Calamos Asset Management (CLMS) 10-K 14 Mar 14 2013 FY Annual report Financial data

Document_and_Entity_Informatio

Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Feb. 28, 2014	Feb. 28, 2014
			Class A	Class B Common Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Entity Registrant Name	'Calamos Asset Management, Inc. /DE/	'	'	'
Entity Central Index Key	'0001299033	'	'	'
Current Fiscal Year End Date	'--12-31	'	'	'
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	'No	'	'	'
Entity Voluntary Filers	'No	'	'	'
Entity Current Reporting Status	'Yes	'	'	'
Entity Filer Category	'Accelerated Filer	'	'	'
Entity Public Float	'	$204.50	'	'
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	'	'	20,656,181	100
Document Fiscal Year Focus	'2013	'	'	'
Document Fiscal Period Focus	'FY	'	'	'
Document Type	'10-K	'	'	'
Amendment Flag	'false	'	'	'
Document Period End Date	31-Dec-13	'	'	'

CONSOLIDATED_STATEMENTS_OF_FIN

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Current assets:	'	'
Cash and cash equivalents	$39,078	$106,796
Receivables:	'	'
Affiliates and affiliated funds	16,306	17,756
Customers	5,806	9,870
Investment securities	472,241	349,404
Derivative assets	0	132
Partnership investments, net	34,047	60,828
Prepaid expenses	2,812	2,240
Deferred tax assets, net	10,165	7,110
Other current assets	2,283	804
Total current assets	582,738	554,940
Non-current assets:	'	'
Deferred tax assets, net	36,575	48,198
Goodwill	6,380	6,380
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization ($60,339 at December 31, 2013 and $57,190 at December 31, 2012)	16,990	19,522
Other non-current assets	3,183	3,561
Total non-current assets	63,128	77,661
Total assets	645,866	632,601
Current liabilities:	'	'
Distribution fees payable	10,655	12,937
Accrued compensation and benefits	22,527	23,953
Current portion of long-term debt	46,160	0
Interest payable	2,729	2,729
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	7,224	5,288
Total current liabilities	89,295	44,907
Non-current liabilities:	'	'
Long-term debt	45,955	92,115
Deferred rent	9,013	9,275
Other non-current liabilities	3,121	4,455
Total non-current liabilities	58,089	105,845
Total liabilities	147,384	150,752
Redeemable non-controlling interest in partnership investments	7,551	20,412
EQUITY	'	'
Additional paid-in capital	218,359	215,637
Retained earnings	86,115	77,714
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	2,863	-737
Treasury stock; 5,220,330 shares at December 31, 2013 and 4,000,000 shares at December 31, 2012	-99,528	-95,215
Calamos Asset Management, Inc. stockholdersb equity	208,056	197,643
Non-controlling interest in Calamos Investments LLC (Calamos Interests)	282,875	263,794
Total equity	490,931	461,437
Total liabilities and equity	645,866	632,601
Class A Common Stock	'	'
EQUITY	'	'
Common Stock	247	244
Class B Common Stock	'	'
EQUITY	'	'
Common Stock	$0	$0

CONSOLIDATED_STATEMENTS_OF_FIN1

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION (Parenthetical) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified
Non-current assets:	'	'
Property and equipment, accumulated depreciation and amortization	$60,339	$57,190
EQUITY	'	'
Treasury stock (in shares)	5,220,330	4,000,000
Class A Common Stock	'	'
EQUITY	'	'
Common Stock, par value (in dollar per share)	$0.01	$0.01
Common Stock, authorized (in shares)	600,000,000	600,000,000
Common Stock, shares issued (in shares)	24,696,095	24,386,015
Common Stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	19,475,765	20,386,015
Class B Common Stock	'	'
EQUITY	'	'
Common Stock, par value (in dollar per share)	$0.01	$0.01
Common Stock, authorized (in shares)	1,000	1,000
Common Stock, shares issued (in shares)	100	100
Common Stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	100	100

CONSOLIDATED_STATEMENTS_OF_OPE

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
REVENUES	'	'	'
Investment management fees	$212,398	$255,823	$266,553
Distribution and underwriting fees	54,068	67,816	82,539
Other	2,664	3,037	3,229
Total revenues	269,130	326,676	352,321
EXPENSES	'	'	'
Employee compensation and benefits	85,551	82,154	80,160
Distribution expenses	53,082	65,027	75,510
Marketing and sales promotion	15,728	19,503	17,107
General and administrative	36,883	40,188	39,195
Total operating expenses	191,244	206,872	211,972
Operating income	77,886	119,804	140,349
NON-OPERATING INCOME	'	'	'
Net interest expense	-5,764	-5,632	-6,361
Investment and other income	35,439	26,837	22,420
Total non-operating income	29,675	21,205	16,059
Income before income taxes	107,561	141,009	156,408
Income tax provision	6,262	12,568	18,497
Net income	101,299	128,441	137,911
Net income attributable to non-controlling interest in Calamos Investments LLC (Calamos Interests)	-80,169	-108,813	-122,501
Net (income) loss attributable to redeemable non-controlling interest in partnership investments	-2,502	-1,436	460
Net income attributable to Calamos Asset Management, Inc.	$18,628	$18,192	$15,870
Earnings per share: (in dollars per share)	'	'	'
Basic	$0.94	$0.89	$0.79
Diluted	$0.92	$0.88	$0.77
Weighted average shares outstanding:	'	'	'
Basic	19,903,507	20,334,299	20,103,758
Diluted	20,351,603	20,745,922	20,611,909
Cash dividends declared per share	$0.50	$0.41	$0.38

CONSOLIDATED_STATEMENTS_OF_COM

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]	'	'	'
Net income	$101,299	$128,441	$137,911
Unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities:	'	'	'
Unrealized gains (losses)	39,630	19,027	-12,613
Reclassification adjustment for realized gains included in net income	-19,732	-20,512	-33,937
Other comprehensive income (loss), before income tax provision (benefit)	19,898	-1,485	-46,550
Income tax provision (benefit) related to other comprehensive income (loss)	2,114	-122	-3,740
Other comprehensive income (loss), after income tax provision (benefit)	17,784	-1,363	-42,810
Comprehensive income	119,083	127,078	95,101
Comprehensive income attributable to non-controlling interest in Calamos Investments LLC (Calamos Interests)	-94,358	-107,663	-86,131
Comprehensive (income) loss attributable to redeemable non-controlling interest in partnership investments	-2,502	-1,436	460
Comprehensive income attributable to Calamos Asset Management, Inc.	$22,223	$17,979	$9,430

CONSOLIDATED_STATEMENTS_OF_CHA

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (USD $)	Total	Common Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital	Retained Earnings	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Treasury Stock	Non-controlling Interest in Calamos Investments LLC (Calamos Interests)	Redeemable Non-controlling Interest in Partnership Investments	Redeemable Non-controlling Interest in Partnership Investments	Redeemable Non-controlling Interest in Partnership Investments
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified									Calamos International Growth Fund LP	Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LTD
Balance at Dec. 31, 2010	$401,695	$239	$212,256	$59,895	$5,841	($95,215)	$218,679	$1,697	'	'
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Net Income	138,371	'	'	15,870	'	'	122,501	-460	'	'
Changes in unrealized gains (losses) on available-for- sale securities, net of income taxes	-11,618	'	'	'	-1,765	'	-9,853	0	'	'
Reclassification adjustment for realized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities included in income, net of income taxes	-31,192	'	'	'	-4,675	'	-26,517	0	'	'
Issuance of common stock (Class A common shares)	'	2	-2	'	'	'	'	0	'	'
Cumulative impact of changes in ownership of Calamos Investments LLC	-1,043	'	135	-3	72	'	-1,247	0	'	'
Distributions to non-controlling interests	-80,081	'	'	'	'	'	-80,081	0	'	'
Compensation expense recognized under stock incentive plans	7,838	'	1,713	'	'	'	6,125	0	'	'
Dividend equivalent accrued under stock incentive plans	-562	'	'	-123	'	'	-439	0	'	'
Net purchase of Minority interest	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	12,499	'
Liquidation of Calamos Market Neutral Opportunities Fund LP	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	-1,702	'	'
Dividends declared	-7,648	'	'	-7,648	'	'	'	0	'	'
Balance at Dec. 31, 2011	415,760	241	214,102	67,991	-527	-95,215	229,168	12,034	'	'
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Net Income	127,005	'	'	18,192	'	'	108,813	1,436	'	'
Changes in unrealized gains (losses) on available-for- sale securities, net of income taxes	17,473	'	'	'	2,641	'	14,832	0	'	'
Reclassification adjustment for realized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities included in income, net of income taxes	-18,836	'	'	'	-2,854	'	-15,982	0	'	'
Issuance of common stock (Class A common shares)	'	3	-3	'	'	'	'	0	'	'
Cumulative impact of changes in ownership of Calamos Investments LLC	-1,014	'	417	-5	3	'	-1,429	0	'	'
Distributions to non-controlling interests	-75,165	'	'	'	'	'	-75,165	0	'	'
Compensation expense recognized under stock incentive plans	5,090	'	1,121	'	'	'	3,969	0	'	'
Dividend equivalent accrued under stock incentive plans	-529	'	'	-117	'	'	-412	0	'	'
Net purchase of Minority interest	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	6,942
Dividends declared	-8,347	'	'	-8,347	'	'	'	0	'	'
Balance at Dec. 31, 2012	461,437	244	215,637	77,714	-737	-95,215	263,794	20,412	'	'
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Net Income	98,797	'	'	18,628	'	'	80,169	2,502	'	'
Changes in unrealized gains (losses) on available-for- sale securities, net of income taxes	35,837	'	'	'	6,453	'	29,384	0	'	'
Reclassification adjustment for realized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities included in income, net of income taxes	-18,053	'	'	'	-2,858	'	-15,195	0	'	'
Issuance of common stock (Class A common shares)	'	3	-3	'	'	'	'	0	'	'
Repurchase of common stock by Calamos Investments LLC	-13,196	'	'	'	'	-2,930	-10,266	0	'	'
Impact of the redemption of common stock from Calamos Investments LLC by Calamos Asset Management, Inc.	'	'	1,383	'	'	-1,383	'	0	'	'
Cumulative impact of changes in ownership of Calamos Investments LLC	-1,651	'	5	0	5	'	-1,661	0	'	'
Distributions to non-controlling interests	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	-15,363	'	'
Compensation expense recognized under stock incentive plans	7,025	'	1,558	'	'	'	5,467	0	'	'
Impact on non-controlling interests as a result of dividends paid to Calamos Investments LLC on repurchased common stock	'	'	-221	'	'	'	221	'	'	'
Dividend equivalent accrued under stock incentive plans	-1,122	'	'	-252	'	'	-870	0	'	'
Distributions to non-controlling interests	-68,168	'	'	'	'	'	-68,168	0	'	'
Dividends declared	-9,975	'	'	-9,975	'	'	'	0	'	'
Balance at Dec. 31, 2013	$490,931	$247	$218,359	$86,115	$2,863	($99,528)	$282,875	$7,551	'	'

CONSOLIDATED_STATEMENTS_OF_CHA1

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (Parenthetical) (Class A Common Stock)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Class A Common Stock	'
Issuance of common stock (in shares)	310,080
Repurchase of common stock (in shares)	1,220,330
Redemption of common stock (in shares)	165,524

CONSOLIDATED_STATEMENTS_OF_CAS

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Statement of Cash Flows [Abstract]	'	'	'
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	$106,796	$102,166	$82,870
Cash flows provided by operating activities:	'	'	'
Net income	101,299	128,441	137,911
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:	'	'	'
Amortization of deferred sales commissions	2,686	4,462	6,529
Other depreciation and amortization	4,577	5,469	5,758
Loss on write-off of property and equipment	203	106	27
Deferred rent	-262	-148	-33
Change in unrealized losses (gains) on trading securities, derivative assets, derivative liabilities and partnership investments, net	5,117	-4,675	6,445
Net realized gains on sale of investment securities, derivative assets, derivative liabilities and partnership investments, net	-17,701	-15,125	-24,518
Change in deferred tax asset valuation allowance	-4,952	1,900	5,200
Deferred taxes, net	11,351	8,335	8,736
Stock based compensation	7,025	5,090	7,838
Employee taxes paid on vesting under stock incentive plans	-1,600	-916	-1,038
Receivables:	'	'	'
Affiliates and affiliated funds, net	1,450	736	828
Customers	4,064	165	316
Other assets	-4,420	-916	-2,349
Increase (decrease) in liabilities:	'	'	'
Distribution fees payable	-2,282	-2,923	-700
Accrued compensation and benefits	-1,426	272	2,270
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	-461	-502	1,073
Net cash provided by operating activities	104,668	129,771	154,293
Cash flows used in investing activities:	'	'	'
Net additions to property and equipment	-2,187	-1,816	-1,982
Purchases of investment securities	-621,760	-348,687	-204,771
Proceeds from sale of investment securities	529,207	345,040	182,270
Net purchases of derivatives	-1,720	-13,412	-9,101
Net changes in partnership investments	15,468	-19,265	19,197
Net cash paid for acquisition, net of cash acquired	0	-3,392	0
Net cash used in investing activities	-80,992	-41,532	-14,387
Cash flows used in financing activities:	'	'	'
Repayment of long-term debt	0	0	-32,885
Deferred tax (expense) benefit on vesting under stock incentive plans	-55	-97	4
Repurchase of common stock by Calamos Investments LLC (1,220,330 Class A common shares)	-13,196	0	0
Equity distributions paid to non-controlling interests (Calamos Interests)	-28,010	-27,692	-27,334
Tax distributions paid to non-controlling interests (Calamos Interests)	-40,158	-47,473	-52,747
Cash dividends paid to common stockholders	-9,975	-8,347	-7,648
Net cash used in financing activities	-91,394	-83,609	-120,610
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents	-67,718	4,630	19,296
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	39,078	106,796	102,166
Cash paid for:	'	'	'
Income taxes, net	1,507	2,334	3,109
Interest	$5,954	$5,954	$6,864

Organization_and_Description_o

Organization and Description of Business	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]	'
Organization and Description of Business	'
	Organization and Description of Business
	Calamos Asset Management, Inc. (“CAM”) is a holding company and as of December 31, 2013 owned 22.2% of Calamos Investments LLC (“Calamos Investments”). CAM, together with Calamos Investments and Calamos Investments’ subsidiaries (the “Company”), operates the investment advisory and distribution services businesses reported within these consolidated financial statements. CAM operates and controls all of the business and affairs of Calamos Investments and, as a result of this control, consolidates the financial results of Calamos Investments with its own financial results. The remaining 77.8% ownership interest in Calamos Investments is held by Calamos Family Partners, Inc. (“CFP”), a Delaware corporation, and John P. Calamos, Sr. the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Global Co-Chief Investment Officer of CAM. CFP and John P. Calamos, Sr. (collectively “Calamos Interests”) ownership interest, in accordance with applicable rules, is reflected and referred to within these consolidated financial statements as “non-controlling interests in Calamos Investments LLC”.
	The Company primarily provides investment advisory services to individuals and institutional investors through a series of investment products that include open-end and closed-end funds ("funds”), separate accounts, offshore funds and partnerships. The subsidiaries through which the Company provides these services include: Calamos Advisors LLC (“CAL”), a Delaware limited liability company and registered investment advisor; Calamos Financial Services LLC (“CFS”), a Delaware limited liability company and registered broker-dealer; Calamos Wealth Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and registered investment advisor; and Calamos Investments LLP (formerly known as Calamos International LLP), a United Kingdom limited liability partnership, registered investment advisor with the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, and a global distributor of the offshore funds and Company products.

