In a recent special edition of Behind the Ticker recorded live at the Exchange ETF Conference, Matt Kaufman, Head of ETFs at Calamos Investments, joined the show to talk about Calamos’ expanding lineup of structured outcome ETFs—including their latest innovation: a suite of protected Bitcoin ETFs. With a legacy in risk-managed strategies, especially convertible bonds, Calamos has built a reputation over the past 50 years as a leader in delivering upside equity potential with downside protection, a philosophy that now extends to one of the most volatile asset classes—Bitcoin.
About Matt Kaufman and Calamos
Kaufman introduced the firm’s new structured protection Bitcoin ETFs: CBOJ (100% downside protection), CBTJ (10% at risk), and CBTX (20% at risk), offering varying degrees of risk-reward profiles depending on an investor’s tolerance. These funds use a combination of zero-coupon U.S. Treasuries and option strategies built on a custom Bitcoin index developed with the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). That index, tracking all 11 spot Bitcoin ETPs, enables Calamos to construct call spread strategies that allow for capped upside with predefined downside exposure—offering investors a much-needed safety net in the crypto space.
Investment Strategy and Approach
Kaufman explained how these ETFs are built: most of the portfolio is allocated to Treasuries to secure principal (e.g., 96% for the 100% protected product), while the remaining yield is used to buy a call spread on Bitcoin. The result is a defined one-year outcome period with options-based exposure to Bitcoin’s price movement. Kaufman emphasized the appeal of these products during periods of high volatility, noting that current upside caps are as high as 50–60% for the 20% floor product—making them attractive even amid Bitcoin’s recent drawdown.
Designed for both crypto-curious investors and advisors looking to include Bitcoin in client portfolios with risk control, the Calamos suite of protected Bitcoin ETFs fills a significant gap in the market. Whether used as a “risk-off” sleeve in a crypto model portfolio or as a bond-alternative with meaningful upside, these ETFs offer a more traditional framework for incorporating Bitcoin.
Deeper Dive: Insights from the Full Conversation
Beyond the headline strategy, the full conversation between Brad and Matt Kaufman covered several additional themes worth highlighting for advisors and investors.
On Process and Philosophy
We've a convert ETF that's performing very well. But we've launched a what I would call synthetic convertible strategy where we buy call options on stocks in the NASDAQ 100. And then we pick our own bonds. We've got an actively managed bond portfolio. That is one of if not my favorite ETF in our lineup. We've outperform the Qs since inception last year with less risk. So it's performing very well delivering exactly as we expected. And then the newer newest offering that we just brought to market was protected Bitcoin.
You can get a 5% 9% 10% 15, 20, 30. Like there's every different opportunity for you to access the S&P in a way that works for you. And so you can see how the the universe of options and ETFs expands. The structured note marketplace has been around for three or four decades. And that really started to be disrupted in the ETF space around 2017. I was building some intellectual property that was doing buffers on the S&P 500.
Market Context and Positioning
So Matt Kaufman, I'm the head of ETFs at Calamose investments. For those not familiar with Calamose, Calamose is about a 50 year old risk manager, largely built on a foundation of convertible bonds. So if you're not familiar for those listening with a convertible bond, it combines a call option, you know, upside option of a company. And it ties it to its fixed income counterpart or its corporate bond. So what you end up with is the upside of a stock and good markets and then you've got a bond floor.
But as we moved into ETFs, Calamose is now in the ETF space. We've been at it for about two years now. And we have a lot of risk management products, as you might expect. We built the world's first one year, 100% principle protected ETFs on the S&P 500, the Russell 2000, the NASDAQ 100. So I think you and I spoke about that about a year ago. You know, it had a lot of great reception on those. We've launched a few other ETFs into the market since then.
Yeah, there's thousands of ETFs in the market. I remember 15 years ago when people would say is the market saturated and there were hundreds of ETFs in the market. And we just keep finding new areas of opportunity. And I always say it's a great time to be an investor, especially with ETFs in the market because you can now get. You get the S&P 500. And there's so many different derivative to use upon their derivative options that you can use to get exposure to the S&P 500 now.
Notable Insights
"And the difference is 4% that 4% that you're collecting from your treasury bonds."
"So that's why I say this allows you to choose how much to put at risk."
Key Takeaways
- Designed for both crypto-curious investors and advisors looking to include Bitcoin in client portfolios with risk control, the Calamos suite of protected Bitcoin ETFs fills a significant gap in the market.
- The conversation explores important themes in fixed income relevant to today's advisor landscape.
- The conversation explores important themes in crypto & digital assets relevant to today's advisor landscape.
What This Means for Advisors
For financial advisors evaluating options for client portfolios, this conversation with Matt Kaufman highlights important considerations around risk management. Understanding the strategy behind each fund—not just the ticker—helps advisors make more informed allocation decisions and better communicate the rationale to clients.
The themes of risk management and fixed income discussed in this episode are particularly relevant in the current market environment, where advisors are increasingly looking for differentiated solutions that go beyond traditional benchmarks.
Listen to the Full Episode
This article is based on an episode of Behind the Ticker, hosted by Brad Roth, Founder and CIO of THOR Financial Technologies. For the full conversation with Matt Kaufman, including additional nuances and details, listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or watch on YouTube.