Investment Team Voices Home Page
Global Markets: Diverging Paths, Expanding Opportunities
October 2, 2025
Nick Niziolek, CFA, Dennis Cogan, CFA, Paul Ryndak, CFA, and Kyle Ruge, CFA
We believe the case for global and international allocations continues to strengthen, supported by exceptional opportunities around the world.
Over recent months, we’ve seen broad gains and moderate volatility, supported by easing monetary policy and fiscal stimulus in many parts of the world. Rising earnings and corporate profits demonstrate that companies are adapting to change and disruption, whether that’s global tariffs, the evolution of the AI ecosystem, or growth opportunities specific to countries and regions.
As we entered the year, many investors worried that “America First” policies and a move away from globalization would exact a steep toll on overseas markets and economies, but the opposite has proven true. Indeed, the policy agenda coming out of Washington has provided catalysts for economies worldwide to move forward with their own pro-growth initiatives, creating many exciting opportunities for investors. Germany’s defense industry is a prime example.
Year-to-date returns across global markets illustrate the breadth of opportunity that has emerged. Many countries and regions are trading at or near multi-year or all-time highs—including Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, and select emerging markets, across capitalizations. We’ve seen the dollar move lower to sideways across most currency pairs, and valuation and interest rate differentials point to further downside, which in turn would support non-US markets.
In 2025, there has been an opportunity cost for home-country bias
Global Asset Class Performance
Year-to-date total return through 9/30/25 (USD, %)
Past performance is no guarantee of future results Source: Bloomberg. Global equity market benchmarks are MSCI indexes. See endnotes for additional information.
As we look forward, we see many reasons for optimism—and continued upside for many areas of global equities. Earnings growth estimates for the next year are more positive in more places over the next year. Valuations are also attractive in many overseas markets.
Our favorite secular themes include:
- Artificial intelligence and automation
- Mass digitization (cloud/infrastructure, data privacy/security, software and services)
- Globalization disrupted (supply chain reshoring, local infrastructure investment, defense spending)
- Mobility and connectivity (information, entertainment, commerce anywhere/anytime; IoT)
- Global demographic shifts (shifts in consumption preferences, lifestyles, healthcare)
As a wider set of opportunities emerges across regions, our team is:
- Emphasizing companies across a mix of cohorts. Secular growth names continue to provide the foundation of our portfolios. We are also increasing participation in cyclical growth, particularly within financials and industrials and boosting commodities exposure. Our positioning in defensive names is more selective; the opportunities are less attractive.
- Bullish on Europe and other overseas developed markets. Lower inflation and moderate growth supported by fiscal stimulus provide a favorable environment, including in Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Canada. We’re investing in leaders in technology infrastructure and ecommerce, financials, defense & aerospace, and specialized industrials.
- Finding many opportunities in emerging markets. Central bank easing, a weaker dollar, and reduced policy uncertainty create a better backdrop for many emerging markets, including China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Korea. Key themes in our emerging market positions include the AI supply chain, evolving trade relationships (e.g., friendshoring and reshoring beneficiaries), and EM-consumer plays.
- Encouraged by improvements in Japan. These include a return to higher nominal growth, improved corporate governance, and capital efficiency. We’re finding particularly compelling growth potential in industrials and AI infrastructure, semiconductors and equipment, ecommerce, and media.
- Continuing to identify opportunities in the United States. Easing monetary policy, a respectable job market, continued consumer spending (albeit with significant bifurcation by income cohort), tax cuts and AI capex support expectations that the US economy can continue to expand, sustaining equity opportunities.
- Using our proven approach to capitalize on opportunities while managing risks. Our approach combines top-down thematic analysis with rigorous capital structure research and draws on experience earned over multiple market cycles and market regimes.
Calamos Global and International Funds
Our global and international funds share the same experienced team and time-tested process; their different risk/reward profiles and investment universes support diverse asset allocation goals.
| Fund | Opportunity set | Our focus |
|---|---|---|
| Calamos Global Opportunities Fund (CGCIX) |
|
|
| Calamos Global Equity Fund (CIGEX) |
|
|
| Calamos Evolving World Growth Fund (CNWIX) |
|
|
| Calamos International Growth Fund (CIGIX) |
|
|
| Calamos International Small Cap Growth Fund (CSGIX) |
|
|
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.
