Billionaire hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates is upping its bets against Italian banks and insurers ahead of the nation’s elections next month.
The world’s largest hedge-fund firm tripled its bearish wagers against Italian companies in the last three months, mainly focused on the financial sector, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The March 4 election is widely expected to produce no clear winner, which would create difficulties in forming a government and make it hard for the country to produce the wide-ranging economic reforms that investors and the European Union are looking for.