Summary
- Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates. He officially retired from running the hedge fund in 2022.
- Bridgewater Associates' holdings are diversified. The firm currently holds 730 stocks in its portfolio (including several index funds and ETFs).
- Bridgewater’s investing style is focused more on macroeconomic trends than on picking individual companies.
- The hedge fund's returns have underperformed the market over recent years.
Ray Dalio Portfolio – Bridgewater Associates Top 10 Current Holdings
| Ticker | Company Name | Industry | Percentage of portfolio |
| IEMG | iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | ETF | 5.6% |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | ETF | 5.5% |
| PG | Procter & Gamble Co. | Consumer Staples | 4.3% |
| KO | The Coca-Cola Company | Consumer Staples | 3.1% |
| COST | Costco Wholesale Corporation | Consumer Staples | 2.9% |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | ETF | 2.7% |
| PEP | PepsiCo Inc. | Consumer Staples | 2.7% |
| WMT | Walmart Inc. | Consumer Staples | 2.5% |
| MCD | McDonald’s Corp. | Consumer Discretionary | 2.5% |
| JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | Healthcare | 2.4% |
Based on filings from Q3 2023, Bridgewater Associates' holdings appear to be diversified. The firm currently holds 730 stocks in its portfolio (including several index funds and ETFs).
This isn’t surprising as Bridgewater’s investing style is focused more on macroeconomic trends than picking individual companies.
Bridgewater’s portfolio is spread across eight sectors:
- Consumer Staples
- Healthcare
- ETFs
- Consumer Discretionary
- Technology
- Communication Services
- Financial Services
- Energy
Compared to investors like Cathie Wood, Bridgewater mostly avoids high-risk high-reward technology stocks. Instead, the firm invests in “boring” industries that typically don’t see much volatility.
Ray Dalio Portfolio – Bridgewater Associates Top Buys and Sells in Q3 2023
| Ticker | Company Name | Industry | Bought/Sold | Amount Bought/Sold |
| VWO | Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF | ETF | Sold shares (-23.9%) | Sold 1,876,729 shares |
| JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | Healthcare | Sold shares(-14.4%) | Sold 457,073 shares |
| IEMG | iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | ETF | Bought shares(+7.0%) | Bought 1,251,567 shares |
| TW | Tradeweb Markets Inc. | Financials | Sold shares(-81.2%) | Sold 602,041 shares |
| GOOGL | Alphabet Inc. – Class A | Technology | Sold shares (-19.4%) | Sold 381,016 shares |
| AVGO | Broadcom Inc. | Semiconductors | Bought shares (New holding) | Bought 54,041 shares |
| KO | The Coca-Cola Company | Consumer Staples | Bought shares (+9.5%) | Bought 781,225 shares |
| NFLX | Netflix Inc. | Communication | Bought shares (New holding) | Bought 94,950 shares |
| V | Visa Inc. | Financials | Sold shares (-16.6%) | Sold 169,161 shares |
| AMGN | Amgen Inc. | Healthcare | Sold shares (-83.3%) | Sold 138,503 shares |
In Q3 2023, Bridgewater Associates reduced its holding in 215 stocks. Its biggest reductions were in:
- Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF
- Johnson & Johnson
- Tradeweb Markets Inc.
- Alphabet Inc. – Class A
- Visa Inc.
- Amgen Inc.
We noticed a strange move from Bridgewater – despite reducing its holdings in the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) the firm increased its holdings in iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG).
This was strange because both VWO and IEMG are ETFs that invest in almost identical assets.
The biggest difference is that VWO doesn’t provide exposure to South Korean stocks since it considers it a developed market.
Meanwhile, IEMG views South Korea as an emerging market. This means IEMG provides exposure to the biggest companies in South Korea like LG, Samsung and Hyundai.
This could suggest that Bridgewater is bullish on the South Korean market.
In saying that, IEMG makes up 5.6% of Bridgewater’s portfolio and the South Korean market would make up an even smaller portion of IEMG’s total holdings.
Ray Dalio Portfolio – Bridgewater Associates Sector Allocation
Ray Dalio Portfolio – Bridgewater Associates Performance Overview
Bridgewater Associates’ top 50 weighted holdings have a 3-year annualized return of approximately 1.79% with a 3-year cumulative return of approximately 5.47%. In comparison to other hedge funds and the S&P 500, Bridgewater Associates have underperformed.
Who is Ray Dalio?
Ray Dalio is the founder and former Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.
In September 2022, Dalio stepped down as Co-CIO of the firm and transferred all of his voting rights to the board of directors.
Dalio's strategies and management style at Bridgewater Associates played a pivotal role in the fund's success. His approach, often focusing on macroeconomic trends and incorporating his unique risk-parity strategy.
