Asset Managers Slash Record E-mini S&P 500 Exposure

The latest CFTC Commitments of Traders report, covering positions as of Tuesday, March 10, 2026, reveals that Asset Managers slashed their E-mini S&P 500 futures exposure at a striking pace. According to data from Tradingster and confirmed by Barchart, the Asset Manager/Institutional category cut 89,855 long contracts while simultaneously adding 16,061 short contracts in a single week, resulting in a combined net reduction of approximately 105,916 contracts. Even after this dramatic de-risking, the cohort remained materially net long at roughly 898,852 contracts, down from an estimated 1,004,768 the prior week.

The move unfolded against a volatile macro backdrop in late February and early March 2026, marked by geopolitical tensions tied to Iran, elevated oil prices, rising yields, and broad risk-off sentiment across U.S. equity markets. Multiple weekly market summaries noted U.S. indices closing lower and options markets pricing in heightened near-term volatility for the S&P 500. The sheer scale of the one-week position change has drawn widespread attention on social media, with comparisons to the COVID-era crash of March 2020.

However, the claim that this was a "record" dump exceeding the COVID crash requires careful qualification. While the gross long liquidation of 89,855 contracts in March 2026 does exceed the 63,596 long contracts cut during the peak COVID week ending March 17, 2020, the net position change tells a different story. During COVID, Asset Managers reduced their net exposure by a staggering 205,482 contracts in one week — nearly double the 2026 figure — driven largely by a massive addition of 141,886 short contracts. Whether this week qualifies as a "record" depends entirely on which metric one uses.