Calamos Laddered S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF (CPSL) is a U.S.-domiciled exchange-traded fund managed by Calamos Advisors LLC that seeks capital appreciation through laddered, defined-outcome exposure to the U.S. large-cap equity market. Launched on September 9, 2024, CPSL invests principally in a portfolio of Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETFs, providing investors with single-ticker access to a systematically staggered series of outcome periods linked to the price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and, indirectly, the S&P 500 Index. The Fund is sponsored within the Calamos ETF Trust and is associated with Calamos Investments, an alternatives-focused investment manager headquartered in the Chicago metropolitan area, Illinois.
CPSL’s principal offering is a laddered portfolio of 12 underlying Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETFs, each designed to provide positive S&P 500 price-return participation up to its own predetermined upside cap while seeking 100% protection against negative price returns when shares are purchased at the beginning of, and held through, the applicable one-year outcome period, before fees and expenses. The Fund equally allocates among the underlying monthly-series ETFs, whose staggered outcome periods are intended to reduce the entry-point and reset-date concentration associated with holding a single defined-outcome ETF. CPSL rolls its underlying positions as their outcome periods end and rebalances semiannually to maintain equal-weight exposure. Its investment services therefore include equity-market participation, defined upside-cap exposure, systematic downside-risk mitigation, outcome-period diversification and model-portfolio implementation through one listed security. CPSL carries a total expense ratio of 0.79%, consisting of a 0.69% expense ratio and a 0.10% management fee.
The Fund’s principal markets are U.S. investors and financial intermediaries seeking alternatives-oriented equity exposure, including advisers, wealth managers, institutional investors and model-portfolio providers that require a liquid ETF structure with predefined risk characteristics. CPSL invests through affiliated underlying ETFs rather than directly selecting individual operating companies; the underlying portfolios provide exposure across diversified sectors through large-capitalization U.S. equities represented by the S&P 500. The Fund is listed for exchange trading in the United States and is managed by Calamos’ alternatives investment team, including Co-Chief Investment Officer Eli Pars.
A major recent development was the completion of CPSL’s intended 12-fund ladder following the June 2025 launch of the Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF – June (CPSU). Calamos stated that this expansion completed CPSL’s laddered structure, enabling the Fund to offer monthly staggered S&P 500 defined-outcome exposure across all 12 underlying Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETFs. CPSL itself was introduced in September 2024 as Calamos’ first systematic single-ticker vehicle providing access to its full suite of 100% downside-protection S&P 500 ETFs; it initially invested in four available series and added new series during the buildout period through June 2025.