Calamos International Growth Fund (CIGRX) Class A

Calamos International Growth fund is part of international stock mutual fund. This foreign large growth equity fund is ranked among the best mutual funds. More fund review can be found below.

Calamos International Growth A (MUTF: CIGRX)

The Calamos International Growth fund objective is to achieve long-term capital growth. This equity fund invests >40% of its assets in securities of foreign companies. It may invest in emerging markets companies. The fund may invest in all market capitalization companies such as well-established large companies and small companies.

Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: March 16, 2005
• Ticker Symbol: CIGRX
• CUSIP: 128119575
• Beta (3yr): 0.89
• Rank in category (YTD): 64%
• Category: Foreign Large Growth
• Distribution: 0.00%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.49%
• Net Assets: $ 729.18 million
• Number of Years Up: 4 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 59.60%

Updated on 6/6/2012

This Calamos fund is managed by John P. Calamos and Nick P. Calamos. John Calamos has been managing this fund since its inception in March 2005. It also has a dividend yield 0.0%. The most recent dividend was distributed in December 2007 ($0.08) and last capital gain was distributed in November 2007 ($0.61). The fund has annual expense ratio of 1.49%. The 3-year beta risk is 0.89. The fund’s benchmark is MSCI EAFE Growth Index. It also has a maximum sales charge of 4.75% and management fee of 0.25%.

CIGRX fund

This foreign large growth mutual fund is ranked with 4-stars by Morningstar. The YTD return is 12.42%. Based on the load adjusted return, it has returned 26.25% over the past 3-year and 3.08% over the past 5-years. The best 1-year total return was achieved in 2009 with 56.72%.

To purchase this top performer international stock fund, investors need a minimum initial investment of $2,500 for brokerage account. For retirement account, you will only need $500. This equity fund is available for purchase from many well-known brokerages, like Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, Schwab Institutional, Fidelity Retail Funds Network, E Trade Financial, etc. The other classes are Class B (CIGBX), Class C (CIGCX) and Class I (CIGIX).

The top 10 stocks in its assets represent 30.1% of the total assets. They are SAP, AG (4.6%), Novo Nordisk (4.3%), Accenture (3.6%), Check Point Software Technologies (3.3%), Companhia de Bebidas das Americas (2.9%), Taiwan Semiconductor Mtg. Company Ltd (2.6%), Mellanox Technologies Ltd (2.3%), Swatch Group (2.3%), Newcrest Mining Ltd (2.1%) and Barrick Gold Corp (2.1%). The top currency allocations are Euro (16.1%), United States Dollar (15.0%), Canadian Dollar (12.8%), British Pound Streling (6.5%) and Brazilian Real (6.4%).

Investment risks of this top rated international stock fund include Equity Securities Risk, Growth Stock Risk, Foreign Securities Risk, Emerging Markets Risk, Small and Mid-Sized Company Risk, etc.

Pros:

• Rated among the best international stock funds

Cons:

• This class A fund has a sales load
• High expense fee

Disclosure: No Position

Other Fund Review:

• Thornburg International Growth Fund
• Top Performer International Stock Funds of Sep 2011