Soros Doubles Down on Bet Against the S&P 500

Billionaire investor George Soros, who rose to fame and fortune by betting against the sterling in 1992, on Monday showed his latest hand: nearly doubling down on his bearish bet against the market.

The 86-year-old’s fund disclosed in a regulatory filing it had increased its bet against the S&P 500, the main index used to measure big-stock performance in the U.S., reporting “put” options on roughly 4 million shares as of June 30 in an exchange-traded fund that tracks the index. That’s up from “puts” on 2.1 million shares as of March 31.

Meanwhile, Mr. Soros’s fund also cut sharply its position in gold, selling off the bulk of the shares it had bought last quarter in Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold producer, and cutting sharply its position in a gold-backed ETF set up by the World Gold Council. Mr. Soros’s fund had opened the position in the first quarter, disclosing “call” options in about 1 million shares. Mr. Soros also sold off the stake it opened last quarter in miner Silver Wheaton.

Mr. Soros hasn’t specified when those positions were placed or at what “strike” price and expiration date.

The Hungarian refugee has been shifting the fund’s focus back to the big-picture economic global view that earned him recognition as he steadfastly continues to warn of a coming financial crisis, much as he did leading to the 2007 crash.

On Monday, Mr. Soros indicated he continued to unwind his exposure to China, which he’s placed at the center of the next financial storm, along with commodities, selling off positions in Schlumberger, the world’s biggest oil-services company by market value.

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