This strategy works by weighting asset classes in his portfolio based on the assets level of risk. In practice, this means less exposure to stocks than traditional portfolios (since they’re more volatile) and more exposure to bonds.
Despite being in the hedge fund game for over 30 years, Dalio only truly became a household name after publishing his book Principles: Life & Work in 2017.
The book went on to become a #1 New York Times bestseller and has sold more than five million copies worldwide.
What is Bridgewater Associates?
Bridgewater Associates is the largest hedge fund in the US by far.
As of November 2023, the firm has over $124 billion in assets under management.
One of the firm's most famous investment strategies is the “All Weather” portfolio. Which is designed to provide positive returns regardless of whether the economy is going through a boom or recession. It uses an asset allocation strategy that balances risks across different asset classes.
Bridgewater is also famous for its corporate culture that prides itself on “radical transparency”.
This means employees cannot talk behind others' backs. If an employee does this three times they are fired from the company according to Dalio.
Should you blindly copy Ray Dalio's stock picks?
Copying Ray Dalio
❌ Hedge fund holdings are updated each quarter.
❌ Trades can be months old by the time they are public.
❌ Investment horizons and strategies can change without warning.
❌ Can hold thousands of different stocks. This isn't realistic for investors.
❌ Hedge funds can still buy underperforming stocks.
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Ray Dalio Portfolio – Bridgewater Associates Investment Strategy & Quotes
Ray Dalio’s investment strategies:
- Macro-Economic Understanding: Dalio places a deep focus on understanding the global economy. This means he plays close attention to macroeconomic factors such as inflation, currency exchange rates, and GDP growth to predict where the market is heading. This is also why Dalio always takes a long-term view with his investments rather than trying to make a profit from short term trades.
- Risk Parity and All Weather Strategy: Perhaps one of his most famous contributions to investment strategy is the concept of “risk parity,” which forms the basis of Bridgewater's All Weather fund. The idea is to balance the portfolio in such a way that different asset classes contribute equally to the portfolio's risk. This approach aims to achieve a consistent performance across various economic environments, including different stages of the economic cycle.
- Diversification: Dalio is a big believer in diversification in not just assets, but also in risk. Unlike traditional portfolio theory that focuses on asset allocation, his approach considers how different investments respond under various economic scenarios, ensuring that the portfolio is well-balanced against various types of risks.
- The Economic Machine: Dalio views the economy as a machine and believes that by understanding the components and mechanics of this machine, one can make more informed investment decisions. Dalio explains exactly how the “Economic Machine” works in a video on his YouTube channel that has now racked up over 10 million views.
- Counter-Cyclical Investments: His investment philosophy often involves making counter-cyclical bets. By forecasting shifts in the economy or market trends, Bridgewater often positions itself in ways that seem counter-intuitive to most investors.
- Use of Algorithms and Models: Bridgewater relies heavily on quantitative data, algorithms, and proprietary trading models to guide its investment decisions. This systematic and data-driven approach reduces emotional or biased decision-making.
Our Favorite Ray Dalio Quotes:
- “If you’re not failing, you’re not pushing your limits, and if you’re not pushing your limits, you’re not maximizing your potential.”
- “If you are not aggressive, you are not going to make money, and if you are not defensive, you are not going to keep money.”
- “The more you think you know, the more closed-minded you’ll be.”
- “Don’t mistake possibilities for probabilities. Anything is possible. It’s the probabilities that matter. Everything must be weighed in terms of its likelihood and prioritized.”
Ray Dalio Portfolio – Bridgewater Associates News & Resources
- Ray Dalio: Life Lessons from a Self-Made Billionaire [The Knowledge Project Ep. #23]
- The Changing World Order with Ray Dalio
- Principles For Success by Ray Dalio
- Why Ray Dalio finally explains why he changed his mind about holding cash
Frequently Asked Questions
Who runs Bridgewater Associates?
Bridgewater Associates is led by CEO Nir Bar Dea.
The firm also has three co-Chief Investment Officers (CIO): Bob Prince, Greg Jensen and Karen Karniol-Tambour.
Ray Dalio resigned as co-CIO in 2022.
Does Ray Dalio own Bridgewater Associates?
Dalio officially retired in 2022 and is no longer involved with the day to day operations at Bridgewater.
However, Dalio negotiated a generous retirement package, that entitles him to billions in payments in exchange for giving up control of the firm.
Despite retiring, Dalio still acts as a mentor and advisor to the team running Bridgewater Associates.
What is Ray Dalio’s net worth?
According to Forbes, Ray Dalio’s personal net worth currently sits at $15.4 billion.
His net worth is expected to continue to grow as a result of his retirement package from Bridgewater which is reported to be worth billions.
Where is this data sourced from?
Data was collected from (but not limited to) the sources below:
- Stockcircle
- HedgeFollow
- WhaleWisdom
- EDGAR filings from the SEC
