Co-CIOs Research Analysts Responsibility of: Co-CIOs Research Analysts Responsibility of: Co-CIOs Research Analysts Risk Management Specialists Trading Team Performance data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. 3
Calamos High Yield Fund Performance Analysis Global Corporate Cumulative Defaults Defaults by companies with the lowest rated bonds rise quickly in the first and second years and reach almost 4 in the third year. Unlike other high-yield funds, our goal is to avoid defaults, so we tend to stay away from the most speculative high-yield bonds. By Credit Rating 1991 2008 CUMULATIVE DEFAULT RATE 6 5 4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 TIME HORIZON (YEARS) BBB BB B CCC/C 10 11 12 13 14 15 Credit Analysis: High Yield But Not Distressed We don t accept that high-yield investing means that owning defaulted bonds is just an occupational hazard. We feel that Fund investors are better served when we focus on achieving an acceptable balance between risk and yield instead of attempting to recover losses on defaulted securities. In many cases, we don t think high yields on bonds of distressed companies compensate enough for the risk of losing principal. While the broad economic and credit environment plays an important role in security selection, research on the specific characteristics of each company is critical given our views on defaults. High yield bonds include default risk, the risk that the company issuing debt securities will be unable to repay principal and interest. Source: Standard and Poor s Growth of $10k in Rated Securities Defaults or the threat of defaults take a toll on returns over the long run. High-yield securities rated BB have returned more than lower rated bonds since 1997. 1/1/97 12/31/09 $25000 $20000 BB B CCC/C $23,853 $22,547 $19,613 Risk and Return Higher-quality securities in the high-yield market have had more of a tendency to avoid large negative returns on a quarterly basis and have more consistently produced higher or more neutral returns. Our aim to manage risk focuses on trying to avoid the large short-term losses that tend to result in long-term underperformance. Quarterly returns 1/1/97 12/31/09 BB B CCC $15000 25% 23 24 25 24 $10000 19 $5000 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 # OF QUARTERS 15% 13 14 Source: Merrill Lynch, Bloomberg 9 5% 5 Greater than 2% Source:Merrill Lynch, Bloomberg Between 2% and -2% QUARTERLY RETURNS Less than -2% 4
APRIL 2010 High Yield Market: A Resurgence The high-yield market continued solid performance in the first quarter with a 4.47% gain in the Credit Suisse High Yield Index. As occurred for much of last year, market performance in the quarter primarily was driven by the most speculative grade bonds as the higher grades lagged. This has acted as a bit of a headwind for Fund performance, as our highest quality bias and focus on stronger balance sheets in light of less certain economic conditions was not rewarded in the quarter. It s important to note that these are the same low-grade investments we avoided in 2008 and the beginning of 2009, as the credit markets deteriorated. As we ve noted before, three months doesn t measure a market cycle or a business cycle and we still hold conviction in our allocations. All but one economic sector within the index posted a gain during the quarter, led by issues within the financial (+7.57%) and consumer-discretionary (+5.5) sectors. The utilities sector (-0.76%) posted a narrow loss in the period. As mentioned above, the lowest quality and most speculative grade bonds continued to lead the market, performing the best among quality tiers, while the higher-rated B and BB tiers performed well, but still lagged. As managers of risk, we have generally avoided these most speculative and higher risk investments, where the chances for default are highest. High yield spreads narrowed 49 basis points in the quarter and ended the period at 608 basis points above the 10-year Treasury. Spreads now stand at the historical long-term average of approximately 600 basis points, down from the peak of 1,798 basis points in November 2008. There was a record $76.8 billion of new bond issuance activity during the quarter that continued to be well diversified by credit quality, sector and industry. Default activity declined in the quarter, as the dollarweighted default rate stands at 6.3% while the default rate by issuer is currently 5.2%. Fund Quarterly Returns - - 1q09 2q09 3q09 4q09 1Q10 Calamos High Yield Fund 7.21% 16.72% 12.27% 4.29% 3. (Class A Shares at NAV) Credit Suisse High Yield Index 5.81 20.23 14.11 6.23 4.47 S&P 500 Index -11.01 15.93 15.61 6.04 5.39 Source: Mellon Analytical Solutions, LLC Past performance does not guarantee or indicate future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance is for the Fund s Class A shares at net asset value and does not include the Fund s maximum front-end sales charge of 4.75% had it been included, the Fund s return would have been lower. Businesses remain relatively cautious globally, but they are generally upbeat when assessing current conditions and outlook over the next several months especially those operating with emerging growth areas. Moving forward, our plan is to focus on companies with diversified global businesses and invest in companies with lower debt and stronger balance sheets. Our expectations are for volatile periods in the months and quarters ahead, yet plenty of opportunity exists. 5
Calamos High Yield Fund Performance Analysis Important Information about Risk Calamos High Yield Fund invests in lower-rated securities, which present greater risks than investments in higher-rated securities. This is because there is a greater likelihood that the company issuing the lower-rated securities may default on income and principal payments. In addition to market risk, there are certain risks associated with an investment in the Fund, such as default risk, the risk that the company issuing debt securities will be unable to repay principal and interest, and interest rate risk, the risk that the security may decrease in value if interest rates increase. You should also know that the Fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in the securities of foreign issuers. As a result of political or economic instability in foreign countries, there can be special risks associated with investing in foreign securities, including fluctuations in currency exchange rates, increased price volatility, and difficulty obtaining information. Index Definitions The Credit Suisse High Yield Index is an index of high yield debt securities. The S&P 500 Index is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. Morningstar High Yield Bond Funds fund category average represents funds with at least 65% of assets with credit ratings below BBB. Lipper High Current Yields Funds aim at high (relative) current yield from fixed income securities, have no quality or maturity restrictions, and tend to invest in lower-grade debt issues. Unmanaged index returns assume reinvestment of any and all distributions and, unlike fund returns, do not reflect fees, expenses or sales charges. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. Before investing, carefully consider the fund s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Contact 800.582.6959 for a prospectus containing this and other information. Read it carefully. 6
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Calamos High Yield Fund Performance Analysis 8 Calamos Financial Services LLC, Distributor 2020 Calamos Court Naperville, IL 60563-2787 800.582.6959 www.calamos.com caminfo@calamos.com 2010 Calamos Holdings LLC. All Rights Reserved. Calamos and Calamos Investments are registered trademarks of Calamos Holdings LLC. HYPRBRO 7991 0310Q R