CPRO vs FLAO

CPROACalamos Russell 2000 Structured Alt Protection ETF – October

FLAOCAllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Floor5 Apr/Oct ETF

In short

CPRO Small-cap exposure without small-cap drawdowns: CPRO tracks the Russell 2000 and aims to shield 100% of capital across each one-year outcome period, trading away upside above a preset cap.

FLAO Six-month defined-outcome exposure to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust: a cap on the upside, 5 points of loss protection under it, and a fresh reset every April and October, at a fee below the protected-outcome median.

Stated mandate

CPRO The ETF seeks to provide Russell 2000 exposure with defined upside participation while protecting 100% of capital from losses over the one-year outcome period.

FLAO The Fund seeks to match the share-price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust during the outcome period, subject to an upside cap and protection against losses of up to 5%.

Why people hold it

• CPRO Full armor, not a partial buffer: the design targets 100% downside protection over the one-year outcome period, versus the 9% or 15% slices typical of buffer funds.calamos.com
• At 0.69%, it undercuts the typical fee in its downside-protection peer group, including RFLR, the other fund built on the same Russell 2000 floor idea.
• Calamos brought the first 100% one-year protected Russell 2000 ETF to market, and CPRO is the October vintage; CPRY and CPRJ start their years in January and July.calamos.comprnewswire.com
• A plain 1940 Act ETF you trade in a brokerage account, not a structured note bought through a bank.calamos.com

• FLAO At 0.74% a year it sits under the median fee in its protected-outcome cohort, and below Innovator's managed-floor rival SFLR at 0.89%.
• The outcome window runs six months (April through September, then October through March), so the cap gets re-struck twice a year instead of once.
• The yardstick is the share-price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, a live market quote you can watch, not a model index.
• AllianzIM runs a Jan/Jul twin, FLJJ, on the same 5% protection design, so the two together cover the calendar.

Worth knowing

• CPRO The cap is the price of the floor. It resets each October, applies before the 0.69% fee, and a big small-cap year gets trimmed to that ceiling.calamos.com
• The math is built around holding the full October-to-September period. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cap and protection level remain.calamos.com
• Small and thinly traded, so use limit orders. The options structure also isn't designed to produce an income stream.

• FLAO The upside is capped, and the cap is set at the start of each six-month period, so the ceiling isn't known in advance and strong rallies get clipped.
• The terms apply across a full outcome period. Step in or out mid-window and your effective cap and protection differ from the stated ones.
• A smaller, thinly traded fund launched in 2024, and built around price outcomes rather than payouts, so spreads and timing matter more than yield here.

Full CPRO profile⁠

Full FLAO profile⁠