Lee Robinson is back at the doomsday trade. The founder of London-based hedge fund Altana Wealth, who famously turned a $20 million short position on subprime mortgages into $200 million before the 2008 financial crisis, is now placing bearish bets against some of the biggest names in the insurance industry.
His target: the $1.8 trillion private credit market, and the insurers who have gorged on it.
The 2008 playbook, updated
Altana Wealth has increased its positions against major insurers through credit default swaps, essentially insurance policies that pay out when the underlying entity runs into trouble. The firm’s targets include MetLife, Lincoln National, and Berkshire Hathaway, three companies with significant exposure to private credit assets.
Net notional CDS bets on US insurers have swelled to $5.5 billion as of May 22, 2026. That figure was under $4.9 billion at the end of 2025, meaning roughly $600 million in additional bearish positioning has piled in over the first five months of this year.