Summary_of_Significant_Account

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	'
	Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
	Basis of Presentation
	The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), which require the use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management believes the accounting estimates are appropriate and reasonably stated; however, due to the inherent uncertainties in making estimates, actual amounts could differ from these estimates.
	Principles of Consolidation
	The Company consolidates investments in which the Company’s ownership exceeds 50% or in which the Company operates and controls the business and affairs of the entity or is deemed to be the primary beneficiary. In order to make this determination, an analysis is performed to determine if the investment in an affiliate or partnership is a variable interest entity ("VIE"). The Company has evaluated its investments in affiliates and partnerships and has concluded that they are not VIEs. With respect to partnership investments, the limited partners have no control of the business and affairs of the partnership, no substantive ability to dissolve (liquidate) the partnership, or otherwise remove the general partner (CAL and Calamos Investments) without cause or have other substantive rights.
	The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of CAM, Calamos Investments, Calamos Investments’ wholly- and majority-owned subsidiaries, and the Company’s partnerships in which it owns a majority interest or in which it has operating control. The equity method of accounting is used for investments in which the Company has significant influence, but less than 50% ownership. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
	The Calamos Interests’ combined 77.8% and 77.9% interest in Calamos Investments at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, is represented as a non-controlling interest in Calamos Investments LLC in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Non-controlling interest in Calamos Investments is derived by multiplying the historical equity of Calamos Investments by the Calamos Interests’ aggregate ownership percentage for the periods presented. Issuances and repurchases of CAM’s common stock may result in changes to CAM’s ownership percentage and to the non-controlling interests’ ownership percentage of Calamos Investments with resulting changes reflected in the consolidated statements of changes in equity. Income is allocated based on the average ownership interest during the period in which the income is earned.
	CAM owns certain assets to which common stockholders have exclusive economic rights. As of December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, these assets include cash, cash equivalents and investment securities of $78.3 million, $67.0 million and $56.3 million, net current and non-current deferred tax assets of $46.7 million, $55.3 million and $65.5 million, and net current income taxes receivable of $2.3 million, $606,000 and $665,000, respectively, that are reported together with Calamos Investments’ consolidated assets in the consolidated statements of financial condition. Additionally, net income before income taxes, of $107.6 million, $141.0 million and $156.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, each included $257,000, $230,000 and $166,000, respectively, of interest income on cash and cash equivalents held solely by CAM. For the year ended December 31, 2011, net income also included $775,000 of professional fees held solely by CAM. These portions of CAM’s income and expense are not affected by non-controlling interests.
	CAL is the general partner and controls the operations of Calamos International Growth Fund LP and Calamos Investments, through a wholly owned subsidiary, is indirectly the general partner and controls the operations of Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP (formerly Black Strategic Fund, LP) a U.S. feeder fund to Calamos Arista Strategic Master Fund LTD (formerly Black Strategic Master Fund Ltd.) a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands. As CAL and Calamos Investments are the general partners and control the operations of Calamos International Growth Fund LP and Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP, respectively, and as Calamos Investments has a majority interest in Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP, the results of these partnerships and the master fund are included into the Company’s consolidated financial results. In December 2013, the limited partners of Calamos International Growth Fund LP redeemed all of their interests in the fund. As a result, the Company deconsolidated Calamos International Growth Fund LP and accounted for this partnership investment using the equity method as of December 31, 2013. Calamos International Growth Fund LP will be dissolved in early 2014. See Note 7, Partnership Investments, for more discussion regarding these funds.
	Calamos Partners LLC, a former subsidiary of Calamos Investments, was the general partner of Calamos Market Neutral Opportunities Fund LP, a private investment partnership that was primarily comprised of highly liquid marketable securities. During the first quarter of 2011, the Calamos Market Neutral Opportunities Fund LP partnership was liquidated. Up to the time the partnership was liquidated, the Company and its affiliates owned a majority interest in this partnership and consolidated the financial results of this partnership into its consolidated financial statements.
	For the periods the partnerships are consolidated, the assets and liabilities of the partnerships are presented on a net basis within partnership investments, net in the consolidated statements of financial condition. The net income for these partnerships are included in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations, and the change in partnership investments is included in the net changes in partnership investments in the consolidated statements of cash flows. The partnerships are presented on a net basis in order to provide more clarity to the financial position and results of the core operations of the Company. The underlying assets and liabilities that are being consolidated are described in Note 7, Partnership Investments. The combined interests of all of the consolidated partnerships, not owned by the Company and that are redeemable at the option of the holder, are presented as redeemable non-controlling interest in partnership investments in the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the periods those partnerships were consolidated.
	The Company holds non-controlling interests in certain other partnership investments that are included in partnership investments, net in the consolidated statements of financial condition. These other partnership investments are accounted for under the equity method.
	Reclassifications
	Certain items previously reported have been reclassified to conform to the current period's consolidated financial statements presentation.
	The Company changed the classification of redeemable non-controlling interest in partnership investments from permanent equity to temporary equity on its consolidated statements of financial condition to conform to accounting guidance that requires non-controlling interests that are redeemable or convertible for cash or other assets at the option of the holder to be classified as temporary equity.
	Amortization of deferred sales commissions, previously presented as a separate line, is now included with distribution expenses; and the classification of deferred sales commissions asset, previously presented on a separate line, is now included with other non-current assets. Deferred sales commissions asset and amortization became immaterial, with the discontinuation of the sale of Class B shares, making the separate line presentations less meaningful to the financial statement users.
	Investment securities previously presented as CFS securities are being presented as Trading securities. Certain investments previously presented as Other are being presented as Alternative in Note 5, Investment Securities, and Note 8, Fair Value Measurements.
	These reclassifications have been made for all periods presented.
	Cash and Cash Equivalents
	All highly liquid financial instruments with maturities of three months or less from date of purchase, consisting primarily of investments in insured money market accounts and money market funds, are considered cash equivalents.
	Receivables from Customers
	Receivables from customers represent balances arising from contractual investment advisory services provided to separate account customers and are recorded on an accrual basis. Provisions for bad debt expense during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012, and 2011 and allowance for doubtful accounts as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, were not material.
	Investment Securities
	The Company carries its investment securities at fair value. For a majority of the Company’s investments, fair values are determined based upon quoted prices in active markets. If quoted market prices are not available, the Company uses matrix, model or other similar pricing methods to determine fair value. Investment securities transactions are recorded on a trade-date basis.
	Investment securities are classified as available-for-sale as the Company does not intend to trade these securities in the near term. Unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are excluded from earnings and are reported, net of income tax, as a separate component of equity until realized. Realized gains and losses from the sale of available-for-sale securities are determined on a specific identification basis and are included in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations.
	Investment securities classified as trading securities are carried at fair value with all changes in the value of the securities going through current earnings. Therefore, both realized and unrealized gains and losses on these securities are included in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations.
	On a quarterly basis, the Company conducts reviews to assess whether an other-than-temporary impairment exists on its available-for-sale investment securities. Other-than-temporary declines in value may exist when the fair value of an investment security has been below the carrying value for an extended period of time. If an other-than-temporary decline in value is determined to exist, the unrealized investment loss, net of tax is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations in the period in which the other-than-temporary decline in value occurs, as well as an accompanying permanent adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive income. See Note 5, Investment Securities for more discussion related to the other-than-temporary impairment charges recorded in 2013.
	Derivative Assets and Liabilities
	From time to time, the Company enters into derivative contracts to mitigate the negative impact that changes in security prices may have on the investment portfolio. The Company does not measure effectiveness or meet the criteria for hedge accounting and, therefore, records the changes in the fair value of these instruments in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company classifies derivatives as derivative assets and derivative liabilities in the consolidated statements of financial condition.
	Goodwill
	The Company’s goodwill represents the future economic benefits arising from Calamos Investments’ acquisition of Black Capital, LLC (“Black Capital”) that are not individually identified and separately recognized. Goodwill is assessed for impairment at the reporting unit level, Calamos Investments, at least annually, or whenever events or circumstances occur indicating that an impairment may have occurred. The goodwill impairment test is a two-step process. The first step requires the Company to estimate the fair value of its reporting unit and compare the fair value to the reporting unit’s carrying amount. If the fair value exceeds the carrying amount, the goodwill is not considered impaired. To the extent the reporting unit’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value, the reporting unit’s goodwill may be impaired and the second step of the impairment test must be performed. The second step involves assigning the reporting unit’s fair value to all of its recognized and unrecognized assets and liabilities as if the reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination in order to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill. The implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill is then compared to the carrying amount of goodwill to quantify an impairment loss, if any, which would equal the excess of the carrying amount of goodwill over the goodwill’s implied fair value. No impairment has been recorded for the years ended December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012. See Note 3, Acquisition for more discussion related to the acquisition of Black Capital.
	Property and Equipment
	Property and equipment are recorded at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization is provided on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, ranging from three to twenty years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of their estimated useful lives or the remaining term of the lease, ranging from five to twenty years.
	Internally Developed Software
	Certain internal and external development costs incurred in connection with developing or obtaining software for internal use are capitalized. These capitalized costs are included in property and equipment, net in the consolidated statements of financial condition and are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives, ranging from three to ten years. On an annual basis, the Company conducts reviews to assess the functionality and remaining useful lives of the capitalized software. Impairments of these assets, if any, are recognized in the consolidated statements of operations in the period in which the impairment occurs. During the years ended December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the Company recorded an impairment for its internally developed software totaling $199,000 and $107,000, respectively. There were no impairments during 2011.
	Restricted Cash
	The Company has a $430,000 security deposit that is restricted from the Company’s general corporate use and is being reported in other non-current assets in the consolidated statements of financial condition.
	Treasury Stock
	During the first quarter of 2013, the Company’s board of directors approved a Class A common share repurchase program. Under the repurchase program, Calamos Investments is authorized to repurchase up to 3 million shares of CAM’s common stock. The share repurchases are expected to occur over the next 2 years. The program was implemented primarily to manage the dilution from share issuances under the Company’s incentive compensation plan. During the year ended December 31, 2013, Calamos Investments repurchased 1,220,330 shares of Class A common stock, at an average purchase price of $10.81 and a total cost of $13.2 million. As Calamos Investments is consolidated with CAM, the repurchased shares are reported as treasury shares.  As such, CAM’s 22.2% ownership interest in these shares totaling $2.9 million is reported in treasury stock, with Calamos Interests’ 77.8% ownership interest in these shares totaling $10.3 million reported in non-controlling interest in the consolidated statements of financial condition. The total shares repurchased are not included in the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share in accordance with GAAP.
	During 2013, CAM redeemed 165,524 Class A common shares from Calamos Investments for a value of $1.8 million which represents the fair value of the shares on the date of redemption. As Calamos Investments is consolidated with CAM, the impact of the distribution reflecting the non-controlling interest is $1.4 million.
	For the year ended December 31, 2013, dividends on shares held by Calamos Investments totaled $284,000. The payment of these dividends increased Calamos Investments' equity resulting in a $221,000 adjustment from additional paid in capital to non-controlling interest in Calamos Investments LLC, in the consolidated statement of changes in equity. This adjustment represents Calamos Interests' ownership interest in those dividend payments.
	Compensation Plans
	The Company has an incentive stock plan that provides for certain employees of the Company to receive stock based compensation in the form of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and stock options. RSUs are convertible on a one-for-one basis into shares of the Company’s common stock. Stock option awards are based on shares of the Company’s common stock. The Company estimates the fair value of the options as of the grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Stock based compensation expense is recognized based on the grant-date fair value of the award. The Company records compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the service period.
	Revenue Recognition
	The Company earns investment management fees by providing services pursuant to the terms of the underlying advisory contract. Fees are based on a contractual investment advisory fee applied to the assets in each portfolio. Any fees collected in advance are deferred and recognized over the period earned. Performance-based advisory fees from certain separate accounts are recognized annually upon completion of the contract year and based upon either (1) the difference between the investment returns on a client’s portfolio compared to a benchmark index or (2) the absolute percentage of gain in the client’s account. Performance-based advisory fees from the open-end funds are recognized monthly when earned and are based upon the differences between the investment returns of the respective fund compared to a benchmark index.
	Distribution and underwriting fees consist primarily of Rule 12b-1 distribution and/or service fees from the open-end funds, contingent deferred sales charges on the redemption of open-end fund shares and sales charges earned on open-end funds. Distribution service fees are accrued monthly as services are performed and are based on the average daily assets of the open-end funds. Contingent deferred sales charges are recorded on a trade-date basis when earned, and sales charges are recorded on the settlement date.
	Net Interest Expense
	Net interest expense represents interest expense incurred on debt net of interest income generated from cash and cash equivalents. Interest income is recognized when earned, and interest expense is recorded when incurred.
	Investment and Other Income
	Investment and other income is primarily comprised of: realized gains (losses) from all investment securities and partnership investments; unrealized gains (losses) on trading securities and partnership investments; realized and unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives; gains (losses) on foreign currency translation; and dividend income. Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date.
	Foreign Currency
	Foreign currency balances are revalued into U.S. dollars, which is the functional currency of the Company, at prevailing exchange rates on the reporting date. Revenues earned and expenses incurred in foreign currency are revalued at average exchange rates during the reporting period. Gains and losses arising from the revaluation of account balances denominated in foreign currencies are recognized in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations.
	Income Taxes
	Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to the temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amount of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. During 2013, 2012 and 2011, the Company recorded valuation allowance adjustments to reduce or increase its deferred income tax assets to an amount that is more likely than not to be realized based on available evidence at the time estimates are made. Determining a valuation allowance requires management to make significant judgments and assumptions. In determining a valuation allowance the Company uses historical and forecasted future realized and unrealized gains and losses on its investment, ongoing tax planning strategies, and forecasts of future taxable income. Each quarter the Company re-evaluates its estimates related to its valuation allowance, including its assumptions about future taxable income. The Company’s capital loss carryforward is used against realized gains on its investment, derivative assets, derivative liabilities and partnership investments, using its tax harvesting strategies. See Note 16, Income Taxes for more discussion related to the deferred tax valuation allowance.
	Future interest or penalties related to uncertain income tax positions are recognized in income tax provision when determined. The Company did not record any accrued interest or penalties related to uncertain tax positions through December 31, 2013.
	Advertising Costs
	Advertising costs are expensed as incurred and are included in marketing and sales promotion expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, advertising costs were $3.7 million, $5.4 million and $4.7 million, respectively.
	Earnings Per Share
	Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income attributable to CAM by the weighted average number of shares of Class A and Class B common stock outstanding during each year. Shares issued or repurchased during the year are weighted for the portion of the year that they were outstanding. Diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilution that would occur if RSUs and stock options granted to participants of the Company incentive compensation plan were exercised and if the Calamos Interests exchanged all of their ownership interest in Calamos Investments and their Class B common stock for shares of Class A common stock. Diluted shares which result in anti-dilution are excluded from the diluted earnings per share calculation and are detailed in Note 17, Earnings Per Share.

Acquisition

Acquisition	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Business Combinations [Abstract]	'
Acquisition	'
	Acquisition
	On August 31, 2012, Calamos Investments acquired Black Capital, a long/short equity investment firm located in New York City for a total purchase price of $6.8 million. The acquisition expands the Company’s existing capabilities in alternative strategies with an investment team that manages a long/short equity hedge fund. At closing, $3.4 million was paid to the seller with the remaining balance due in two equal installments, payable 18 and 36 months thereafter. There are no performance contingencies associated with the remaining installment payments. This future obligation is reported at fair value in other current and non-current liabilities.
	The excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired resulted in the recognition of $6.4 million of goodwill. Acquisition-related expenses for professional services were expensed as incurred, and recorded in general and administrative expenses. The Company has not presented pro-forma combined results of operations for this acquisition, as the information was immaterial to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The amount of revenue earned during 2012 as a result of the acquisition was immaterial.

RelatedParty_Transactions

Related-Party Transactions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]	'
Related-Party Transactions	'
	Related-Party Transactions
	CAL provides investment management and portfolio accounting services to the open-end funds and the closed-end funds. CFS acts as the sole distributor of the U.S. open-end funds. Calamos Investments LLP is the sole global distributor of the offshore funds. The Company earns management, distribution and portfolio accounting fees for these services that are accrued and settled monthly. The table below summarizes the total fees earned from affiliates identified above during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
	(in thousands)	2013		2012		2011
	Investment management fees from:
	Open-end funds	$	124,875	$	158,040	$	169,596
	Closed-end funds	53,981		49,842		49,102
	Totals	$	178,856	$	207,882	$	218,698
	Distribution fees from open-end funds	$	53,143	$	66,604	$	80,022
	Portfolio accounting fees from:
	Open-end funds	$	1,810	$	2,239	$	2,441
	Closed-end funds	679		623		613
	Totals	$	2,489	$	2,862	$	3,054
	In September 2012, CAL began providing investment management services to Calamos Arista Strategic Master Fund LTD, a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands. Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP is a newly consolidated partnership and U.S. feeder fund to Calamos Arista Strategic Master Fund LTD.  For the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, management and incentive fees for those services were $85,000 and $16,000, respectively.
	Calamos Investments is party to a lease with 1111 Warrenville Road LLC, a subsidiary of Calamos Property Holdings LLC (“CPH”). In January 2011, Calamos Investments and 1111 Warrenville Road LLC amended the lease in order to extend the term for two years with automatic one year renewals and to increase the base rent accordingly. Rent under the lease commenced in August 2005 and will end on December 31, 2014. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 annual base rent and operating expense payments were $712,000, $809,000 and $793,000, respectively.
	Calamos Investments is party to a 20-year lease with 2020 Calamos Court LLC, a subsidiary of CPH, with respect to the corporate headquarters constructed for the Company’s occupancy. Rent under the lease commenced in April 2005 and will end on May 31, 2025. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, annual base rent payments were $3.6 million, $3.5 million and $3.4 million, respectively. Annual base rent payments increase by 3% annually for the remaining term of the lease. Calamos Investments may not terminate the lease unless a casualty, condemnation or temporary government taking affects all or a substantial portion of the leased premises. 2020 Calamos Court LLC may only terminate the lease upon specified events of default, which are subject to applicable grace periods.
	Calamos Investments is party to an agreement with Primacy Business Center LLC (“Primacy”), a subsidiary of CFP, where office space at the Company’s corporate headquarters is subleased to Primacy. The lease expires December 31, 2014, but automatically extends annually. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, Calamos Investments recognized sublease rental income of $277,000, $277,000 and $226,000, respectively, which is classified as other income and included in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations.
	Calamos Investments is party to a 20-year lease with 2020 Calamos Court Annex LLC, a subsidiary of CPH, with respect to the cafeteria in the Company’s corporate headquarters. Rent under the lease commenced in December 2005 and will end on May 31, 2025. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, annual base rent and operating expense payments were $300,000, $289,000 and $287,000, respectively. Annual base rent payments increase by 3% annually for the remaining term of the lease.
	Calamos Investments is party to an agreement with CF Restaurant Enterprises LLC (“CFRE”), a subsidiary of CFP, where CFRE provides food and beverage services to Calamos Investments. Calamos Investments guarantees minimum daily revenues and CFRE agrees that certain quantities and combinations of food and beverage will be available at a predetermined price. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, Calamos Investments incurred expenses of $956,000, $976,000 and $969,000, respectively.
	Calamos Investments is party to a 7.5 year lease with CityGate Centre I LLC, a subsidiary of CPH, with respect to office space. Rent payments under the lease commenced in May 2008 and will end on April 30, 2015. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, annual base rent and operating expense payments were $943,000, $922,000 and $885,000, respectively. Annual base rent payments increase by 2.5% annually. Calamos Investments has been granted two options to extend the term of the lease for five years each.
	Calamos Investments headquarter campus is owned and operated by CFP, CPH and their subsidiaries (collectively, “CityGate Centre”) and is utilized by the Company to promote its business and brand awareness both in the local community and with its visiting strategic clients. CityGate Centre offers amenities such as hotel accommodations, restaurants and event planning services.  For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, Calamos Investments had expense payments of $533,000, $632,000 and $596,000, respectively, related to these services.
	JPC Falcon 1109 LLC (“JPC Falcon”) is an affiliated company controlled by a principal of the Company. CAL was party to a non-exclusive lease agreement with JPC Falcon, dated April 26, 2012, whereby CAL had use of an airplane owned by JPC Falcon. Under the agreement, CAL had use of the airplane for business travel and agreed to pay for the airplane use, along with other related expenses. There were no expenses related to this agreement in 2013. For the year ended December 31, 2012, expenses related to this agreement were $589,000. The agreement expired on April 26, 2013.
	Dragon Leasing Corporation (“Dragon”) is an affiliated company controlled by a principal of the Company. CFP, CPH and Dragon have each entered into agreements with CAM, whereby the parties provide to each other certain services and resources, including furnishing office space and equipment, providing insurance coverage, overseeing the administration of their businesses and providing personnel to perform certain management and administrative services. These agreements have a term of one year and are renewable annually. The agreements are terminable on 30 days' notice by either party. In accordance with the terms of the agreements, the parties have agreed to pay each other an amount equal to the direct out-of-pocket expenses paid or incurred plus an allocation of indirect expenses, such as employee compensation and benefits.
	The following table summarizes fees that have been recorded as expense allocations during the twelve months ended and the net receivable balance as of December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
	(in thousands)	2013		2012		2011
	Expense allocated from the Company to CPH	$	556	$	606	$	594
	Expense allocated from the Company to CFP	236		245		328
	Expense allocated from the Company to Dragon	16		18		18
	Total expenses allocated from the Company to affiliates	808		869		940
	Expense allocated from CPH and CFP to the Company	151		196		199
	Net expense allocated from the Company to affiliates	$	657	$	673	$	741
	Net receivable for management services from CPH	$	43	$	1	$	50
	Net receivable (payable) for management services from CFP	$	9	$	4	$	(1	)
	Net receivable for management services from Dragon	$	1	$	41	$	1
	Other receivables as a result of Black Capital purchase	$	—	$	38	$	—
	As a result of the control exercised by CFP, none of our agreements with CFP and other companies controlled by them are deemed to be negotiated on “arm’s length” terms. However, while not mandated, to date, any such agreements since the Company's initial public offering have been approved in accordance with the Conflict of Interests Policy contained in the Company's Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.

