--- title: "Options traders increase short positions in software company loan ETFs, reaching a new high for 2023" description: "Due to an 18% exposure to software industry loans, the Invesco Senior Loan ETF has faced aggressive short selling, with put option contracts soaring to 400,000, and open interest reaching a new high f" type: "news" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/276668151.md" published_at: "2026-02-24T01:39:15.000Z" --- # Options traders increase short positions in software company loan ETFs, reaching a new high for 2023 > Due to an 18% exposure to software industry loans, the Invesco Senior Loan ETF has faced aggressive short selling, with put option contracts soaring to 400,000, and open interest reaching a new high for 2023. Meanwhile, the fund has seen nearly $1 billion in outflows over four consecutive weeks, with investors significantly closing out call options on software sector ETFs. In the face of the ongoing sluggish performance of the sector, market funds have chosen to "give up and surrender." As concerns about the software industry's prospects spread from the stock market to the credit market, traders are making record bearish bets by heavily shorting ETFs that hold significant loans to software companies through put options. Traders in the U.S. options market are aggressively buying put options for the Invesco Senior Loan ETF (ticker BKLN). This fund tracks a leveraged loan index, and the core logic behind it lies in its holding structure—**according to Haina International Group, approximately 18% of the fund's exposure is to loans to software companies, including well-known software vendors like McAfee and Proofpoint.** In the past three weeks, bearish bets against this ETF have surged dramatically. Data shows that the total number of put option contracts has exceeded 400,000 (equivalent to 40 million shares), pushing the open interest in put options to its highest level since 2023. ## **Short Selling Index Hits Lowest Level Since April Last Year** Details of Monday's market trading further confirm investors' pessimistic expectations. An investor bought 30,000 put options for BKLN with an expiration in April and a strike price of $20. According to calculations, if the fund drops by 3.5% and falls below the lowest level in April 2025, this trade would break even. Following this, there were more aggressive bets: another 50,000 put options were traded, betting that the ETF will experience a similar decline before mid-July. ## **Funds Have Exited for Four Consecutive Weeks** In addition to the aggressive shorting in the options market, the cash flow in the spot market is also extremely bleak. As of the week ending Monday, BKLN fell about 1% to $20.44, marking its lowest point since April 10 of last year (April 2025), when the market was troubled by tariff turmoil. Even more concerning is that **the ETF has faced outflows for four consecutive weeks, with a total outflow nearing $1 billion.** Monday's trading is likely to further increase the overall bearish positions. A series of trades last week already showed that investors are frantically building defenses by purchasing put options to hedge against the ETF's downside risk. Data indicates that one or more investors bought a total of 250,000 put options with a $20 strike price expiring in July, while previously, in early February, they had already purchased 100,000 put options with the same strike price expiring in April. ## **From "Betting on a Rebound" to "Throwing in the Towel"** The collapse of market sentiment is not only reflected in shorting credit but also in abandoning bets on a rebound in software stocks. Traders sold call options for the iShares Expanded Tech Software Sector ETF (IGV) with a strike price of $92 expiring in March. This action closed out positions established about two weeks ago during a sharp sell-off in software companies. This means that investors no longer believe the software sector will rebound in the short term. Regarding this liquidation behavior, Haina International Group bluntly pointed out in its analysis on Friday: > **"As the sector continues to perform poorly, investors are throwing in the towel."** ### Related Stocks - [IGV.US - iShares Expanded Tech Software Sector ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IGV.US.md) - [IGPT.US - Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IGPT.US.md) - [XSW.US - SPDR S&P Software](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XSW.US.md) ## Related News & Research | Title | Description | URL | |-------|-------------|-----| | 巨大的 “智能体蓝海市场”：软件编程占一半，医疗、金融、法律等 “寥寥无几” | 一项关于 AI 智能体应用的研究显示，软件工程占据市场的 49.7%，而医疗、法律、金融等领域的市场份额均不足 5%。这表明创业者应关注未被开发的蓝海市场。研究还指出，AI 模型的能力远超用户信任，存在巨大的应用潜力。Y Combinato | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276575566.md) | | AI 没有 “忠诚”！超过 10 家 OpenAI 机构股东参与 “死敌” Anthropic 最新一轮募资 | 随着 Anthropic 完成 300 亿美元融资，包括红杉资本、Founders Fund 在内的超 10 家 OpenAI 股东罕见地进行了 “双重押注”。甚至在 OpenAI 拥有董事席位的贝莱德也参与了竞对融资。面对资本的倒戈，Sa | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276663750.md) | | 期权热点｜周一 IGV 跌 4%，部分看跌期权飙升 575% | 美东时间 02 月 23 日，北美科技软件股指数 ETF - iShares 期权总成交 318831 张，看涨期权占比 62%，看跌期权占比 37%。 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276681503.md) | | 百汇生命 REIT 首获星展 7200 万元社会贷款 并拟发行 7000 万元绿色债券 \| 联合早报网 | 百汇生命产业信托（Parkway Life REIT）从星展银行获得 7200 万新元的社会贷款，并计划发行 7000 万新元的绿色债券。这是其首次获得社会贷款和发行绿色债券，符合新推出的可持续融资框架。信托管理公司表示，所获资金将用于再融 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276454669.md) | | 迪募社区银行｜10-K：2025 财年营收 7.3 亿美元 | | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276490472.md) | --- > **Disclaimer**: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.