Proactive Investors - Marshall Wace, a UK-based hedge fund, has taken a £155.6mln short position against NatWest (LON:NWG), the largest-ever disclosed short position against the bank since records began in 2012.
Latest disclosures to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), show that the fund increased its bet against the high-street lender last month, bolstering its position to 0.61%.
Other short bets by Marshall Wace include British Airways (LON:ICAG) owner International Consolidated Airlines and UK fashion house Burberry.
Shorted positions are a bet by large hedge funds and financial institutions that the share price of a stock will fall, meaning the traders holding the positions will profit as a result.
Essentially, it works by traders selling the stock first with the intention of repurchasing at a lower price, pocketing the difference.
In common practice, short sellers will ‘borrow’ the shares from an investment bank or other financial institution.
While this is the largest short position held against the bank, it is still some way off being London's most shorted stock.
That title goes to Ocado (LON:OCDO), which has more than 6% of its stock currently on loan to hedge-fund managers.
Short positions are held at BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Investment Management, D1 Capital and Whale Rock Capital Management among others.
Other heavily shorted stocks included online retailer THG (LON:THG), which has 4% of its stock in short positions, Naked Wines (LON:WINEW) at 4% and Sainsbury's at 3%.