Investment_Securities

Investment Securities	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Investments [Abstract]	'
Investment Securities	'
	Investment Securities
	The following table provides a summary of investment securities as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012:
	(in thousands)
	December 31, 2013		Cost			Unrealized Gains			Unrealized Losses				Fair Value
	Available-for-sale securities:
	Funds
	Equity		$	211,970		$	11,997		$	(679	)		$	223,288
	Fixed income		98,834			430			(4		)		99,260
	Lower-volatility equity		67,836			2,385			(15		)		70,206
	Alternative		35,436			2,000			—				37,436
	Other		1,414			133			(2		)		1,545
	Total Funds		415,490			16,945			(700		)		431,735
	Common stock		133			80			—				213
	Total available-for-sale securities		$	415,623		$	17,025		$	(700	)		$	431,948
	Trading securities:
	Funds
	Equity		$	48,539		$	320		$	(8,566	)		$	40,293
	Total investment securities												$	472,241
	(in thousands)
	December 31, 2012		Cost			Unrealized Gains			Unrealized Losses				Fair Value
	Available-for-sale securities:
	Funds
	Equity		$	195,553		$	2,930		$	(5,517	)		$	192,966
	Fixed income		103,404			665			(957		)		103,112
	Lower-volatility equity		43,718			106			(484		)		43,340
	Alternative		5,058			2			(92		)		4,968
	Other		1,543			42			(270		)		1,315
	Total Funds		349,276			3,745			(7,320		)		345,701
	Common stock		131			1			—				$	132
	Total available-for-sale securities		$	349,407		$	3,746		$	(7,320	)		$	345,833
	Trading securities:
	Funds
	Equity		$	3,004		$	567		$	—			$	3,571
	Total investment securities												$	349,404
	Of the $472.0 million and $349.3 million investments in Funds at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, $407.4 million and $295.0 million, respectively, were invested in affiliated funds.
	The aggregate fair value of available-for-sale investment securities that were in an unrealized loss position at December 31, 2013 and 2012 was $14.0 million and $251.3 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2013, the Company had no investment securities that had been in a continuous loss position for 12 months or longer. As of December 31, 2012, the fair value of those securities in a continuous loss position for 12 months or longer was $123.9 million.
	The Company recorded an other-than-temporary impairment charge of $7.5 million, on certain available-for-sale securities with unrealized losses during 2013. The other-than-temporary impairment charge was reported in non-operating income, in the consolidated statements of operations. As of December 31, 2013, the Company had no investment securities that had been in a continuous loss position for 12 months or longer.
	As of December 31, 2013, the Company believes that the remaining $700,000 in unrealized losses on certain available-for-sale securities are only temporary in nature, as these losses are a result of short-term declines in the net asset value of the funds. Further, the Company has the intent and ability to hold these securities for a period of time sufficient to allow for recovery of the market value. The Company also considered current market conditions and the nature of the securities held when determining the recoverability of those securities market value.
	The following table provides a summary of changes in investment securities for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
	(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
	Available-for-sale securities:
	Proceeds from sales	$	524,968		$	344,911		$	182,270
	Gross realized gains on sales	$	25,882		$	28,587		$	28,762
	Trading securities:
	Unrealized gains (losses)	$	(8,813	)	$	94		$	(432	)
	The table below summarizes the tax (provision) benefit on unrealized gains (losses) and gains reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income on available-for-sale securities for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
		2013										2012									2011
	(in thousands)	Before-Tax Amount			Tax (Provision) Benefit			After-Tax				Before-Tax Amount			Tax (Provision) Benefit			After-Tax			Before-Tax Amount			Tax Benefit		After-Tax
								Amount										Amount								Amount
	Available-for-sale securities:
	Changes in unrealized gains (losses)	$	39,630		$	(3,793	)	$	35,837			$	19,027		$	(1,554	)	$	17,473		$	(12,613	)	$	995	$	(11,618	)
	Reclassification adjustment for realized gains included in income	(19,732		)	1,679			(18,053		)		(20,512		)	1,676			(18,836		)	(33,937		)	2,745		(31,192		)
	Other comprehensive income (loss)	$	19,898		$	(2,114	)	$	17,784			$	(1,485	)	$	122		$	(1,363	)	$	(46,550	)	$	3,740	$	(42,810	)
	Reclassification of realized gains out of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) are reported in non-operating income, in investment income, in the consolidated statement of operations.  See Note 15, Non-Operating Income.

Derivative_Assets_and_Liabilit

Derivative Assets and Liabilities	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Derivative Assets and Liabilities	'
	Derivative Assets and Liabilities
	The Company has used exchange-traded option contracts as an economic hedge of price changes in its investment securities portfolio in order to reduce the volatility equity markets have on the fair value of the Company's corporate investment portfolio and to assist in compliance with its debt covenants. The Company's investment securities, totaling $472.2 million at December 31, 2013, consist primarily of positions in several Calamos equity and fixed income funds. The equity price risk in the investment portfolio has been hedged using exchange-traded option contracts that correlate most closely with the change in value of the portfolio being hedged. The use of these option contracts is part of a hedge overlay strategy to minimize downside risk in the hedged portfolio. The Company may adjust its hedge position in response to movement and volatility in prices and changes in the composition of the hedged portfolio, but generally is not actively buying and selling contracts.
	When applicable, the fair value of option contracts is reported in derivative assets and derivative liabilities in the consolidated statements of financial condition. Net gains and losses on these contracts are reported in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company had no derivative instruments outstanding as of December 31, 2013. The Company recorded net losses of $10.5 million and $10.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The Company has used these derivatives for risk management purposes but has not designated the contracts as hedges for accounting purposes.

Partnership_Investments

Partnership Investments	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Partnership Investments [Abstract]	'
Partnership Investments	'
	Partnership Investments
	Presented below are the underlying assets and liabilities of the partnerships that the Company reports on a net consolidated basis, as well as partnership investments that the Company accounts for under the equity method. These investments are presented collectively as partnership investments, net in its consolidated statements of financial condition as of December 31, 2013 and 2012.
	(in thousands)	2013			2012
	Consolidated partnerships:
	Securities owned	$	29,149		$	30,910
	Cash and cash equivalents	12,208			12,720
	Receivables for securities sold	1,076			—
	Other current assets	30			743
	Exchange-traded option contracts	94			13
	Securities sold not yet purchased	(10,670		)	(5,746		)
	Payables for securities purchased	(1,576		)	—
	Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	(76		)	(739		)
	Total	30,235			37,901
	Equity method investment in partnerships	3,812			22,927
	Partnership investments, net	$	34,047		$	60,828
	During 2012, the Company formed a wholly owned limited liability company, which became the general partner of Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP a U.S. feeder fund that invests in Calamos Arista Strategic Master Fund Ltd. Calamos Investments invested $18 million of seed capital into Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP and now owns a majority interest in the partnership. As the general partner of Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP, the Company has certain rights, including rights to any incentive fees that may be earned from the net profits of the master fund. As a result of the Company’s control and majority ownership interest, the Company consolidates this partnership, and as a result, the master fund, on a net basis with the underlying assets reflected in Partnership investments, net.
	During 2012, the Company was a general partner of Calamos International Growth Fund LP. Due to the Company's control of the partnership operations, the Company consolidated this partnership on a net basis with the underlying assets reflected in Partnership investments. In December 2013, the limited partners of Calamos International Growth Fund LP redeemed all of their interests in the fund. As a result, the Company deconsolidated Calamos International Growth Fund LP and accounted for this partnership investment using the equity method as of December 31, 2013. Calamos International Growth Fund LP will be dissolved in early 2014. This investment is presented as an equity method investment in partnerships in the table above.
	The Company holds a non-controlling interest in Calamos Global Opportunities Fund LP and therefore, accounted for this investment using the equity method. This investment is presented as an equity method investment in partnerships in the table above. During 2013, the Company redeemed $18.7 million of its interest in Calamos Global Opportunities Fund LP for proceeds of $20.0 million, resulting in a realized gain of $1.3 million.
	As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, the Company held non-controlling interests in another partnership and therefore, accounted for this investment using the equity method. This investment is presented as an equity method investment in partnerships in the table above.

Fair_Value_Measurements

Fair Value Measurements	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]	'
Fair Value Measurements	'
	Fair Value Measurements
	The Company utilizes a three-tier fair value hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows: Level 1 — observable inputs such as quoted prices for identical assets and liabilities in active markets; Level 2 — inputs, other than the quoted prices in active markets, that are observable either directly or indirectly (including quoted prices of similar securities, interest rates, credit risk, fair value adjustments to quoted foreign securities, etc.); and Level 3 — unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data, and require the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions. For each period presented, the Company did not have any assets or liabilities measured at fair value using Level 3 measurements. Transfers between levels are measured at the end of the reporting period. The Company had no transfers between levels during the period.
	Investments are presented in the consolidated financial statements at fair value in accordance with GAAP. Investments in open-end funds are stated at fair value based on end of day published net asset values of shares owned by the Company. The fair value of investments in open-end funds was $450.4 million and $343.0 million at the end of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively. There are no unfunded commitments related to these investments. These investments may be redeemed daily with a redemption notice period of up to seven days. Investments in securities traded on a national securities exchange are stated at the last reported sales price on the day of valuation. Other securities, including derivatives, traded in the over-the-counter market and listed securities for which no sale was reported on that date are stated at the last quoted bid price. However, short sales positions and call options written are reported at the last quoted asked price. Convertible bonds, fixed income securities and other securities for which quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value based on observable inputs such as market prices for similar instruments as validated by third party pricing agencies and the Company’s prime broker.
	The following tables provide the hierarchy of inputs used to derive the fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2013 and 2012. Foreign currency contracts are carried in the Company's partnership investments and are presented on a net basis where the right of offset exists, and had no impact for either period presented.
					Fair Value Measurements Using
	(in thousands)	31-Dec-13			Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets and Liabilities (Level 1)			Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)
	Description
	Cash and cash equivalents
	Money market funds	$	1,752		$	1,752		$	—
	Investment securities (Note 5)
	Funds
	Equity	263,581			263,581			—
	Fixed income	99,260			99,260			—
	Lower-volatility equity	70,206			70,206			—
	Alternative	37,436			37,436
	Other	1,545			1,545			—
	Total Funds	472,028			472,028			—
	Common stock	213			213			—
	Investment securities	472,241			472,241			—
	Securities and derivatives owned by partnership (Note 7)
	Common stocks	29,149			29,149			—
	Exchange-traded put option contracts	150			150			—
		29,299			29,299			—
	Securities sold but not yet purchased by partnership (Note 7)
	Common stocks	(10,185		)	(10,185		)	—
	Exchange-traded funds	(485		)	(485		)
	Exchange-traded call option contracts	(56		)	(56		)	—
		(10,726		)	(10,726		)	—
	Total	$	492,566		$	492,566		$	—
					Fair Value Measurements Using
	(in thousands)	31-Dec-12			Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets			Significant Other Observable Inputs
					and Liabilities			(Level 2)
	Description				(Level 1)
	Cash and cash equivalents
	Money market funds	$	2,700		$	2,700		—
	Investment securities (Note 5)
	Funds
	Equity	196,537			196,537			—
	Fixed income	103,112			103,112			—
	Lower-volatility equity	43,340			43,340			—
	Alternative	6,062			6,062
	Other	1,315			1,315			—
	Total Funds	350,366			350,366			—
	Common stock	132			132			—
	Investment securities	350,498			350,498			—
	Derivative assets (Note 6)
	Exchange-traded put option contracts	132			132			—
	Securities and derivatives owned by partnership (Note 7)
	Common Stock	29,742			20,105			9,637
	Preferred stocks	1,167			1,167			—
	Short-term investments	467			—			467
	Exchange-traded put option contracts	75			75			—
	Forward foreign currency contracts	45			45			—
		31,496			21,392			10,104
	Securities sold but not yet purchased by partnership (Note 7)
	Common stocks	(5,746		)	(5,746		)	—
	Exchange-traded call option contracts	(62		)	(62		)	—
	Forward foreign currency contracts	(45		)	(45		)	—
	Securities sold but not yet purchased (Note 5)
	Common stocks	(1,094		)	(1,094		)	—
		(6,947		)	(6,947		)	—
	Total	$	377,879		$	367,775		$	10,104
	The fair value of the Company’s long-term debt, including the current portion of long-term debt, which has a total carrying value of $92.1 million at December 31, 2013 and 2012, was $104.4 million and $110.1 million, respectively. The fair value of the Company’s payment obligation, which has a carrying value of $3.4 million at December 31, 2013 and 2012, was $3.3 million and $3.2 million, respectively. This obligation is associated with the Company's purchase of Black Capital in 2012, with the current portion reported in accrued expenses and other current liabilities and the non-current portion reported in other non-current liabilities in the consolidated statements of financial condition. These fair value estimates are calculated using discounted cash flows based on the Company’s incremental borrowing rates and market inputs for similar bonds for the debt, and the treasury yield curve plus market spread for the payment obligation. The fair values of the debt and payment obligation are based on Level 2 inputs within the fair value hierarchy.
The carrying value of all other financial instruments approximates fair value due to the short maturities of these financial instruments.

Property_and_Equipment

Property and Equipment	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]	'
Property and Equipment	'
	Property and Equipment
	As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, property and equipment and related accumulated depreciation were as follows:
	(in thousands)	2013			2012
	Property and equipment:
	Furniture, fixtures and equipment	$	27,617		$	26,985
	Leasehold improvements	32,062			32,062
	Computer software	17,650			17,665
	Total costs	77,329			76,712
	Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(60,339		)	(57,190		)
	Property and equipment, net	$	16,990		$	19,522
	Computer software includes both internally developed software and software purchased.

Loans_Payable

Loans Payable	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Loans Payable [Abstract]	'
Loans Payable	'
	Loans Payable
	The Company has access to margin loans for the settlement of call options, as well as an additional source of liquidity. The interest rate that can be charged on margin loans is 2.5% per annum, based on the brokerage firm’s lending rate. These loans are due on demand. The Company can borrow up to 70% of its marginable securities on deposit with its brokerage firm. The Company had no margin loan balances outstanding at December 31, 2013 and 2012.

Debt

Debt	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Debt	'
	Debt
	In April 2004, Calamos Investments issued $150 million aggregate principal amount of 5.24% senior unsecured notes due April 29, 2011 to various note purchasers in a private placement. In July 2007, Calamos Investments completed a private debt offering of $375 million aggregate principal senior unsecured notes, with three series consisting of $197 million of 6.33% notes due July 15, 2014, $85 million of 6.52% notes due July 15, 2017 and $93 million of 6.67% notes due July 15, 2019. In December 2008, the Company prepaid $400 million of its outstanding long-term debt and re-negotiated its debt covenants. In April 2011, the outstanding balance of the $150 million senior unsecured notes, totaling $32.9 million, became due and was paid. As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, the outstanding balances of the notes totaled $92.1 million. Of the outstanding balances of the notes, $46.2 million is current as of December 31, 2013.
	The table below summarizes the debt balance at December 31, 2013 and 2012:
	(in thousands)	2013			2012
	Senior unsecured notes:
	6.33% notes due July 15, 2014	$	46,160		$	46,160
	6.52% notes due July 15, 2017	22,100			22,100
	6.67% notes due July 15, 2019	23,855			23,855
	Total debt	92,115			92,115
	Less current portion of long-term debt	(46,160		)	—
	Total long-term debt	$	45,955		$	92,115
	The table below summarizes the aggregate contractual annual maturities for the total debt balance at December 31, 2013:
	(in thousands)	Contractual
		Maturities
	2014	$	46,160
	2015	—
	2016	—
	2017	22,100
	2018	—
	Thereafter	23,855
	Total debt	$	92,115
	Under the amended note purchase agreements governing the terms of these notes, Calamos Investments must maintain certain consolidated net worth in addition to leverage, investment and interest coverage ratios. The amended note purchase agreements also contain other covenants that, among other things, restrict the ability of Calamos Investments’ subsidiaries to incur debt and restrict the ability of Calamos Investments or its subsidiaries to create liens and to merge or consolidate, or sell or convey all or substantially all of Calamos Investments’ assets and places certain limitations on distributions and redemptions of equity interests. As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, the Company was in compliance with all covenants.
	The weighted average interest rate on the notes is 6.46% over the remaining life of the notes.

Common_Stock

Common Stock	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]	'
Common Stock	'
	Common Stock
	All shares of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are identical and entitle the holders to the same rights and privileges, including dividend rights and liquidity rights, unless otherwise required by law. However, the holders of Class B Common Stock possess super-voting rights which represents a 97.4% voting interest in the Company.