*Indexes are unmanaged, do not include fees or expenses and are not available for direct investment. The MSCI World ex USA Index measures large and mid-cap developed market equities, excluding the US. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance of emerging markets. The MSCI World ex USA Growth Index and the MSCI EM Growth Index include securities from these universes with growth characteristics; the MSCI World ex USA Value and MSCI EM Value Index include securities from these universes with value characteristics. The MSCI Japan Index is designed to measure the performance of the large and mid cap segments of the Japanese market. The MSCI Europe Index measures the performance of large and mid-cap equities in developed markets in Europe. The FTSE Core Commodity Index tracks a broad basket of commodity futures. The S&P 500 Index measures the performance of large-cap US equities. The Russell 3000 Index measures the performance of 3,000 publicly held US companies based on total market capitalization, which represents approximately 98% of the investable US equity market. The Russell 3000 Growth Index is representative of those Russell 3000 Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Russell 3000 Value Index is representative of those Russell 3000 Index companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. Oil is represented by Brent Crude Oil. The US Dollar Index measures the value of the US dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies, including Euro Area, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, and Sweden. Euro, Japanese yen, and Pound Sterling measure exchange rates of those currencies versus the US dollar. Gold and Copper are represented by generic futures contracts.
Diversification and asset allocation do not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss.
Opinions, estimates, forecasts, and statements of financial market trends that are based on current market conditions constitute our judgment and are subject to change without notice. The views and strategies described may not be appropriate for all investors. References to specific securities, asset classes and financial markets are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be, and should not be interpreted as, recommendations.
Important Risk Information. An investment in the Fund(s) is subject to risks, and you could lose money on your investment in the Fund(s). There can be no assurance that the Fund(s) will achieve its investment objective. Your investment in the Fund(s) 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(s) can increase during times of significant market volatility. The Fund(s) also has specific principal risks, which are described below. More detailed information regarding these risks can be found in the Fund’s prospectus.
Foreign security risk: 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. In addition, emerging markets may present additional risk due to potential for greater economic and political instability in less developed countries.
The principal risks of investing in the Calamos International Small Cap Growth Fund include: equity securities risk consisting of market prices declining in general, growth stock risk consisting of potential increased volatility due to securities trading at higher multiples, foreign securities risk, emerging markets risk, small and mid-sized company risk and portfolio selection risk. The Fund invests in small capitalization companies, which are often more volatile and less liquid than investments in larger companies.
The principal risks of investing in the Calamos Global Opportunities Fund include: convertible securities risk consisting of the potential for a decline in value during periods of rising interest rates and the risk of the borrower to miss payments, synthetic convertible instruments risk consisting of fluctuations inconsistent with a convertible security and the risk of components expiring worthless, foreign securities risk, emerging markets risk, equity securities risk, growth stock risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, high yield risk, forward foreign currency contract risk, portfolio selection risk, and liquidity risk.
The principal risks of investing in the Calamos Evolving World Growth Fund include equity securities risk consisting of market prices declining in general, growth stock risk consisting of potential increased volatility due to securities trading at higher multiples, foreign securities risk, emerging markets risk, convertible securities risk consisting of the potential for a decline in value during periods of rising interest rates and the risk of the borrower to miss payments, and portfolio selection risk.
The principal risks of investing in the Calamos Global Equity Fund include: equity securities risk consisting of market prices declining in general, growth stock risk consisting of potential increased volatility due to securities trading at higher multiples, value stock risk, foreign securities risk, forward foreign currency contract risk, emerging markets risk, small and mid-sized company risk and portfolio selection risk.
The principal risks of investing in the Calamos International Growth Fund include: equity securities risk consisting of market prices declining in general, growth stock risk consisting of potential increased volatility due to securities trading at higher multiples, foreign securities risk, emerging markets risk, small and mid-sized company risk and portfolio selection risk.
025062g 1025