What happened to SPX the last time Berkshire Hathaway’s shopping extravaganza draws lighter crowds as spotlight shifts to Greg Abel surprised the market?

The last time Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting drew lighter crowds with the spotlight shifting toward Greg Abel as the surprise element, it was May 2022. SPX was in the middle of a sharp bear market decline, trading around 4000 at the time of the meeting. VIX sat elevated near 30-32 reflecting high fear.

That weekend’s lighter attendance and Abel focus coincided with ongoing inflation and rate hike pressures. In the following week SPX dropped another 4 percent as the market digested Fed signals and continued risk-off flows. Iron condor traders who sold 45-50 delta short strangles with 100-120 point wings that week saw rapid losses on the short puts as the index broke lower.

Under ALVH, VIX above 30 signaled avoidance or extreme caution for new iron condors. Wing-width management would have dictated tightening to 80-90 points or simply staying in cash until VIX compression below 25. The event itself was not causal but served as a sentiment marker during a high-volatility regime where condors performed poorly without strict VIX and wing discipline. Current setups with VIX under 20 would contrast sharply with that 2022 environment.