Profit_Sharing_Plan

Profit Sharing Plan	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Profit Sharing Plan	'
	Profit Sharing Plan
	The Company contributes to a defined contribution profit sharing plan (the "PSP Plan") covering substantially all employees. Contributions to the PSP Plan are at the discretion of the Company and include discretionary profit sharing and matching components. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, the Company recorded expense for the contributions to the PSP Plan in the amounts of $2.5 million, $4.3 million and $3.5 million, respectively. This expense is included in employee compensation and benefits on the consolidated statements of operations.

Stock_Based_Compensation

Stock Based Compensation	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]	'
Stock Based Compensation	'
	Stock Based Compensation
	Certain employees of the Company receive stock based compensation comprised of RSUs and stock options under the Company’s incentive compensation plan, which is designed to retain key employees. A total of 10,000,000 shares of CAM’s common stock may be granted under the plan. Historically, RSUs have been settled with newly issued shares so that no cash was used by the Company to settle awards; however, the Company may also use treasury shares upon the exercise of stock options and upon conversion of RSUs.
	RSUs entitle each recipient to receive a share of Class A common stock and a dividend equivalent to the actual dividends declared on CAM’s Class A common stock. RSUs are granted with no strike price and, therefore, the Company receives no proceeds when the RSUs vest. These awards, including accrued dividends, vest at the end of the restriction period, generally not to exceed six years after the grant date, and are expensed on a straight-line basis over this period. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, 838,663 RSUs, 1,484,723 RSUs and 538,297 RSUs with an estimated fair value of $8.9 million, $15.9 million and $7.1 million, respectively, were awarded to employees of the Company in accordance with the provisions of the plan. A summary of the RSU activity follows:
		Number		Weighted
		of		Average Grant Date Fair Value
		Shares
	Outstanding at December 31, 2010	1,628,920		$	15.61
	Granted	538,297		13.21
	Forfeited	(102,851	)	13.06
	Exercised upon vesting	(245,629	)	17.81
	Outstanding at December 31, 2011	1,818,737		14.75
	Granted	1,484,723		10.7
	Forfeited	(359,129	)	13.78
	Exercised upon vesting	(332,225	)	20.11
	Outstanding at December 31, 2012	2,612,106		12.26
	Granted	838,663		10.66
	Forfeited	(407,656	)	12.14
	Exercised upon vesting	(458,138	)	14.96
	Outstanding at December 31, 2013	2,584,975		11.58
	Converted during the year ended December 31:
	2011	184,440		$	17.04
	2012	259,258		12.34
	2013	310,080		10.87
	As of December 31, 2013, the Company had 2,584,975 RSUs outstanding with a weighted average remaining contractual life of 3.3 years and an aggregate intrinsic value of $30.6 million. The weighted average fair value of RSUs at the date of grant for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 were $10.66, $10.70 and $13.21 per share, respectively. The aggregate intrinsic value and the fair value of RSUs that vested and were exercised during 2013, 2012 and 2011 was $5.0 million, $4.1 million and $4.2 million, respectively.
	For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, 458,138 RSUs, 332,225 RSUs and 245,629 RSUs, respectively, were exercised and, after 148,058 RSUs, 72,967 RSUs and 61,189 RSUs, respectively, were withheld for taxes, 310,080 RSUs, 259,258 RSUs and 184,440 RSUs, respectively, were converted, on a one-for-one basis, for shares of CAM’s Class A common stock. The total intrinsic value and the fair value of the converted shares were $3.4 million, $3.2 million and $3.1 million, respectively. The total tax benefit realized in connection with the exercise of the RSUs during 2013, 2012 and 2011 were $443,000, $367,000 and $356,000, respectively, as the Company receives tax benefits equal to the fair value of CAM’s common stock on the exercise date, less the amount attributable to the non-controlling interest.
	Stock options entitle each recipient to purchase a share of Class A common stock in exchange for the stated exercise price upon vesting of each award. Under the plan, the exercise price of each option, which has a 10-year life, equals the market price of the Company’s stock on the date of grant. No awards were granted during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011.
	Summarized information on the Company’s outstanding stock options at December 31, 2013 was as follows:
			Options Outstanding					Options Exercisable
	Range of Exercise Prices		Number of Shares		Average Remaining Contractual Life	Weighted Average Option Price		Number of Shares	Weighted Average Option Price
	$17.80		162,495		2.9	$	17.8	162,495	$	17.8
	$18.00 - $29.11		1,683,248		2.6	$	22.14	1,491,972	$	22.41
	$35.43		255,825		2.1	$	35.43	255,825	$	35.43
			2,101,568		2.5	$	23.42	1,910,292	$	23.76
	The outstanding options do not have an intrinsic value as the exercise price exceeded the market value.
	A summary of the stock option activity was as follows:
		Number of Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price
	Outstanding at December 31, 2010	2,411,866		$	23.17
	Forfeited	(66,803	)	19.43
	Outstanding at December 31, 2011	2,345,063		23.28
	Forfeited	(149,649	)	22.14
	Outstanding at December 31, 2012	2,195,414		23.36
	Forfeited	(93,846	)	21.94
	Outstanding at December 31, 2013	2,101,568		23.42
	Exercisable at December 31:
	2011	1,125,627		24.15
	2012	1,654,100		24.14
	2013	1,910,292		23.76
	For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, compensation expense recorded in connection with the RSUs and stock options was $7.0 million, $5.1 million and $7.8 million, respectively, of which $1.6 million, $1.1 million and $1.7 million, respectively, was credited as additional paid-in capital. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, the amount of deferred tax asset created was $577,000, $415,000 and $634,000, respectively. As of December 31, 2013, $17.6 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested stock option and RSU awards is expected to be recognized over a weighted average service period of 3.3 years.

NonOperating_Income

Non-Operating Income	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]	'
Non-Operating Income	'
	Non-Operating Income
	Non-operating income was comprised of the following components for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
	(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
	Interest income	$	257		$	385		$	289
	Interest expense	(6,021		)	(6,017		)	(6,650		)
	Net interest expense	(5,764		)	(5,632		)	(6,361		)
	Investment income	29,891			22,073			18,038
	Dividend income	5,355			4,557			4,184
	Miscellaneous other income	193			207			198
	Investment and other income	35,439			26,837			22,420
	Non-operating income	$	29,675		$	21,205		$	16,059

Income_Taxes

Income Taxes	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Income Taxes	'
	Income Taxes
	The income tax provision for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 consists of the following:
	(in thousands)	2013				2012				2011
	Current:
	Federal	$	(216	)		$	2,298			$	3,527
	State:
	CAM portion	23				185				458
	Calamos Interests portion	56				(148		)		570
	Total current income tax provision (benefit)	(137		)		2,335				4,555
	Deferred:
	Federal	5,867				9,358				12,713
	State	532				875				1,229
	Total deferred income tax provision	6,399				10,233				13,942
	Total income tax provision	$	6,262			$	12,568			$	18,497
	Calamos Investments is subject to certain income-based state taxes; therefore, income tax provision reflects not only the portion attributed to CAM stockholders but also a portion of income tax provision attributable to non-controlling interests.
	The Company files income tax returns in federal, state and foreign tax jurisdictions. The Company is subject to U.S. federal, state and local examinations by tax authorities for years 2010 – 2013. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) completed its examination of the Company’s U.S. income tax returns for years 2004, 2005 and 2006 in the third quarter of 2008. The IRS proposed adjustments that increased Calamos Investments’ taxable income by $1.3 million (plus additional amounts asserted by the IRS as interest and penalties), approximately 23% of which were attributed to CAM. The proposed IRS adjustments attributable to CAM were agreed upon and recorded as a current tax expense in 2009. Calamos Investments’ proposed penalties have been abated through the appeals process.
	The Company's U.S. income tax returns for 2011 and 2012 are currently under IRS examination.
	The following table reconciles the statutory federal income tax rate to the effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.
		2013			2012			2011
	Statutory U.S. federal income tax rate	35	%		35	%		35	%
	State income taxes, net of federal tax benefits	2	%		2	%		2	%
	Other non-deductible items	0.4	%		0.4	%		0.3	%
	Calamos Investments’ state income taxes	0.3	%		(0.6	)%		2.1	%
	Impact of deferred tax assets valuation allowance	(12.2	)%		6.1	%		15.3	%
	Impact of re-measuring certain deferred tax assets	—	%		(2.3	)%		—	%
	Impact on net deferred tax assets from change in statutory income tax rate	(0.3	)%		—	%		—	%
	Effective income tax rate	25.2	%		40.6	%		54.7	%
	Calamos Interests state income taxes	(0.2	)%		0.5	%		(1.7	)%
	CAM effective income tax rate	25	%		41.1	%		53	%
	Deferred income taxes reflect the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between carrying amounts and tax bases of the Company’s assets and liabilities. During 2013, the Company recorded a $3.0 million valuation allowance reversal based on additional net capital gains realized.
	The significant components of deferred income taxes at December 31, 2013 and 2012 are as follows:
	(in thousands)	2013				2012
	Deferred tax assets:
	Intangible assets	$	42,373			$	50,288
	Capital loss carryforward	2,317				10,386
	Unrealized net holding losses on investments of available-for-sale securities	—				292
	Other	6,512				2,888
	Total deferred tax assets	51,202				63,854
	Valuation allowance on capital loss carryforward	(2,148		)		(7,100		)
	Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	49,054				56,754
	Deferred tax liabilities:
	Unrealized net holding gains on investments of available-for-sale securities	1,822				—
	Deferred sales commission	137				218
	Goodwill	46				—
	Other	309				1,228
	Total deferred tax liabilities	2,314				1,446
	Net deferred tax assets	$	46,740			$	55,308
	Deferred tax assets and liabilities are reflected on the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition as net deferred tax assets. The current and non-current portions of the net deferred tax asset were $10.2 million and $36.5 million, respectively, at December 31, 2013 and $7.1 million and $48.2 million, respectively, at December 31, 2012.
	As of December 31, 2013, the Company’s net deferred income tax asset attributable to intangible assets was $42.4 million, which is being amortized and creating a tax benefit of $7.9 million per year over 15 years expiring during 2019. This deferred income tax asset was created as a result of the Company purchasing 20,000,000 membership units from CFP in 2004, whereby the Company made an election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code to mark-to-market all qualified assets that it purchased, of which 17,000,000 membership units qualified for the stepped-up basis. Most of the assets receiving the stepped-up basis for tax purposes are in the form of intangible assets, such as management contracts, distribution contracts and intellectual property.
	As of December 31, 2013, the Company’s total capital loss carryforward was $6.3 million, of which $5.8 million will expire in 2014 and $456,000 will expire in 2017, if not used before the expiration dates. As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, the Company’s valuation allowance on this deferred tax asset was $2.1 million and $7.1 million, respectively. The Company recorded a $2.0 million valuation allowance write off due to capital loss carryforwards that expired as of December 31, 2013.
	As a result of Calamos Investments purchasing Black Capital in August 2012, the Company is amortizing goodwill in the amount of $6.4 million over 15 years, creating a deferred income tax liability.
	For the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company re-measured its deferred tax asset related to equity compensation and recorded an income tax benefit of $561,000.
	As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, the Company had no material unrecognized tax benefits and it does not anticipate any unrecognized tax benefits arising in the next 12 months that would result in a material change to its financial position. A reconciliation is not provided, as the beginning and ending amounts of unrecognized benefits are zero with no interim additions, reductions or settlements.

Earnings_Per_Share

Earnings Per Share	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]	'
Earnings Per Share	'
	Earnings Per Share
	The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share:
	(in thousands, except per share amounts)	2013			2012			2011
	Earnings per share – basic:
	Earnings available to common shareholders	$	18,628		$	18,192		$	15,870
	Weighted average shares outstanding	19,904			20,334			20,104
	Earnings per share – basic	$	0.94		$	0.89		$	0.79
	Earnings per share – diluted:
	Earnings available to common shareholders	$	18,628		$	18,192		$	15,870
	Weighted average shares outstanding	19,904			20,334			20,104
	Dilutive impact of restricted stock units	448			412			508
	Weighted average shares outstanding	20,352			20,746			20,612
	Earnings per share – diluted	$	0.92		$	0.88		$	0.77
	When dilutive, diluted shares outstanding for 2013, 2012 and 2011 are calculated (a) assuming that Calamos Interests exchanged all of their ownership interest in Calamos Investments and their CAM Class B common stock for shares of CAM’s Class A common stock (the "Exchange") and (b) including the effect of outstanding dilutive equity incentive compensation awards. As of December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, the impact of the Exchange was anti-dilutive and, therefore, excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share.
	The Company uses the treasury stock method to reflect the dilutive effect of unvested RSUs and unexercised stock options on diluted earnings per share. Under the treasury stock method, if the average market price of common stock increases above the option’s exercise price, the proceeds that would be assumed to be realized from the exercise of the option would be used to acquire outstanding shares of common stock. However, the awards may be anti-dilutive even when the market price of the underlying stock exceeds the option’s exercise price. This result is possible because compensation cost attributed to future services and not yet recognized is included as a component of the assumed proceeds upon exercise. The dilutive effect of such options and RSUs would increase the weighted average number of shares used in the calculation of diluted earnings per share.
	The Company amended its certificate of incorporation requiring that the Exchange be based on a fair value approach (details of the amendment are set forth in the Company’s Schedule 14C filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 12, 2009). The amendment results in the same or fewer shares of Class A common stock being issuable at the time of the Exchange.
	The shares issuable upon the Exchange as presented are estimated solely on the formula as described in Schedule 14C that does not necessarily reflect all inputs used in a fair valuation. It is critical to note that this formula does not incorporate certain economic factors and as such, in the event of an actual Exchange, the majority of the Company’s independent directors may determine the fair market value of CAM’s net assets and its ownership in Calamos Investments. For example, premiums and/or discounts for control and marketability as well as a different discount rate for future cash flows may be applied. Therefore, the directors’ valuation may result in the actual number of shares being materially different from the shares presented. Further, based upon currently available information, the Company believes it is unlikely that any Exchange would transpire without a fair market valuation of CAM’s net assets and possibly an agreement by Calamos Interests to Exchange, based upon that fair market valuation.
	The following table shows the number of shares which were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share as they were anti-dilutive:
		2013		2012			2011
	Shares of Class A common stock issuable upon an Exchange of Calamos Interests’ ownership in Calamos Investments*	34,594,896		36,735,145			43,360,855
	Restricted stock units	558,473		—			—
	Stock options	2,101,568		2,195,414			2,345,063
	Total	37,254,937		38,930,559			45,705,918
	* Number of shares calculated with the value of Calamos Investments LLC determined by using the closing price of our shares as of December 31, 2013 ($11.84), December 31, 2012 ($10.57) and December 31, 2011 ($12.51) as well as assuming said closing prices fully reflect all of CAM's assets; including the application of a 12% discount rate to certain deferred tax assets at each of December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011. The value of Calamos Investments is then multiplied by Calamos Interests' percentage ownership in Calamos Investments LLC, with the result divided by the applicable year-end closing price. See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Principles of Consolidation, for a description of certain assets owned by CAM.

Commitments_and_Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Commitments and Contingencies	'
	Commitments and Contingencies
	In the normal course of business, the Company enters into agreements that include indemnities in favor of third parties, such as engagement letters with advisors and consultants, distribution agreements and service agreements. In accordance with the Company’s by-laws, the Company has also agreed to indemnify its directors, officers, employees and agents in certain cases. Certain agreements do not contain any limits on the Company’s liability and, therefore, it is not possible to estimate the Company’s potential liability under these indemnities. In certain cases, the Company may have recourse against third parties with respect to these indemnities. Further, the Company maintains insurance policies that may provide coverage against certain claims under these indemnities.
	In the normal course of business, the Company may be party to various legal proceedings from time to time. Currently, there are no legal proceedings that management believes may have a material effect on the Company's consolidated financial position or results of operations.
	The Company leases office space and computer equipment under long-term operating leases expiring at various dates through fiscal year 2025. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 lease expenses were $5.6 million, $5.2 million and $5.0 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2013, the Company’s aggregate future minimum payments for operating leases having initial or non-cancelable terms greater than one year are payable as follows:
		Minimum
	(in thousands)	Payments
	Year ended December 31:
	2014	$	5,708
	2015	4,751
	2016	4,635
	2017	4,769
	2018	4,893
	Thereafter	32,930
	Total minimum lease payments	$	57,686

Regulatory_and_Net_Capital_Req

Regulatory and Net Capital Requirements	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Regulatory Capital Requirements [Abstract]	'
Regulatory and Net Capital Requirements	'
	Regulatory and Net Capital Requirements
	As a broker-dealer, CFS is subject to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Uniform Net Capital Rule (Rule 15c3-1), which requires the maintenance of minimum net capital, as defined, and requires that the ratio of aggregate indebtedness to net capital (net capital ratio), as defined, shall not exceed 15 to 1. As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, the net capital, the excess of the required net capital and the net capital ratio were as follows:
	(in thousands)	2013		2012
	Net capital	$	6,230	$	3,433
	Excess of required net capital	$	5,394	$	2,489
	Net capital ratio	2.01 : 1.0		4.12 : 1.0

Concentration_Risk

Concentration Risk	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Risks and Uncertainties [Abstract]	'
Concentration Risk	'
	Concentration Risk
	For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, the percentage of revenues derived from services provided to two Company-sponsored open-end funds, the Calamos Growth Fund and the Calamos Growth and Income Fund were as follows:
		2013		2012		2011
	Calamos Growth Fund	21	%	26	%	29	%
	Calamos Growth and Income Fund	15	%	15	%	14	%

Quarterly_Financial_Informatio

Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited)	'
	Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited)
		As of or for the Quarter Ended
		2013								2012
		Dec. 31		Sept. 30		30-Jun		31-Mar		Dec. 31		Sept. 30		30-Jun		31-Mar
	(in millions)
	Assets under management*	$	26,543	$	26,618	$	25,797	$	28,324	$	29,655	$	33,171	$	33,384	$	36,217
	(in thousands, except share data)
	Total revenue	$	66,522	$	64,965	$	66,690	$	70,953	$	76,877	$	81,847	$	82,676	$	85,276
	Total operating expenses	44,579		49,541		48,286		48,838		48,796		50,114		53,739		54,223
	Operating income	$	21,943	$	15,424	$	18,404	$	22,115	$	28,081	$	31,733	$	28,937	$	31,053
	Net income attributable to CAM	$	10,856	$	2,697	$	1,841	$	3,234	$	4,606	$	4,733	$	1,814	$	7,039
	Diluted earnings per share	$	0.54	$	0.13	$	0.09	$	0.16	$	0.22	$	0.23	$	0.09	$	0.34
	Diluted shares outstanding	20,214,360		20,387,651		20,661,447		20,836,996		20,792,516		20,802,592		20,802,688		20,650,379
	*Assets under management do not include assets for which the Company provides model portfolio design and oversight.

