"Unstoppable: The Digital Assets Train Has Left the Station" -- Koudounis Drives the Mainstage Conversation at Milken Institute

CHICAGO, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- John Koudounis, President & CEO of Calamos Investments, will participate in a panel discussion at the 29th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. On Monday, May 4, from 4:20–5:15 p.m. PDT, Koudounis will share the stage with CEOs from firms such as Grayscale and Coinbase Institutional for a session titled "Unstoppable: The Digital Assets Train Has Left The Station." The panel will be moderated by Michael S. Piwowar, PhD, Senior Advisor at the Milken Institute and former Acting Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — and will tackle how digital assets are transforming the financial system in real time.

The appearance marks Koudounis's 25th consecutive year attending the Milken Institute Global Conference — one of the world's premier convening platforms for leaders across finance, health, technology, and public policy. His continued presence reflects Calamos's long-standing engagement with institutional investors and policymakers at the highest levels.

"Digital assets are no longer a fringe conversation — they are the future of the financial system, and that future is already being built," said Koudounis. "The rise of stablecoins, new platforms, and protocols isn't theoretical — it's happening now. Calamos spent eight years researching this space, and that research led us to become the first asset manager to launch downside-protected Bitcoin ETFs. We believe investors deserve access to this opportunity on their own terms — with real risk management built in."

The Calamos Protected Bitcoin ETF suite gives investors access to bitcoin's return potential within a defined risk framework — upside participation up to a stated cap, with 100%, 90%, or 80% downside protection over an approximately one-year outcome period, before fees and expenses. Calamos's Laddered Protected Bitcoin ETFs package multiple quarterly outcome periods into single-ticker solutions, keeping investors continuously and strategically exposed to bitcoin.

Confirmed Panelists include: John S. Koudounis, President and CEO, Calamos Investments; Tom Lee, Chairman, Bitmine Immersion Technologies; Peter Mintzberg, CEO, Grayscale Investments; Brett Tejpaul, Co-CEO, Coinbase Institutional and Mary-Catherine Lader, CEO, Native Markets.

About Calamos

Calamos Investments is a diversified global investment firm offering innovative investment strategies including alternatives, multi-asset, convertible, fixed income, equity, and sustainable equity. The firm offers strategies through separately managed portfolios, mutual funds, closed-end funds, private funds, interval funds, ETFs, and UCITS funds. Clients include major corporations, pension funds, endowments, foundations and individuals, as well as the financial advisors and consultants who serve them. Headquartered in the Chicago metropolitan area, the firm also has offices in New York City, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Portland (Oregon), and the Miami area. For more information, please visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Calamos, Instagram @calamos_investments, or at www.calamos.com. 

Before investing, carefully consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Please see the prospectus and summary prospectus containing this and other information which can be obtained by calling 1-866-363-9219. Read it carefully before investing.

The Funds seek to provide investment results that, before taking fees and expenses into account, track the positive price return of the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate – New York Variant ("BRRNY") ("Spot bitcoin") up to a predetermined upside cap (the "Cap") while seeking to protect against 100%, 90% or 80%, respectively, of losses (before total fund operating fees and expenses) of Spot bitcoin over a period of approximately one (1) year (the "Outcome Period"). The Funds will not invest directly in bitcoin. Instead, the Funds seek to provide investment results that, before taking total fund operating fees and expenses into account, track the positive price return of Spot bitcoin by investing in options that reference the price performance of one or more underlying exchange-traded products ("Underlying ETPs") which, in turn, own bitcoin and/or one or more indexes that are designed to track the price of bitcoin ("Bitcoin Index").

The Target Outcome may not be achieved, and investors may lose some or all of their money. The Funds are designed to achieve the Target Outcome only if an investor buys on the first day of the Outcome Period and holds a Fund until the end of the Outcome Period. While the Funds seek to provide 100%, 90% or 80% protection against losses experienced by the price of Spot bitcoin for shareholders who hold Fund Shares for an entire Outcome Period, there is no guarantee a Fund will successfully do so. If a Fund's NAV has increased significantly, a shareholder that purchases Fund Shares after the first day of an Outcome Period could lose their entire investment. An investment in the Funds is only appropriate for shareholders willing to bear those losses. There is no guarantee the Capital Protection and Cap will be successful, and a shareholder investing at the beginning of an Outcome Period could also lose their entire investment. 

There are no assurances the Fund(s) will be successful in providing the sought-after protection. The outcomes that the Fund(s) seeks to provide may only be realized if you are holding shares on the first day of the outcome period and continue to hold them on the last day of the outcome period, approximately one year. There is no guarantee that the outcomes for an outcome period will be realized or that the Fund(s) will achieve its investment objective. If the outcome period has begun and the underlying ETF has increased in value, any appreciation of the Fund(s) by virtue of increases in the underlying ETF since the commencement of the outcome period will not be protected by the sought-after protection, and an investor could experience losses until the underlying ETF returns to the original price at the commencement of the outcome period. Fund shareholders are subject to an upside return cap (the "Cap") that represents the maximum percentage return an investor can achieve from an investment in the fund(s) for the outcome period, before fees and expenses. If the outcome period has begun and the Fund(s) have increased in value to a level near to the Cap, an investor purchasing at that price has little or no ability to achieve gains but remains vulnerable to downside risks. Additionally, the Cap may rise or fall from one outcome period to the next. The Cap, and the Fund(s) position relative to it, should be considered before investing in the Fund(s). The Fund(s) website, www.calamos.com, provides important Fund information as well information relating to the potential outcomes of an investment in the Fund(s) on a daily basis.

An investment in the Fund is subject to risks, and you could lose money on your investment in the Fund. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Your investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. The risks associated with an investment in the Fund can increase during times of significant market volatility. The Fund also has specific principal risks, which are described below. More detailed information regarding these risks can be found in the Fund's prospectus.

Digital Assets Risk: The bitcoin network was first launched in 2009 and bitcoins were the first cryptographic digital assets created to gain global adoption and critical mass. Although the bitcoin network is the most established digital asset network, the bitcoin network and other cryptographic and algorithmic protocols governing the issuance of digital assets represent a new and rapidly evolving industry that is subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate. Moreover, because digital assets, including bitcoin, have been in existence for a short period of time and are continuing to develop, there may be additional risks in the future that are impossible to predict as of the date of this prospectus. Digital assets represent a new and rapidly evolving industry, and the value of the Underlying ETPs' shares depends on the acceptance of bitcoin. The realization of one or more of the following risks could materially adversely affect the value of the Underlying ETPs' shares.

SOURCE Calamos Investments