SoftBank is the “Nasdaq whale” that has bought billions of dollars’ worth of US equity derivatives in a move that stoked the fevered rally in big tech stocks before a sharp pullback on Thursday
linked to individual companies in at least 10 years, people said
One banker described it as a “dangerous” bet
start-ups through its $100bn Vision Fund
investments using capital contributed by its founder Masayoshi Son
“These are some of the biggest trades I’ve seen in 20 years of doing this,” said one derivatives-focused US hedge fund
manager
“The flow is huge”
One person familiar with SoftBank’s trades said it was “gobbling up” options on a scale that was even making some people within the organisation nervous
SoftBank declined to comment
That is more than triple the rolling average in 2017 through 2019
trading in index puts — which give the buyer the right to sell at a pre-set price and act as a popular form of insurance against stocks falling
tech names but also in the broader US stock market, according to Mr McElligott
equities were fragile and vulnerable to the kind of sudden setback that erupted on Thursday
The options buying comes alongside $10bn in public investments SoftBank is targeting through its new asset management arm