Recently_Issued_Accounting_Pro

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]	'
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements	'
	Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
	We have reviewed all newly issued accounting pronouncements that are applicable to our business and to the preparation of our consolidated financial statements, including those not yet required to be adopted. We do not believe any such pronouncements will have a material effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations. Accounting guidance that have become effective during 2013 or have not yet become effective with respect to our consolidated financial statements are described below:
	In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued new guidance on the financial statement presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward, similar tax loss, or tax credit carryforward exists. This guidance is intended to reduce the diversity in presentation of unrecognized tax benefits. This guidance is effective for annual and interim periods beginning on or after December 15, 2013. The Company’s effective date is January 1, 2014. The Company’s current disclosures conform to this guidance and adopting this guidance does not add to the current disclosure requirements nor impact the Company’s financial position or results of operations.
	In July 2013, the FASB issued new guidance that permits the Fed Funds Effective Swap Rate to be used as a benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes in addition to interest rates on direct United States Treasury obligations and the LIBOR. This guidance is effective for qualifying new or redesigned hedging relationships entered into on or after July 17, 2013. At December 31, 2013, the Company had no hedging relationships in place. The adoption of this guidance had no impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.
	In February 2013, the FASB issued new guidance that requires an entity to provide additional information about reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income. The amendments in this update supersede and replace the presentation requirements for reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income in previously amended updates. This guidance is effective prospectively for annual and interim periods beginning on or after December 15, 2012. The Company’s effective date is January 1, 2013. The Company has adopted this guidance, which required the Company to disclose the impact of realized gains on net income that were previously reported in accumulated other comprehensive income and were reclassified out. As this pronouncement is disclosure related, the adoption of this guidance had no impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

Subsequent_Events_Notes

Subsequent Events (Notes)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Subsequent Events [Abstract]	'
Subsequent Events	'
	Subsequent Event
	On January 22, 2014, Calamos Investments made a $50.0 million distribution, of which $38.9 million or 77.8% was distributed to Calamos Interests.

Summary_of_Significant_Account1

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Basis of Presentation	'
	Basis of Presentation
	The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), which require the use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management believes the accounting estimates are appropriate and reasonably stated; however, due to the inherent uncertainties in making estimates, actual amounts could differ from these estimates.
Principles of Consolidation	'
	Principles of Consolidation
	The Company consolidates investments in which the Company’s ownership exceeds 50% or in which the Company operates and controls the business and affairs of the entity or is deemed to be the primary beneficiary. In order to make this determination, an analysis is performed to determine if the investment in an affiliate or partnership is a variable interest entity ("VIE"). The Company has evaluated its investments in affiliates and partnerships and has concluded that they are not VIEs. With respect to partnership investments, the limited partners have no control of the business and affairs of the partnership, no substantive ability to dissolve (liquidate) the partnership, or otherwise remove the general partner (CAL and Calamos Investments) without cause or have other substantive rights.
	The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of CAM, Calamos Investments, Calamos Investments’ wholly- and majority-owned subsidiaries, and the Company’s partnerships in which it owns a majority interest or in which it has operating control. The equity method of accounting is used for investments in which the Company has significant influence, but less than 50% ownership. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
	The Calamos Interests’ combined 77.8% and 77.9% interest in Calamos Investments at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, is represented as a non-controlling interest in Calamos Investments LLC in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Non-controlling interest in Calamos Investments is derived by multiplying the historical equity of Calamos Investments by the Calamos Interests’ aggregate ownership percentage for the periods presented. Issuances and repurchases of CAM’s common stock may result in changes to CAM’s ownership percentage and to the non-controlling interests’ ownership percentage of Calamos Investments with resulting changes reflected in the consolidated statements of changes in equity. Income is allocated based on the average ownership interest during the period in which the income is earned.
	CAM owns certain assets to which common stockholders have exclusive economic rights. As of December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, these assets include cash, cash equivalents and investment securities of $78.3 million, $67.0 million and $56.3 million, net current and non-current deferred tax assets of $46.7 million, $55.3 million and $65.5 million, and net current income taxes receivable of $2.3 million, $606,000 and $665,000, respectively, that are reported together with Calamos Investments’ consolidated assets in the consolidated statements of financial condition. Additionally, net income before income taxes, of $107.6 million, $141.0 million and $156.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, each included $257,000, $230,000 and $166,000, respectively, of interest income on cash and cash equivalents held solely by CAM. For the year ended December 31, 2011, net income also included $775,000 of professional fees held solely by CAM. These portions of CAM’s income and expense are not affected by non-controlling interests.
	CAL is the general partner and controls the operations of Calamos International Growth Fund LP and Calamos Investments, through a wholly owned subsidiary, is indirectly the general partner and controls the operations of Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP (formerly Black Strategic Fund, LP) a U.S. feeder fund to Calamos Arista Strategic Master Fund LTD (formerly Black Strategic Master Fund Ltd.) a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands. As CAL and Calamos Investments are the general partners and control the operations of Calamos International Growth Fund LP and Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP, respectively, and as Calamos Investments has a majority interest in Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP, the results of these partnerships and the master fund are included into the Company’s consolidated financial results. In December 2013, the limited partners of Calamos International Growth Fund LP redeemed all of their interests in the fund. As a result, the Company deconsolidated Calamos International Growth Fund LP and accounted for this partnership investment using the equity method as of December 31, 2013. Calamos International Growth Fund LP will be dissolved in early 2014. See Note 7, Partnership Investments, for more discussion regarding these funds.
	Calamos Partners LLC, a former subsidiary of Calamos Investments, was the general partner of Calamos Market Neutral Opportunities Fund LP, a private investment partnership that was primarily comprised of highly liquid marketable securities. During the first quarter of 2011, the Calamos Market Neutral Opportunities Fund LP partnership was liquidated. Up to the time the partnership was liquidated, the Company and its affiliates owned a majority interest in this partnership and consolidated the financial results of this partnership into its consolidated financial statements.
	For the periods the partnerships are consolidated, the assets and liabilities of the partnerships are presented on a net basis within partnership investments, net in the consolidated statements of financial condition. The net income for these partnerships are included in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations, and the change in partnership investments is included in the net changes in partnership investments in the consolidated statements of cash flows. The partnerships are presented on a net basis in order to provide more clarity to the financial position and results of the core operations of the Company. The underlying assets and liabilities that are being consolidated are described in Note 7, Partnership Investments. The combined interests of all of the consolidated partnerships, not owned by the Company and that are redeemable at the option of the holder, are presented as redeemable non-controlling interest in partnership investments in the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the periods those partnerships were consolidated.
	The Company holds non-controlling interests in certain other partnership investments that are included in partnership investments, net in the consolidated statements of financial condition. These other partnership investments are accounted for under the equity method.
	These portions of CAM’s income and expense are not affected by non-controlling interests.
	CAL is the general partner and controls the operations of Calamos International Growth Fund LP and Calamos Investments, through a wholly owned subsidiary, is indirectly the general partner and controls the operations of Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP (formerly Black Strategic Fund, LP) a U.S. feeder fund to Calamos Arista Strategic Master Fund LTD (formerly Black Strategic Master Fund Ltd.) a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands. As CAL and Calamos Investments are the general partners and control the operations of Calamos International Growth Fund LP and Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP, respectively, and as Calamos Investments has a majority interest in Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP, the results of these partnerships and the master fund are included into the Company’s consolidated financial results. In December 2013, the limited partners of Calamos International Growth Fund LP redeemed all of their interests in the fund. As a result, the Company deconsolidated Calamos International Growth Fund LP and accounted for this partnership investment using the equity method as of December 31, 2013. Calamos International Growth Fund LP will be dissolved in early 2014. See Note 7, Partnership Investments, for more discussion regarding these funds.
	Calamos Partners LLC, a former subsidiary of Calamos Investments, was the general partner of Calamos Market Neutral Opportunities Fund LP, a private investment partnership that was primarily comprised of highly liquid marketable securities. During the first quarter of 2011, the Calamos Market Neutral Opportunities Fund LP partnership was liquidated. Up to the time the partnership was liquidated, the Company and its affiliates owned a majority interest in this partnership and consolidated the financial results of this partnership into its consolidated financial statements.
	For the periods the partnerships are consolidated, the assets and liabilities of the partnerships are presented on a net basis within partnership investments, net in the consolidated statements of financial condition. The net income for these partnerships are included in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations, and the change in partnership investments is included in the net changes in partnership investments in the consolidated statements of cash flows. The partnerships are presented on a net basis in order to provide more clarity to the financial position and results of the core operations of the Company. The underlying assets and liabilities that are being consolidated are described in Note 7, Partnership Investments. The combined interests of all of the consolidated partnerships, not owned by the Company and that are redeemable at the option of the holder, are presented as redeemable non-controlling interest in partnership investments in the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the periods those partnerships were consolidated.
	The Company holds non-controlling interests in certain other partnership investments that are included in partnership investments, net in the consolidated statements of financial condition. These other partnership investments are accounted for under the equity method.
Reclassifications	'
	Reclassifications
	Certain items previously reported have been reclassified to conform to the current period's consolidated financial statements presentation.
	The Company changed the classification of redeemable non-controlling interest in partnership investments from permanent equity to temporary equity on its consolidated statements of financial condition to conform to accounting guidance that requires non-controlling interests that are redeemable or convertible for cash or other assets at the option of the holder to be classified as temporary equity.
	Amortization of deferred sales commissions, previously presented as a separate line, is now included with distribution expenses; and the classification of deferred sales commissions asset, previously presented on a separate line, is now included with other non-current assets. Deferred sales commissions asset and amortization became immaterial, with the discontinuation of the sale of Class B shares, making the separate line presentations less meaningful to the financial statement users.
	Investment securities previously presented as CFS securities are being presented as Trading securities. Certain investments previously presented as Other are being presented as Alternative in Note 5, Investment Securities, and Note 8, Fair Value Measurements.
	These reclassifications have been made for all periods presented.
Cash and Cash Equivalents	'
	Cash and Cash Equivalents
	All highly liquid financial instruments with maturities of three months or less from date of purchase, consisting primarily of investments in insured money market accounts and money market funds, are considered cash equivalents
Receivables from Customers	'
	Receivables from Customers
	Receivables from customers represent balances arising from contractual investment advisory services provided to separate account customers and are recorded on an accrual basis. Provisions for bad debt expense during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012, and 2011 and allowance for doubtful accounts as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, were not material
Investment Securities	'
	Investment Securities
	The Company carries its investment securities at fair value. For a majority of the Company’s investments, fair values are determined based upon quoted prices in active markets. If quoted market prices are not available, the Company uses matrix, model or other similar pricing methods to determine fair value. Investment securities transactions are recorded on a trade-date basis.
	Investment securities are classified as available-for-sale as the Company does not intend to trade these securities in the near term. Unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are excluded from earnings and are reported, net of income tax, as a separate component of equity until realized. Realized gains and losses from the sale of available-for-sale securities are determined on a specific identification basis and are included in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations.
	Investment securities classified as trading securities are carried at fair value with all changes in the value of the securities going through current earnings. Therefore, both realized and unrealized gains and losses on these securities are included in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations.
	On a quarterly basis, the Company conducts reviews to assess whether an other-than-temporary impairment exists on its available-for-sale investment securities. Other-than-temporary declines in value may exist when the fair value of an investment security has been below the carrying value for an extended period of time. If an other-than-temporary decline in value is determined to exist, the unrealized investment loss, net of tax is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations in the period in which the other-than-temporary decline in value occurs, as well as an accompanying permanent adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive income.
Derivative Assets and Liabilities	'
	Derivative Assets and Liabilities
	From time to time, the Company enters into derivative contracts to mitigate the negative impact that changes in security prices may have on the investment portfolio. The Company does not measure effectiveness or meet the criteria for hedge accounting and, therefore, records the changes in the fair value of these instruments in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company classifies derivatives as derivative assets and derivative liabilities in the consolidated statements of financial condition.
Goodwill	'
	Goodwill
	The Company’s goodwill represents the future economic benefits arising from Calamos Investments’ acquisition of Black Capital, LLC (“Black Capital”) that are not individually identified and separately recognized. Goodwill is assessed for impairment at the reporting unit level, Calamos Investments, at least annually, or whenever events or circumstances occur indicating that an impairment may have occurred. The goodwill impairment test is a two-step process. The first step requires the Company to estimate the fair value of its reporting unit and compare the fair value to the reporting unit’s carrying amount. If the fair value exceeds the carrying amount, the goodwill is not considered impaired. To the extent the reporting unit’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value, the reporting unit’s goodwill may be impaired and the second step of the impairment test must be performed. The second step involves assigning the reporting unit’s fair value to all of its recognized and unrecognized assets and liabilities as if the reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination in order to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill. The implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill is then compared to the carrying amount of goodwill to quantify an impairment loss, if any, which would equal the excess of the carrying amount of goodwill over the goodwill’s implied fair value. No impairment has been recorded for the years ended December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012. See Note 3, Acquisition for more discussion related to the acquisition of Black Capital.
Property and Equipment	'
	Property and Equipment
	Property and equipment are recorded at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization is provided on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, ranging from three to twenty years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of their estimated useful lives or the remaining term of the lease, ranging from five to twenty years.
Internally Developed Software	'
	Internally Developed Software
	Certain internal and external development costs incurred in connection with developing or obtaining software for internal use are capitalized. These capitalized costs are included in property and equipment, net in the consolidated statements of financial condition and are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives, ranging from three to ten years. On an annual basis, the Company conducts reviews to assess the functionality and remaining useful lives of the capitalized software. Impairments of these assets, if any, are recognized in the consolidated statements of operations in the period in which the impairment occurs.
Restricted Cash	'
	Restricted Cash
	The Company has a $430,000 security deposit that is restricted from the Company’s general corporate use and is being reported in other non-current assets in the consolidated statements of financial condition.
Compensation Plans	'
	Compensation Plans
	The Company has an incentive stock plan that provides for certain employees of the Company to receive stock based compensation in the form of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and stock options. RSUs are convertible on a one-for-one basis into shares of the Company’s common stock. Stock option awards are based on shares of the Company’s common stock. The Company estimates the fair value of the options as of the grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Stock based compensation expense is recognized based on the grant-date fair value of the award. The Company records compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the service period.
Revenue Recognition	'
	Revenue Recognition
	The Company earns investment management fees by providing services pursuant to the terms of the underlying advisory contract. Fees are based on a contractual investment advisory fee applied to the assets in each portfolio. Any fees collected in advance are deferred and recognized over the period earned. Performance-based advisory fees from certain separate accounts are recognized annually upon completion of the contract year and based upon either (1) the difference between the investment returns on a client’s portfolio compared to a benchmark index or (2) the absolute percentage of gain in the client’s account. Performance-based advisory fees from the open-end funds are recognized monthly when earned and are based upon the differences between the investment returns of the respective fund compared to a benchmark index.
	Distribution and underwriting fees consist primarily of Rule 12b-1 distribution and/or service fees from the open-end funds, contingent deferred sales charges on the redemption of open-end fund shares and sales charges earned on open-end funds. Distribution service fees are accrued monthly as services are performed and are based on the average daily assets of the open-end funds. Contingent deferred sales charges are recorded on a trade-date basis when earned, and sales charges are recorded on the settlement date.
Net Interest Expense	'
	Net Interest Expense
	Net interest expense represents interest expense incurred on debt net of interest income generated from cash and cash equivalents. Interest income is recognized when earned, and interest expense is recorded when incurred.
Investment and Other Income	'
	Investment and Other Income
	Investment and other income is primarily comprised of: realized gains (losses) from all investment securities and partnership investments; unrealized gains (losses) on trading securities and partnership investments; realized and unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives; gains (losses) on foreign currency translation; and dividend income. Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date.
Foreign Currency	'
	Foreign Currency
	Foreign currency balances are revalued into U.S. dollars, which is the functional currency of the Company, at prevailing exchange rates on the reporting date. Revenues earned and expenses incurred in foreign currency are revalued at average exchange rates during the reporting period. Gains and losses arising from the revaluation of account balances denominated in foreign currencies are recognized in investment and other income in the consolidated statements of operations.
Income Taxes	'
	Income Taxes
	Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to the temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amount of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. During 2013, 2012 and 2011, the Company recorded valuation allowance adjustments to reduce or increase its deferred income tax assets to an amount that is more likely than not to be realized based on available evidence at the time estimates are made. Determining a valuation allowance requires management to make significant judgments and assumptions. In determining a valuation allowance the Company uses historical and forecasted future realized and unrealized gains and losses on its investment, ongoing tax planning strategies, and forecasts of future taxable income. Each quarter the Company re-evaluates its estimates related to its valuation allowance, including its assumptions about future taxable income. The Company’s capital loss carryforward is used against realized gains on its investment, derivative assets, derivative liabilities and partnership investments, using its tax harvesting strategies. See Note 16, Income Taxes for more discussion related to the deferred tax valuation allowance.
	Future interest or penalties related to uncertain income tax positions are recognized in income tax provision when determined. The Company did not record any accrued interest or penalties related to uncertain tax positions through December 31, 2013.
Advertising Costs	'
	Advertising Costs
	Advertising costs are expensed as incurred and are included in marketing and sales promotion expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.
Earnings Per Share	'
	Earnings Per Share
	Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income attributable to CAM by the weighted average number of shares of Class A and Class B common stock outstanding during each year. Shares issued or repurchased during the year are weighted for the portion of the year that they were outstanding. Diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilution that would occur if RSUs and stock options granted to participants of the Company incentive compensation plan were exercised and if the Calamos Interests exchanged all of their ownership interest in Calamos Investments and their Class B common stock for shares of Class A common stock. Diluted shares which result in anti-dilution are excluded from the diluted earnings per share calculation and are detailed in Note 17, Earnings Per Share.

