NEW YORK (Reuters) – An anonymous trader caused a stir in the U.S. equity options market on Monday with a massive bet that recalled Warren Buffett’s famous wager on global stocks more than a decade ago.
As long as the index doesn’t drop more than 22 percent from its current level of 2,582 by that date, the bet will earn the trader roughly $175 million in premiums.
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway <BRKa.N> sold billions of dollars in stock index options between 2004 and 2008, betting that markets would rise over the next 15 to 20 years. Although the trades were made anonymously, they were eventually disclosed in regulatory filings.