Lyttleton shorts L&G on dim outlook for insurers

BlackRock's Mark Lyttleton has opened a short position on Legal & General as the manager continues to be bearish on the insurance sector.

Lyttleton, who runs the £1.96bn BlackRock UK Absolute Alpha fund alongside Nick Osborne, has a 0.032% individual short position in L&G. This follows the February introduction of a short on the life assurance sector in the long/short vehicle. Lansdowne Partners, which held a large short in Prudential during its takeover bid for AIA, is also shorting L&G, running a 1.47% short position. The large hedge fund also has a 0.37% short on Aviva. Lyttleton is concerned insurers will be severely impacted by international reforms, such as Solvency II. "If some of the regulations come in it is...