CPRJ vs SNTH

CPRJACalamos Russell 2000 Structured Alt Protection ETF – July

SNTHDMRP SynthEquity ETF

In short

CPRJ Small caps with a hard floor. CPRJ tracks the Russell 2000 through IWM and aims to absorb 100% of its losses over a one-year outcome period, before fees, in exchange for a cap on gains that resets every July.

SNTH Most funds in this corner hand you a fixed buffer and a reset date. SNTH skips the calendar: an actively managed mix of S&P 500 index options and Treasuries aiming for equity-like exposure while mitigating losses, at 0.96%.

Stated mandate

CPRJ The Fund seeks participation in gains of the iShares Russell 2000 ETF up to a stated cap while protecting against 100% of its losses over the one-year outcome period, before fees and expenses.

SNTH The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through an actively managed combination of options on the S&P 500 Index and U.S. Treasuries. The strategy is designed to provide synthetic equity exposure while mitigating losses.

Why people hold it

• CPRJ Not a slice of the downside, all of it: the structure aims to protect against 100% of the reference ETF's losses over the one-year outcome period, before fees and expenses.calamos.com
• A floor on small caps is the rare part. The reference asset is the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), not the large-cap index most protected-outcome funds lean on.calamos.com
• 0.69% a year sits under the typical fee in its protected-outcome peer group, and it is the same rate as the January and October siblings (CPRY, CPRO).
• It renews itself: a fresh outcome period starts each July 1 with a newly struck cap, so the protection resets on a calendar you can plan around.calamos.com

• SNTH Equity-like exposure assembled from S&P 500 index options sitting on a Treasury base, run actively, with no fixed outcome period or reset date to time your entry around.
• The portfolio does what the filings describe: US focus, S&P 500 options plus Treasuries, active management. No style drift to decode.
• Has gathered hundreds of millions since its 2025 launch, trades at moderate volume, and pays a distribution quarterly.

Worth knowing

• CPRJ The floor is paid for with a ceiling. Gains stop at the cap struck for that outcome period, so a blistering small-cap year gets clipped.calamos.com
• Protection is stated before fees and expenses and applies over a full July-to-June period. Buy mid-period and your terms are whatever cap and cushion remain.
• One of the smaller, more thinly traded funds in the category, and it has not been paying distributions, so spreads deserve attention and nothing shows up as income.

• SNTH At 0.96% with no waiver, it prices above the category median. The Calamos structured protection funds (CPRY, CPRO, CPRJ) run 0.69%, and ISWN runs 0.49%.
• Loss mitigation here is the manager's call, not a stated buffer percentage, so how much cushion is in place shifts with the options book.
• Launched March 2025, so the risk record is still short, and an options-plus-Treasuries build can diverge from the S&P 500 in either direction.

Full CPRJ profile⁠

Full SNTH profile⁠