RelatedParty_Transactions_Tabl

Related-Party Transactions (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]	'
Summary of total fees earned from affiliates	'
	The table below summarizes the total fees earned from affiliates identified above during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
	(in thousands)	2013		2012		2011
	Investment management fees from:
	Open-end funds	$	124,875	$	158,040	$	169,596
	Closed-end funds	53,981		49,842		49,102
	Totals	$	178,856	$	207,882	$	218,698
	Distribution fees from open-end funds	$	53,143	$	66,604	$	80,022
	Portfolio accounting fees from:
	Open-end funds	$	1,810	$	2,239	$	2,441
	Closed-end funds	679		623		613
	Totals	$	2,489	$	2,862	$	3,054
Fees that have been recorded as expense allocations	'
	The following table summarizes fees that have been recorded as expense allocations during the twelve months ended and the net receivable balance as of December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
	(in thousands)	2013		2012		2011
	Expense allocated from the Company to CPH	$	556	$	606	$	594
	Expense allocated from the Company to CFP	236		245		328
	Expense allocated from the Company to Dragon	16		18		18
	Total expenses allocated from the Company to affiliates	808		869		940
	Expense allocated from CPH and CFP to the Company	151		196		199
	Net expense allocated from the Company to affiliates	$	657	$	673	$	741
	Net receivable for management services from CPH	$	43	$	1	$	50
	Net receivable (payable) for management services from CFP	$	9	$	4	$	(1	)
	Net receivable for management services from Dragon	$	1	$	41	$	1
	Other receivables as a result of Black Capital purchase	$	—	$	38	$	—

Investment_Securities_Tables

Investment Securities (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Investments [Abstract]	'
Summary of investment securities	'
	The following table provides a summary of investment securities as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012:
	(in thousands)
	December 31, 2013		Cost			Unrealized Gains			Unrealized Losses				Fair Value
	Available-for-sale securities:
	Funds
	Equity		$	211,970		$	11,997		$	(679	)		$	223,288
	Fixed income		98,834			430			(4		)		99,260
	Lower-volatility equity		67,836			2,385			(15		)		70,206
	Alternative		35,436			2,000			—				37,436
	Other		1,414			133			(2		)		1,545
	Total Funds		415,490			16,945			(700		)		431,735
	Common stock		133			80			—				213
	Total available-for-sale securities		$	415,623		$	17,025		$	(700	)		$	431,948
	Trading securities:
	Funds
	Equity		$	48,539		$	320		$	(8,566	)		$	40,293
	Total investment securities												$	472,241
	(in thousands)
	December 31, 2012		Cost			Unrealized Gains			Unrealized Losses				Fair Value
	Available-for-sale securities:
	Funds
	Equity		$	195,553		$	2,930		$	(5,517	)		$	192,966
	Fixed income		103,404			665			(957		)		103,112
	Lower-volatility equity		43,718			106			(484		)		43,340
	Alternative		5,058			2			(92		)		4,968
	Other		1,543			42			(270		)		1,315
	Total Funds		349,276			3,745			(7,320		)		345,701
	Common stock		131			1			—				$	132
	Total available-for-sale securities		$	349,407		$	3,746		$	(7,320	)		$	345,833
	Trading securities:
	Funds
	Equity		$	3,004		$	567		$	—			$	3,571
	Total investment securities												$	349,404
Changes in investment securities	'
	The following table provides a summary of changes in investment securities for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
	(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
	Available-for-sale securities:
	Proceeds from sales	$	524,968		$	344,911		$	182,270
	Gross realized gains on sales	$	25,882		$	28,587		$	28,762
	Trading securities:
	Unrealized gains (losses)	$	(8,813	)	$	94		$	(432	)
Summary of tax (provision) benefit on unrealized gains	'
	The table below summarizes the tax (provision) benefit on unrealized gains (losses) and gains reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income on available-for-sale securities for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
		2013										2012									2011
	(in thousands)	Before-Tax Amount			Tax (Provision) Benefit			After-Tax				Before-Tax Amount			Tax (Provision) Benefit			After-Tax			Before-Tax Amount			Tax Benefit		After-Tax
								Amount										Amount								Amount
	Available-for-sale securities:
	Changes in unrealized gains (losses)	$	39,630		$	(3,793	)	$	35,837			$	19,027		$	(1,554	)	$	17,473		$	(12,613	)	$	995	$	(11,618	)
	Reclassification adjustment for realized gains included in income	(19,732		)	1,679			(18,053		)		(20,512		)	1,676			(18,836		)	(33,937		)	2,745		(31,192		)
	Other comprehensive income (loss)	$	19,898		$	(2,114	)	$	17,784			$	(1,485	)	$	122		$	(1,363	)	$	(46,550	)	$	3,740	$	(42,810	)

Partnership_Investments_Tables

Partnership Investments (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Partnership Investments [Abstract]	'
Partnership Investments	'
	Presented below are the underlying assets and liabilities of the partnerships that the Company reports on a net consolidated basis, as well as partnership investments that the Company accounts for under the equity method. These investments are presented collectively as partnership investments, net in its consolidated statements of financial condition as of December 31, 2013 and 2012.
	(in thousands)	2013			2012
	Consolidated partnerships:
	Securities owned	$	29,149		$	30,910
	Cash and cash equivalents	12,208			12,720
	Receivables for securities sold	1,076			—
	Other current assets	30			743
	Exchange-traded option contracts	94			13
	Securities sold not yet purchased	(10,670		)	(5,746		)
	Payables for securities purchased	(1,576		)	—
	Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	(76		)	(739		)
	Total	30,235			37,901
	Equity method investment in partnerships	3,812			22,927
	Partnership investments, net	$	34,047		$	60,828

Fair_Value_Measurements_Tables

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]	'
Fair value of assets and liabilities measured on recurring basis	'
	The following tables provide the hierarchy of inputs used to derive the fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2013 and 2012. Foreign currency contracts are carried in the Company's partnership investments and are presented on a net basis where the right of offset exists, and had no impact for either period presented.
					Fair Value Measurements Using
	(in thousands)	31-Dec-13			Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets and Liabilities (Level 1)			Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)
	Description
	Cash and cash equivalents
	Money market funds	$	1,752		$	1,752		$	—
	Investment securities (Note 5)
	Funds
	Equity	263,581			263,581			—
	Fixed income	99,260			99,260			—
	Lower-volatility equity	70,206			70,206			—
	Alternative	37,436			37,436
	Other	1,545			1,545			—
	Total Funds	472,028			472,028			—
	Common stock	213			213			—
	Investment securities	472,241			472,241			—
	Securities and derivatives owned by partnership (Note 7)
	Common stocks	29,149			29,149			—
	Exchange-traded put option contracts	150			150			—
		29,299			29,299			—
	Securities sold but not yet purchased by partnership (Note 7)
	Common stocks	(10,185		)	(10,185		)	—
	Exchange-traded funds	(485		)	(485		)
	Exchange-traded call option contracts	(56		)	(56		)	—
		(10,726		)	(10,726		)	—
	Total	$	492,566		$	492,566		$	—
					Fair Value Measurements Using
	(in thousands)	31-Dec-12			Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets			Significant Other Observable Inputs
					and Liabilities			(Level 2)
	Description				(Level 1)
	Cash and cash equivalents
	Money market funds	$	2,700		$	2,700		—
	Investment securities (Note 5)
	Funds
	Equity	196,537			196,537			—
	Fixed income	103,112			103,112			—
	Lower-volatility equity	43,340			43,340			—
	Alternative	6,062			6,062
	Other	1,315			1,315			—
	Total Funds	350,366			350,366			—
	Common stock	132			132			—
	Investment securities	350,498			350,498			—
	Derivative assets (Note 6)
	Exchange-traded put option contracts	132			132			—
	Securities and derivatives owned by partnership (Note 7)
	Common Stock	29,742			20,105			9,637
	Preferred stocks	1,167			1,167			—
	Short-term investments	467			—			467
	Exchange-traded put option contracts	75			75			—
	Forward foreign currency contracts	45			45			—
		31,496			21,392			10,104
	Securities sold but not yet purchased by partnership (Note 7)
	Common stocks	(5,746		)	(5,746		)	—
	Exchange-traded call option contracts	(62		)	(62		)	—
	Forward foreign currency contracts	(45		)	(45		)	—
	Securities sold but not yet purchased (Note 5)
	Common stocks	(1,094		)	(1,094		)	—
		(6,947		)	(6,947		)	—
	Total	$	377,879		$	367,775		$	10,104

Property_and_Equipment_Tables

Property and Equipment (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]	'
Property and equipment and related accumulated depreciation	'
	As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, property and equipment and related accumulated depreciation were as follows:
	(in thousands)	2013			2012
	Property and equipment:
	Furniture, fixtures and equipment	$	27,617		$	26,985
	Leasehold improvements	32,062			32,062
	Computer software	17,650			17,665
	Total costs	77,329			76,712
	Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(60,339		)	(57,190		)
	Property and equipment, net	$	16,990		$	19,522

Debt_Tables

Debt (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Summary of long-term debt	'
	The table below summarizes the debt balance at December 31, 2013 and 2012:
	(in thousands)	2013			2012
	Senior unsecured notes:
	6.33% notes due July 15, 2014	$	46,160		$	46,160
	6.52% notes due July 15, 2017	22,100			22,100
	6.67% notes due July 15, 2019	23,855			23,855
	Total debt	92,115			92,115
	Less current portion of long-term debt	(46,160		)	—
	Total long-term debt	$	45,955		$	92,115
Aggregate contractual annual maturities for long-term debt	'
	The table below summarizes the aggregate contractual annual maturities for the total debt balance at December 31, 2013:
	(in thousands)	Contractual
		Maturities
	2014	$	46,160
	2015	—
	2016	—
	2017	22,100
	2018	—
	Thereafter	23,855
	Total debt	$	92,115

Stock_Based_Compensation_Table

Stock Based Compensation (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]	'
Summary of the RSU activity	'
	A summary of the RSU activity follows:
		Number		Weighted
		of		Average Grant Date Fair Value
		Shares
	Outstanding at December 31, 2010	1,628,920		$	15.61
	Granted	538,297		13.21
	Forfeited	(102,851	)	13.06
	Exercised upon vesting	(245,629	)	17.81
	Outstanding at December 31, 2011	1,818,737		14.75
	Granted	1,484,723		10.7
	Forfeited	(359,129	)	13.78
	Exercised upon vesting	(332,225	)	20.11
	Outstanding at December 31, 2012	2,612,106		12.26
	Granted	838,663		10.66
	Forfeited	(407,656	)	12.14
	Exercised upon vesting	(458,138	)	14.96
	Outstanding at December 31, 2013	2,584,975		11.58
	Converted during the year ended December 31:
	2011	184,440		$	17.04
	2012	259,258		12.34
	2013	310,080		10.87
Information on the Company's outstanding stock options	'
	Summarized information on the Company’s outstanding stock options at December 31, 2013 was as follows:
			Options Outstanding					Options Exercisable
	Range of Exercise Prices		Number of Shares		Average Remaining Contractual Life	Weighted Average Option Price		Number of Shares	Weighted Average Option Price
	$17.80		162,495		2.9	$	17.8	162,495	$	17.8
	$18.00 - $29.11		1,683,248		2.6	$	22.14	1,491,972	$	22.41
	$35.43		255,825		2.1	$	35.43	255,825	$	35.43
			2,101,568		2.5	$	23.42	1,910,292	$	23.76
Summary of the stock option activity	'
	A summary of the stock option activity was as follows:
		Number of Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price
	Outstanding at December 31, 2010	2,411,866		$	23.17
	Forfeited	(66,803	)	19.43
	Outstanding at December 31, 2011	2,345,063		23.28
	Forfeited	(149,649	)	22.14
	Outstanding at December 31, 2012	2,195,414		23.36
	Forfeited	(93,846	)	21.94
	Outstanding at December 31, 2013	2,101,568		23.42
	Exercisable at December 31:
	2011	1,125,627		24.15
	2012	1,654,100		24.14
	2013	1,910,292		23.76

NonOperating_Income_Tables

Non-Operating Income (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]	'
Non-operating income	'
	Non-operating income was comprised of the following components for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
	(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
	Interest income	$	257		$	385		$	289
	Interest expense	(6,021		)	(6,017		)	(6,650		)
	Net interest expense	(5,764		)	(5,632		)	(6,361		)
	Investment income	29,891			22,073			18,038
	Dividend income	5,355			4,557			4,184
	Miscellaneous other income	193			207			198
	Investment and other income	35,439			26,837			22,420
	Non-operating income	$	29,675		$	21,205		$	16,059

Income_Taxes_Tables

Income Taxes (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Income tax provision	'
	The income tax provision for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 consists of the following:
	(in thousands)	2013				2012				2011
	Current:
	Federal	$	(216	)		$	2,298			$	3,527
	State:
	CAM portion	23				185				458
	Calamos Interests portion	56				(148		)		570
	Total current income tax provision (benefit)	(137		)		2,335				4,555
	Deferred:
	Federal	5,867				9,358				12,713
	State	532				875				1,229
	Total deferred income tax provision	6,399				10,233				13,942
	Total income tax provision	$	6,262			$	12,568			$	18,497
Reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate to the effective income tax rate	'
	The following table reconciles the statutory federal income tax rate to the effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.
		2013			2012			2011
	Statutory U.S. federal income tax rate	35	%		35	%		35	%
	State income taxes, net of federal tax benefits	2	%		2	%		2	%
	Other non-deductible items	0.4	%		0.4	%		0.3	%
	Calamos Investments’ state income taxes	0.3	%		(0.6	)%		2.1	%
	Impact of deferred tax assets valuation allowance	(12.2	)%		6.1	%		15.3	%
	Impact of re-measuring certain deferred tax assets	—	%		(2.3	)%		—	%
	Impact on net deferred tax assets from change in statutory income tax rate	(0.3	)%		—	%		—	%
	Effective income tax rate	25.2	%		40.6	%		54.7	%
	Calamos Interests state income taxes	(0.2	)%		0.5	%		(1.7	)%
	CAM effective income tax rate	25	%		41.1	%		53	%
Significant components of deferred income taxes	'
	The significant components of deferred income taxes at December 31, 2013 and 2012 are as follows:
	(in thousands)	2013				2012
	Deferred tax assets:
	Intangible assets	$	42,373			$	50,288
	Capital loss carryforward	2,317				10,386
	Unrealized net holding losses on investments of available-for-sale securities	—				292
	Other	6,512				2,888
	Total deferred tax assets	51,202				63,854
	Valuation allowance on capital loss carryforward	(2,148		)		(7,100		)
	Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	49,054				56,754
	Deferred tax liabilities:
	Unrealized net holding gains on investments of available-for-sale securities	1,822				—
	Deferred sales commission	137				218
	Goodwill	46				—
	Other	309				1,228
	Total deferred tax liabilities	2,314				1,446
	Net deferred tax assets	$	46,740			$	55,308

Earnings_Per_Share_Tables

Earnings Per Share (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]	'
Calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share	'
	The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share:
	(in thousands, except per share amounts)	2013			2012			2011
	Earnings per share – basic:
	Earnings available to common shareholders	$	18,628		$	18,192		$	15,870
	Weighted average shares outstanding	19,904			20,334			20,104
	Earnings per share – basic	$	0.94		$	0.89		$	0.79
	Earnings per share – diluted:
	Earnings available to common shareholders	$	18,628		$	18,192		$	15,870
	Weighted average shares outstanding	19,904			20,334			20,104
	Dilutive impact of restricted stock units	448			412			508
	Weighted average shares outstanding	20,352			20,746			20,612
	Earnings per share – diluted	$	0.92		$	0.88		$	0.77
Schedule of antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share	'
	The following table shows the number of shares which were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share as they were anti-dilutive:
		2013		2012			2011
	Shares of Class A common stock issuable upon an Exchange of Calamos Interests’ ownership in Calamos Investments*	34,594,896		36,735,145			43,360,855
	Restricted stock units	558,473		—			—
	Stock options	2,101,568		2,195,414			2,345,063
	Total	37,254,937		38,930,559			45,705,918

Commitments_and_Contingencies_

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Aggregate future minimum payments for operating leases	'
	As of December 31, 2013, the Company’s aggregate future minimum payments for operating leases having initial or non-cancelable terms greater than one year are payable as follows:
		Minimum
	(in thousands)	Payments
	Year ended December 31:
	2014	$	5,708
	2015	4,751
	2016	4,635
	2017	4,769
	2018	4,893
	Thereafter	32,930
	Total minimum lease payments	$	57,686

Regulatory_and_Net_Capital_Req1

Regulatory and Net Capital Requirements (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Regulatory Capital Requirements [Abstract]	'
The net capital, the excess of the required net capital and the net capital ratio	'
	As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, the net capital, the excess of the required net capital and the net capital ratio were as follows:
	(in thousands)	2013		2012
	Net capital	$	6,230	$	3,433
	Excess of required net capital	$	5,394	$	2,489
	Net capital ratio	2.01 : 1.0		4.12 : 1.0

Concentration_Risk_Tables

Concentration Risk (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Risks and Uncertainties [Abstract]	'
Percentage of revenues derived from services provided to two Company-sponsored open-end funds	'
	For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, the percentage of revenues derived from services provided to two Company-sponsored open-end funds, the Calamos Growth Fund and the Calamos Growth and Income Fund were as follows:
		2013		2012		2011
	Calamos Growth Fund	21	%	26	%	29	%
	Calamos Growth and Income Fund	15	%	15	%	14	%

Quarterly_Financial_Informatio1

Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited)	'
		As of or for the Quarter Ended
		2013								2012
		Dec. 31		Sept. 30		30-Jun		31-Mar		Dec. 31		Sept. 30		30-Jun		31-Mar
	(in millions)
	Assets under management*	$	26,543	$	26,618	$	25,797	$	28,324	$	29,655	$	33,171	$	33,384	$	36,217
	(in thousands, except share data)
	Total revenue	$	66,522	$	64,965	$	66,690	$	70,953	$	76,877	$	81,847	$	82,676	$	85,276
	Total operating expenses	44,579		49,541		48,286		48,838		48,796		50,114		53,739		54,223
	Operating income	$	21,943	$	15,424	$	18,404	$	22,115	$	28,081	$	31,733	$	28,937	$	31,053
	Net income attributable to CAM	$	10,856	$	2,697	$	1,841	$	3,234	$	4,606	$	4,733	$	1,814	$	7,039
	Diluted earnings per share	$	0.54	$	0.13	$	0.09	$	0.16	$	0.22	$	0.23	$	0.09	$	0.34
	Diluted shares outstanding	20,214,360		20,387,651		20,661,447		20,836,996		20,792,516		20,802,592		20,802,688		20,650,379
	*Assets under management do not include assets for which the Company provides model portfolio design and oversight.

Organization_and_Description_o1

Organization and Description of Business (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Calamos Asset Management, Inc.	'
Corporate Structure [Line Items]	'
Percentage ownership interest in Calamos Investments LLC (as a percent)	22.20%
Calamos Family Partners, Inc.	'
Corporate Structure [Line Items]	'
Percentage ownership interest in Calamos Investments LLC (as a percent)	77.80%

Summary_of_Significant_Account2

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'	'	'
Percentage of combined interest in subsidiary that is considered to be noncontrolling interest (as a percent)	77.80%	77.90%	'
Certain assets to which common stockholders have exclusive economic rights [Abstract]	'	'	'
Cash and cash equivalent	$78,300,000	$67,000,000	$56,300,000
Total deferred tax assets	46,740,000	55,308,000	65,500,000
Current income tax receivable, net	2,300,000	606,000	665,000
Net Income before income taxes	107,561,000	141,009,000	156,408,000
Interest income on cash and cash equivalent held	257,000	230,000	166,000
Professional fees held	'	'	775,000
Restricted Cash [Abstract]	'	'	'
Restricted cash	430,000	'	'
Conversion basis of RSUs into shares of company's common stock (in shares)	'one-for-one	'	'
Advertising expense	3,700,000	5,400,000	4,700,000
Property and Equipment | Minimum	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life (in years)	'3 years	'	'
Property and Equipment | Maximum	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life (in years)	'20 years	'	'
Leasehold improvements | Minimum	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life (in years)	'5 years	'	'
Leasehold improvements | Maximum	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life (in years)	'20 years	'	'
Internally Developed Software	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Impairment on internally developed software	$199,000	$107,000	$0
Internally Developed Software | Minimum	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life (in years)	'3 years	'	'
Internally Developed Software | Maximum	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life (in years)	'10 years	'	'

Summary_of_Significant_Account3

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Treasury Stock (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2013
Class of Stock [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Period over which shares can be repurchased (in years)	'2 years	'	'	'
Repurchase of common stock by Calamos Investments LLC	$13,196	'	'	'
Ownership interest (as a percent)	77.80%	'	'	'
Dividends on shares held	284	'	'	'
Class A Common Stock	'	'	'	'
Class of Stock [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Number of shares authorized to be repurchased (in shares)	'	'	'	3,000,000
Repurchase of common stock (in shares)	1,220,330	'	'	'
Average purchase price of shares (in dollars per share)	$10.81	'	'	'
Repurchase of common stock by Calamos Investments LLC	13,200	'	'	'
Issuance of common stock (in shares)	310,080	259,258	184,440	'
Calamos Asset Management, Inc.	'	'	'	'
Class of Stock [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Percentage ownership interest in Calamos Investments LLC (as a percent)	22.20%	'	'	'
Calamos Asset Management, Inc. | Class A Common Stock	'	'	'	'
Class of Stock [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Issuance of common stock (in shares)	165,524	'	'	'
Issuance of common stock (Class A common shares)	1,800	'	'	'
Treasury Stock	'	'	'	'
Class of Stock [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Repurchase of common stock by Calamos Investments LLC	2,930	'	'	'
Non-controlling Interest in Calamos Investments LLC (Calamos Interests)	'	'	'	'
Class of Stock [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Repurchase of common stock by Calamos Investments LLC	10,266	'	'	'
Impact on non-controlling interests as a result of dividends paid to Calamos Investments LLC on repurchased common stock	221	'	'	'
Calamos Family Partners, Inc. | Calamos Asset Management, Inc. | Class A Common Stock	'	'	'	'
Class of Stock [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Issuance of common stock (Class A common shares)	$1,400	'	'	'

Acquisition_Details

Acquisition (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Aug. 31, 2012
			Black Capital
			installment
Business Acquisition [Line Items]	'	'	'
Total purchase price	'	'	$6,800,000
Paid to selling shareholder at closing	'	'	3,400,000
Number of post-closing installments due	'	'	2
First installment due after closing (in months)	'	'	'18 months
Second installment due after closing (in months)	'	'	'36 months
Goodwill	$6,380,000	$6,380,000	$6,400,000

RelatedParty_Transactions_Deta

Related-Party Transactions (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Investment management services	$85,000	$16,000	'
Total expenses allocated from the Company to affiliates	808,000	869,000	940,000
Net expense allocated from the Company to affiliates	657,000	673,000	741,000
Other receivables as a result of Black Capital purchase	0	38,000	0
Investment Management Fees	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Open-end funds	124,875,000	158,040,000	169,596,000
Closed-end funds	53,981,000	49,842,000	49,102,000
Totals	178,856,000	207,882,000	218,698,000
Distribution Fees	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Open-end funds	53,143,000	66,604,000	80,022,000
Portfolio Accounting Fees	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Open-end funds	1,810,000	2,239,000	2,441,000
Closed-end funds	679,000	623,000	613,000
Totals	2,489,000	2,862,000	3,054,000
1111 Warrenville Road LLC	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Lease extension period (in years)	'2 years	'	'
Lease automatic renewal period (in years)	'1 year	'	'
Annual base rent and operating expense	712,000	809,000	793,000
2020 Calamos Court LLC	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Lease period (in years)	'20 years	'	'
Annual base rent payments	3,600,000	3,500,000	3,400,000
Percentage increase in annual base rent (as a percent)	3.00%	'	'
Primary Business Center LLC	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Sublease rental income	277,000	277,000	226,000
2020 Calamos Court Annex LLC	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Annual base rent and operating expense	300,000	289,000	287,000
Lease period (in years)	'20 years	'	'
Percentage increase in annual base rent (as a percent)	3.00%	'	'
CF Restaurant Enterprises LLC	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Expenses incurred for food and beverage	956,000	976,000	969,000
CityGate Centre 1 LLC	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Lease extension period (in years)	'5 years	'	'
Annual base rent and operating expense	943,000	922,000	885,000
Lease period (in years)	'7 years 6 months	'	'
Percentage increase in annual base rent (as a percent)	2.50%	'	'
Number of options granted to extend lease term	2	'	'
JPC Falcon 1109 LLC	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Lease expiry period	'April 26, 2013	'	'
Expenses related to use of an airplane for business travel	0	589,000	'
Dragon Leasing Corporation	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Total expenses allocated from the Company to affiliates	16,000	18,000	18,000
Net receivable for management services from affiliates	1,000	41,000	1,000
CPH	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Total expenses allocated from the Company to affiliates	556,000	606,000	594,000
Net receivable for management services from affiliates	43,000	1,000	50,000
CFP	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Total expenses allocated from the Company to affiliates	236,000	245,000	328,000
Net receivable for management services from affiliates	9,000	4,000	'
Net payable for management services from affiliates	'	'	-1,000
CFP, CPH and Dragon	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Expenses related to hotel accommodations, restaurants and event planning services	533,000	632,000	596,000
Agreements term (in years)	'1 year	'	'
Notice period to terminate agreement (in days)	'30 days	'	'
Calamos	'	'	'
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]	'	'	'
Expense allocated from CPH and CFP to the Company	$151,000	$196,000	$199,000

Investment_Securities_Investme

Investment Securities Investment Securities - Summary (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Trading securities:	'	'
Total investment securities	$472,241	$349,404
Available-for-sale securities:	'	'
Available-for-sale securities:	'	'
Cost	415,623	349,407
Unrealized Gains	17,025	3,746
Unrealized Losses	-700	-7,320
Fair Value	431,948	345,833
Available-for-sale securities: | Equity	'	'
Available-for-sale securities:	'	'
Cost	211,970	195,553
Unrealized Gains	11,997	2,930
Unrealized Losses	-679	-5,517
Fair Value	223,288	192,966
Available-for-sale securities: | Fixed income	'	'
Available-for-sale securities:	'	'
Cost	98,834	103,404
Unrealized Gains	430	665
Unrealized Losses	-4	-957
Fair Value	99,260	103,112
Available-for-sale securities: | Lower-volatility equity	'	'
Available-for-sale securities:	'	'
Cost	67,836	43,718
Unrealized Gains	2,385	106
Unrealized Losses	-15	-484
Fair Value	70,206	43,340
Available-for-sale securities: | Alternative	'	'
Available-for-sale securities:	'	'
Cost	35,436	5,058
Unrealized Gains	2,000	2
Unrealized Losses	0	-92
Fair Value	37,436	4,968
Available-for-sale securities: | Other	'	'
Available-for-sale securities:	'	'
Cost	1,414	1,543
Unrealized Gains	133	42
Unrealized Losses	-2	-270
Fair Value	1,545	1,315
Available-for-sale securities: | Total Funds	'	'
Available-for-sale securities:	'	'
Cost	415,490	349,276
Unrealized Gains	16,945	3,745
Unrealized Losses	-700	-7,320
Fair Value	431,735	345,701
Available-for-sale securities: | Common Stock	'	'
Available-for-sale securities:	'	'
Cost	133	131
Unrealized Gains	80	1
Unrealized Losses	0	0
Fair Value	213	132
Trading securities:	'	'
Trading securities:	'	'
Cost	48,539	3,004
Unrealized Gains	320	567
Unrealized Losses	-8,566	0
Fair Value	$40,293	$3,571

Investment_Securities_Changes_

Investment Securities - Changes in Investment Securities (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Available-for-sale securities:	'	'	'
Proceeds from sales	$524,968	$344,911	$182,270
Gross realized gains on sales	25,882	28,587	28,762
Trading securities:	'	'	'
Unrealized gains (losses)	($8,813)	$94	($432)

Investment_Securities_Tax_Prov

Investment Securities - Tax (Provision) Benefit on Unrealized Gains (Losses) and Gains (Losses) Reclassified out of AOCI (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Changes in unrealized gains (losses)	'	'	'
Before-Tax Amount	$39,630	$19,027	($12,613)
Tax (Provision) Benefit	-3,793	-1,554	995
After-Tax Amount	35,837	17,473	-11,618
Reclassification adjustment for realized gains included in income	'	'	'
Before-Tax Amount	-19,732	-20,512	-33,937
Tax (Provision) Benefit	1,679	1,676	2,745
After-Tax Amount	-18,053	-18,836	-31,192
Other comprehensive income (loss)	'	'	'
Before-Tax Amount	19,898	-1,485	-46,550
Tax (Provision) Benefit	-2,114	122	3,740
Other comprehensive income (loss), after income tax provision (benefit)	$17,784	($1,363)	($42,810)

Investment_Securities_Narrativ

Investment Securities - Narrative (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Investments [Abstract]	'	'
Investments in Funds	$472,000,000	$349,300,000
Investments in affiliated funds	407,400,000	295,000,000
Aggregate fair value of available-for-sale securities in unrealized loss position	14,000,000	251,300,000
Available-for-sale securities, continuous unrealized loss position, 12 months or longer	'	123,900,000
Other than temporary impairment charge	7,500,000	'
Unrealized losses, temporary in nature	$700,000	'

Derivative_Assets_and_Liabilit1

Derivative Assets and Liabilities (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
			Investment and other income (loss)	Investment and other income (loss)
Derivative [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Investment securities	$472,241,000	$349,404,000	'	'
Net loss on derivatives	'	'	$10,500,000	$10,000,000

Partnership_Investments_Detail

Partnership Investments (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
					Calamos International Growth Fund LP	Consolidated partnerships:	Consolidated partnerships:	Calamos Arista Strategic Fund LP
Consolidated partnerships:	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Securities owned	'	'	'	'	'	$29,149,000	$30,910,000	'
Cash and cash equivalents	39,078,000	106,796,000	102,166,000	82,870,000	'	12,208,000	12,720,000	'
Receivables for securities sold	'	'	'	'	'	1,076,000	0	'
Other current assets	'	'	'	'	'	30,000	743,000	'
Exchange-traded option contracts	'	'	'	'	'	94,000	13,000	'
Securities sold not yet purchased	'	'	'	'	'	-10,670,000	-5,746,000	'
Payables for securities purchased	'	'	'	'	'	-1,576,000	0	'
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	'	'	'	'	'	-76,000	-739,000	'
Total	'	'	'	'	'	30,235,000	37,901,000	'
Equity method investment in partnerships	3,812,000	22,927,000	'	'	'	'	'	'
Partnership investments, net	34,047,000	60,828,000	'	'	'	'	'	18,000,000
Interest in Calamos Global Opportunity Fund LP redeemed	'	'	'	'	18,700,000	'	'	'
Proceeds from redemption of interest in Calamos Global Opportunity Fund LP	'	'	'	'	20,000,000	'	'	'
Realized gain from redemption of interest in Calamos Global Opportunity Fund LP	'	'	'	'	$1,300,000	'	'	'

Fair_Value_Measurements_Detail

Fair Value Measurements (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Funds	'	'
Total Funds	$450,400,000	$343,000,000
Securities sold but not yet purchased (Note 5)	'	'
Carrying value of long-term debt	92,115,000	92,115,000
Long-term debt fair value	104,400,000	110,100,000
Payment obligation fair value	3,300,000	3,200,000
Payment obligation associated with acquisition	3,400,000	3,400,000
Recurring | Carrying Value	'	'
Cash and cash equivalents	'	'
Money market funds	1,752,000	2,700,000
Funds	'	'
Equity	263,581,000	196,537,000
Fixed income	99,260,000	103,112,000
Lower-volatility equity	70,206,000	43,340,000
Alternative	37,436,000	6,062,000
Other	1,545,000	1,315,000
Total Funds	472,028,000	350,366,000
Common stock	213,000	132,000
Investment securities	472,241,000	350,498,000
Derivative assets (Note 6)	'	'
Exchange-traded put option contracts	'	132,000
Securities and derivatives owned by partnership (Note 7)	'	'
Common stocks	29,149,000	29,742,000
Preferred stocks	'	1,167,000
Short-term investments	'	467,000
Exchange-traded put option contracts	150,000	75,000
Forward foreign currency contracts	'	45,000
Securities and derivatives owned by partnership	29,299,000	31,496,000
Securities sold but not yet purchased by partnership (Note 7)	'	'
Common stocks	-10,185,000	-5,746,000
Exchange-traded funds	-485,000	-62,000
Exchange-traded call option contracts	-56,000	'
Forward foreign currency contracts	'	-45,000
Securities sold but not yet purchased (Note 5)	'	'
Common stocks	'	-1,094,000
Financial Instruments Sold, Not yet Purchased	-10,726,000	-6,947,000
Total	492,566,000	377,879,000
Recurring | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets and Liabilities (Level 1)	'	'
Cash and cash equivalents	'	'
Money market funds	1,752,000	2,700,000
Funds	'	'
Equity	263,581,000	196,537,000
Fixed income	99,260,000	103,112,000
Lower-volatility equity	70,206,000	43,340,000
Alternative	37,436,000	6,062,000
Other	1,545,000	1,315,000
Total Funds	472,028,000	350,366,000
Common stock	213,000	132,000
Investment securities	472,241,000	350,498,000
Derivative assets (Note 6)	'	'
Exchange-traded put option contracts	'	132,000
Securities and derivatives owned by partnership (Note 7)	'	'
Common stocks	29,149,000	20,105,000
Preferred stocks	'	1,167,000
Short-term investments	'	0
Exchange-traded put option contracts	150,000	75,000
Forward foreign currency contracts	'	45,000
Securities and derivatives owned by partnership	29,299,000	21,392,000
Securities sold but not yet purchased by partnership (Note 7)	'	'
Common stocks	-10,185,000	-5,746,000
Exchange-traded funds	-485,000	-62,000
Exchange-traded call option contracts	-56,000	'
Forward foreign currency contracts	'	-45,000
Securities sold but not yet purchased (Note 5)	'	'
Common stocks	'	-1,094,000
Financial Instruments Sold, Not yet Purchased	-10,726,000	-6,947,000
Total	492,566,000	367,775,000
Recurring | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)	'	'
Cash and cash equivalents	'	'
Money market funds	0	0
Funds	'	'
Equity	0	0
Fixed income	0	0
Lower-volatility equity	0	0
Other	0	0
Total Funds	0	0
Common stock	0	0
Investment securities	0	0
Derivative assets (Note 6)	'	'
Exchange-traded put option contracts	'	0
Securities and derivatives owned by partnership (Note 7)	'	'
Common stocks	0	9,637,000
Preferred stocks	'	0
Short-term investments	'	467,000
Exchange-traded put option contracts	0	0
Forward foreign currency contracts	'	0
Securities and derivatives owned by partnership	0	10,104,000
Securities sold but not yet purchased by partnership (Note 7)	'	'
Common stocks	0	0
Exchange-traded funds	'	0
Exchange-traded call option contracts	0	'
Forward foreign currency contracts	'	0
Securities sold but not yet purchased (Note 5)	'	'
Common stocks	'	0
Financial Instruments Sold, Not yet Purchased	0	0
Total	$0	$10,104,000

Property_and_Equipment_Details

Property and Equipment (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'
Total costs	$77,329	$76,712
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	-60,339	-57,190
Property and equipment, net	16,990	19,522
Furniture, fixtures and equipment	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'
Total costs	27,617	26,985
Leasehold improvements	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'
Total costs	32,062	32,062
Computer software	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'
Total costs	$17,650	$17,665

Loans_Payable_Details

Loans Payable (Details) (Margin Loan)	Dec. 31, 2013
Margin Loan	'
Short-term Debt [Line Items]	'
Margin loan interest rate effective percentage rate, maximum	2.50%
Percentage of borrowing upon marginal securities, maximum (in hundredths)	70.00%

Debt_Details

Debt (Details) (USD $)

1 Months Ended

1 Months Ended

1 Months Ended

1 Months Ended

1 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2008

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Jul. 31, 2007

Apr. 30, 2011

Apr. 30, 2004

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Jul. 31, 2007

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Jul. 31, 2007

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Jul. 31, 2007

Senior unsecured notes:

5.24% Senior Unsecured Notes

5.24% Senior Unsecured Notes

6.33% Senior Unsecured Notes

6.33% Senior Unsecured Notes

6.33% Senior Unsecured Notes

6.52% Senior Unsecured Notes

6.52% Senior Unsecured Notes

6.52% Senior Unsecured Notes

6.67% Senior Unsecured Notes

6.67% Senior Unsecured Notes

6.67% Senior Unsecured Notes

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Debt instrument

'

'

'

$375,000,000

$150,000,000

$150,000,000

'

'

$197,000,000

'

'

$85,000,000

'

'

$93,000,000

Debt instrument interest rate (as a percent)

'

'

'

'

'

5.24%

'

'

6.33%

'

'

6.52%

'

'

6.67%

Debt instrument maturity date

'

'

'

'

'

29-Apr-11

'

'

15-Jul-14

'

'

15-Jul-17

'

'

15-Jul-19

Prepaid outstanding long-term debt

400,000,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Notes due and was paid

'

'

'

'

32,900,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Total senior unsecured notes

'

92,115,000

92,115,000

'

'

'

46,160,000

46,160,000

'

22,100,000

22,100,000

'

23,855,000

23,855,000

'

Less current portion of long-term debt

'

46,160,000

0

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Long-term debt

'

92,115,000

92,115,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Total long-term debt

'

45,955,000

92,115,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Aggregate contractual annual maturities for long-term debt [Abstract]

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

2014

'

46,160,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

2015

'

0

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

2016

'

0

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

2017

'

22,100,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

2018

'

0

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Thereafter

'

$23,855,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Weighted average interest rate on the notes (as a percent)

'

6.46%

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Common_Stock_Details

Common Stock (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]	'
Percentage of Class B common stock voting rights	97.40%

Profit_Sharing_Plan_Details

Profit Sharing Plan (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]	'	'	'
Employer contribution to profit sharing plan	$2.50	$4.30	$3.50

Stock_Based_Compensation_Narra

Stock Based Compensation - Narrative (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Number of shares authorized for grant (in shares)	10,000,000	'	'	'
Weighted average remaining contractual life (in years)	'3 years 4 months	'	'	'
Compensation expense recorded in connection with RSUs and stock options	$7,025,000	$5,090,000	$7,838,000	'
Deferred tax assets	577,000	415,000	634,000	'
Total unrecognized compensation expense	17,600,000	'	'	'
Unrecognized compensation expense, expected weighted-average period to be recognized (in years)	'3 years 4 months	'	'	'
Additional Paid-in Capital	'	'	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Compensation expense recognized under stock incentive plans credited to additional paid-in capital	1,558,000	1,100,000	1,713,000	'
RSU	'	'	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
RSU awards vesting period (in years)	'6 years	'	'	'
Granted	838,663	1,484,723	538,297	'
Estimated fair value of RSU awards	8,900,000	15,900,000	7,100,000	'
Outstanding, end of period (in shares)	2,584,975	2,612,106	1,818,737	1,628,920
Aggregate intrinsic value	30,600,000	'	'	'
Granted	$10.66	$10.70	$13.21	'
Aggregate intrinsic value and the fair value of RSUs that vested and were exercised	5,000,000	4,100,000	4,200,000	'
Exercised upon vesting	458,138	332,225	245,629	'
Number of RSUs withheld for taxes (in shares)	148,058	72,967	61,189	'
Number of RSUs converted on a one-for-one basis for shares of company's Class A common stock (in shares)	310,080	259,258	184,440	'
Total intrinsic value and fair value of converted shares	3,400,000	3,200,000	3,100,000	'
Total tax benefit realized in connection with the vesting of RSUs	$443,000	$367,000	$356,000	'
Stock options	'	'	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
RSU awards vesting period (in years)	'10 years	'	'	'

Stock_Based_Compensation_Restr

Stock Based Compensation - Restricted Stock Unit Activity (Details) (RSU, USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
RSU	'	'	'
Number Of Shares	'	'	'
Outstanding, beginning of period	2,612,106	1,818,737	1,628,920
Granted	838,663	1,484,723	538,297
Forfeited	-407,656	-359,129	-102,851
Exercised upon vesting	-458,138	-332,225	-245,629
Outstanding, end of period	2,584,975	2,612,106	1,818,737
Converted during the year	310,080	259,258	184,440
Weighted Average Fair Value of RSUs Granted (in dollars per share)	'	'	'
Outstanding, beginning of period	$12.26	$14.75	$15.61
Granted	$10.66	$10.70	$13.21
Forfeited	$12.14	$13.78	$13.06
Exercised upon vesting	$14.96	$20.11	$17.81
Outstanding, end of period	$11.58	$12.26	$14.75
Converted during the year	$10.87	$12.34	$17.04

Stock_Based_Compensation_Outst

Stock Based Compensation - Outstanding Stock Options (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'
Options Outstanding, Number of Shares (in shares)	2,101,568
Options Outstanding, Average Remaining Contractual Life (in years)	'2 years 6 months
Options Outstanding, Weighted Average Option Price (in dollars per share)	$23.42
Options Exercisable, Number of Shares (in shares)	1,910,292
Options Exercisable, Weighted Average Option Price (in dollars per share)	$23.76
Range of Exercise Prices	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'
Options Outstanding, Number of Shares (in shares)	162,495
Options Outstanding, Average Remaining Contractual Life (in years)	'2 years 10 months 24 days
Options Outstanding, Weighted Average Option Price (in dollars per share)	$17.80
Options Exercisable, Number of Shares (in shares)	162,495
Options Exercisable, Weighted Average Option Price (in dollars per share)	$17.80
Range of Exercise Prices, minimum (in dollar per share)	$17.80
Range of Exercise Prices	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'
Options Outstanding, Number of Shares (in shares)	1,683,248
Options Outstanding, Average Remaining Contractual Life (in years)	'2 years 7 months 6 days
Options Outstanding, Weighted Average Option Price (in dollars per share)	$22.14
Options Exercisable, Number of Shares (in shares)	1,491,972
Options Exercisable, Weighted Average Option Price (in dollars per share)	$22.41
Range of Exercise Prices, minimum (in dollar per share)	$18
Range of Exercise Prices, maximum (in dollars per share)	$29.11
Range of Exercise Prices	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'
Options Outstanding, Number of Shares (in shares)	255,825
Options Outstanding, Average Remaining Contractual Life (in years)	'2 years 1 month 6 days
Options Outstanding, Weighted Average Option Price (in dollars per share)	$35.43
Options Exercisable, Number of Shares (in shares)	255,825
Options Exercisable, Weighted Average Option Price (in dollars per share)	$35.43
Range of Exercise Prices, minimum (in dollar per share)	$35.43

Stock_Based_Compensation_Stock

Stock Based Compensation - Stock Option Activity (Details) (Stock options, USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Stock options	'	'	'
Number of Shares	'	'	'
Outstanding at beginning of the period	2,195,414	2,345,063	2,411,866
Forfeited	-93,846	-149,649	-66,803
Outstanding at end of the period	2,101,568	2,195,414	2,345,063
Weighted Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)	'	'	'
Outstanding at beginning of period	$23.36	$23.28	$23.17
Forfeited	$21.94	$22.14	$19.43
Outstanding at end of period	$23.42	$23.36	$23.28

Stock_Based_Compensation_Optio

Stock Based Compensation - Options Exercisable (Details) (Stock options, USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Stock options	'	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'	'	'
Exercisable at end of period (in shares)	1,910,292	1,654,100	1,125,627
Exercisable at the end of period (in dollars per share)	$23.76	$24.14	$24.15

NonOperating_Income_Details

Non-Operating Income (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]	'	'	'
Interest income	$257	$385	$289
Interest expense	-6,021	-6,017	-6,650
Net interest expense	-5,764	-5,632	-6,361
Investment income	29,891	22,073	18,038
Dividend income	5,355	4,557	4,184
Miscellaneous other income	193	207	198
Investment and other income	35,439	26,837	22,420
Total non-operating income	$29,675	$21,205	$16,059

Income_Taxes_Details

Income Taxes (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2008	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Current:	'	'	'	'	'
Federal	'	'	($216,000)	$2,298,000	$3,527,000
CAM portion	'	'	23,000	185,000	458,000
Calamos Interests portion	'	'	56,000	-148,000	570,000
Total current income tax provision (benefit)	'	'	-137,000	2,335,000	4,555,000
Deferred:	'	'	'	'	'
Federal	'	'	5,867,000	9,358,000	12,713,000
State	'	'	532,000	875,000	1,229,000
Total deferred income tax provision	'	'	6,399,000	10,233,000	13,942,000
Total income tax provision	'	'	6,262,000	12,568,000	18,497,000
IRS proposed adjustment, increase in taxable income	'	1,300,000	'	'	'
Percentage of proposed adjustment to taxable income attributable to CAM (as a percent)	'	23.00%	'	'	'
Reconciliation of statutory federal income tax rate to the effective income tax rate (as a percent) [Abstract]	'	'	'	'	'
Statutory U.S. federal income tax rate	'	'	35.00%	35.00%	35.00%
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefits	'	'	2.00%	2.00%	2.00%
Other non-deductible items	'	'	0.40%	0.40%	0.30%
Calamos Investmentsb state income taxes	'	'	0.30%	-0.60%	2.10%
Impact of deferred tax assets valuation allowance	'	'	-12.20%	6.10%	15.30%
Impact of re-measuring certain deferred tax assets	'	'	0.00%	-2.30%	0.00%
Impact on net deferred tax assets from change in statutory income tax rate	'	'	-0.30%	0.00%	0.00%
Effective income tax rate	'	'	25.20%	40.60%	54.70%
Calamos Interests state income taxes	'	'	-0.20%	0.50%	-1.70%
CAM effective income tax rate	'	'	25.00%	41.10%	53.00%
Valuation Allowance	3,000,000	'	4,952,000	-1,900,000	-5,200,000
Deferred tax assets:	'	'	'	'	'
Intangible assets	42,373,000	'	42,373,000	50,288,000	'
Capital loss carryforward	2,317,000	'	2,317,000	10,386,000	'
Unrealized net holding losses on investments of available-for-sale securities	0	'	0	292,000	'
Other	6,512,000	'	6,512,000	2,888,000	'
Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	51,202,000	'	51,202,000	63,854,000	'
Valuation allowance on capital loss carryforward	-2,148,000	'	-2,148,000	-7,100,000	'
Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	49,054,000	'	49,054,000	56,754,000	'
Deferred tax liabilities:	'	'	'	'	'
Unrealized net holding gains on investments of available-for-sale securities	1,822,000	'	1,822,000	0	'
Deferred sales commission	137,000	'	137,000	218,000	'
Goodwill	46,000	'	46,000	0	'
Other	309,000	'	309,000	1,228,000	'
Total deferred tax liabilities	2,314,000	'	2,314,000	1,446,000	'
Net deferred tax assets	46,740,000	'	46,740,000	55,308,000	65,500,000
Current portions of net deferred tax asset	10,200,000	'	10,200,000	7,100,000	'
Non-current portions of net deferred tax asset	36,500,000	'	36,500,000	48,200,000	'
Net deferred income tax asset attributable to intangible assets	42,400,000	'	42,400,000	'	'
Tax benefit per year created from net deferred income tax asset attributable to intangible assets	'	'	7,900,000	'	'
Period of tax benefit (in years)	'	'	'15 years	'	'
Tax benefit expiry period	'	'	'2019	'	'
Number of membership units purchased from CFP (in shares)	20,000,000	'	20,000,000	'	'
Number of membership units that qualified for stepped-up in basis (in shares)	17,000,000	'	17,000,000	'	'
Capital Loss Carryforwards	6,300,000	'	6,300,000	'	'
Amount of capital loss carry forward expiring in 2014	5,800,000	'	5,800,000	'	'
Amount of capital loss carry forward expiring in 2017	456,000	'	456,000	'	'
Deferred Tax Assets, Valuation Allowance, Capital Loss Carryforward	2,100,000	'	2,100,000	7,100,000	'
Deferred Tax Valuation Allowance Write-off, Capital Loss Carryforwards	'	'	2,000,000	'	'
Goodwill	6,380,000	'	6,380,000	6,380,000	'
Goodwill amortization period	'	'	'15 years	'	'
Tax Benefit from remeasured of deferred tax assets related to equity compensation	'	'	$561,000	'	'

Earnings_Per_Share_Details

Earnings Per Share (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Earnings per share b basic:	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Earnings available to common shareholders	$10,856	$2,697	$1,841	$3,234	$4,606	$4,733	$1,814	$7,039	$18,628	$18,192	$15,870
Weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	19,903,507	20,334,299	20,103,758
Earnings per share - basic (in dollars per share)	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	$0.94	$0.89	$0.79
Earnings per share b diluted:	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Earnings available to common shareholders	$10,856	$2,697	$1,841	$3,234	$4,606	$4,733	$1,814	$7,039	$18,628	$18,192	$15,870
Weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	19,903,507	20,334,299	20,103,758
Dilutive impact of restricted stock units (in shares)	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	448,000	412,000	508,000
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding (in shares)	20,214,360	20,387,651	20,661,447	20,836,996	20,792,516	20,802,592	20,802,688	20,650,379	20,351,603	20,745,922	20,611,909
Earnings per share - diluted (in dollars per share)	$0.54	$0.13	$0.09	$0.16	$0.22	$0.23	$0.09	$0.34	$0.92	$0.88	$0.77
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Anti-dilutive (in shares)	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	37,254,937	38,930,559	45,705,918
Shares of Class A common stock issuable upon an Exchange of Calamos Interestsb ownership in Calamos Investments | Class A Common Stock	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Anti-dilutive (in shares)	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	34,594,896	36,735,145	43,360,855
Closing price of shares (in dollars per share)	$11.84	'	'	'	$10.57	'	'	'	$11.84	$10.57	$12.51
Discount rate (as a percent)	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	12.00%	12.00%	12.00%
Restricted stock units	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Anti-dilutive (in shares)	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	558,473	0	0
Stock options	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Anti-dilutive (in shares)	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	2,101,568	2,195,414	2,345,063

Commitments_and_Contingencies_1

Commitments and Contingencies (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]	'	'	'
Lease expenses	$5,600,000	$5,200,000	$5,000,000
Year ended December 31: [Abstract]	'	'	'
2014	5,708,000	'	'
2015	4,751,000	'	'
2016	4,635,000	'	'
2017	4,769,000	'	'
2018	4,893,000	'	'
Thereafter	32,930,000	'	'
Total minimum lease payments	$57,686,000	'	'

Regulatory_and_Net_Capital_Req2

Regulatory and Net Capital Requirements (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Regulatory Capital Requirements [Abstract]	'	'
Required ratio of aggregate indebtedness to net capital	'15 to 1	'
The net capital, the excess of the required net capital and the net capital ratio [Abstract]	'	'
Net capital	$6,230	$3,433
Excess of required net capital	$5,394	$2,489
Net capital ratio	2.01	4.12

Concentration_Risk_Details

Concentration Risk (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Concentration Risk [Line Items]	'	'	'
Concentration Risk, Number of Company-sponsored Open-End Funds	2	'	'
Calamos Growth Fund	'	'	'
Concentration Risk [Line Items]	'	'	'
Percentage of revenues derived from services provided to two Company-sponsored open-end funds	21.00%	26.00%	29.00%
Calamos Growth and Income Fund	'	'	'
Concentration Risk [Line Items]	'	'	'
Percentage of revenues derived from services provided to two Company-sponsored open-end funds	15.00%	15.00%	14.00%

Quarterly_Financial_Informatio2

Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013		Sep. 30, 2013		Jun. 30, 2013		Mar. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Sep. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2012		Mar. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2011
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]	'		'		'		'		'		'		'		'		'		'		'
Assets Under Management	$26,543,000,000	[1]	$26,618,000,000	[1]	$25,797,000,000	[1]	$28,324,000,000	[1]	$29,655,000,000	[1]	$33,171,000,000	[1]	$33,384,000,000	[1]	$36,217,000,000	[1]	$26,543,000,000	[1]	$29,655,000,000	[1]	'
Total revenue	66,522,000		64,965,000		66,690,000		70,953,000		76,877,000		81,847,000		82,676,000		85,276,000		269,130,000		326,676,000		352,321,000
Total operating expenses	44,579,000		49,541,000		48,286,000		48,838,000		48,796,000		50,114,000		53,739,000		54,223,000		191,244,000		206,872,000		211,972,000
Operating income	21,943,000		15,424,000		18,404,000		22,115,000		28,081,000		31,733,000		28,937,000		31,053,000		77,886,000		119,804,000		140,349,000
Net income attributable to CAM	$10,856,000		$2,697,000		$1,841,000		$3,234,000		$4,606,000		$4,733,000		$1,814,000		$7,039,000		$18,628,000		$18,192,000		$15,870,000
Diluted	$0.54		$0.13		$0.09		$0.16		$0.22		$0.23		$0.09		$0.34		$0.92		$0.88		$0.77
Diluted	20,214,360		20,387,651		20,661,447		20,836,996		20,792,516		20,802,592		20,802,688		20,650,379		20,351,603		20,745,922		20,611,909
[1]	*Assets under management do not include assets for which the Company provides model portfolio design and oversight.

Subsequent_Events_Details

Subsequent Events (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Jan. 22, 2014	Jan. 22, 2014
				Subsequent Event	Ownership Interest In Calamos Investments
					Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'
Equity distributions paid to non-controlling interests (Calamos Interests)	$28,010	$27,692	$27,334	$50,000	$38,900
Percentage of total distribution	'	'	'	77.80%	'