Bridgewater Associates’ flagship hedge fund jumped 11.3% this year through last week, benefiting from market swings set off by President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
The gains in Bridgewater’s Pure Alpha II, which invests in stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities, accelerated during the first half of March, according to a person familiar with its performance. The S&P 500 fell 5.3% in that span, while all of the G7 currencies gained against the dollar.
The firm profited while some other macro peers lost money. Brevan Howard Asset Management’s $11.7 billion Master Fund slid 1% in the first week of March, extending the year’s decline to 5.4%. DE Shaw & Co.’s Oculus fund, which mostly makes macro wagers, fell 4.4% through March 7.
Last year, Bridgewater’s main macro fund returned 11.3% — its best performance since 2018. Even so, that gain trailed its biggest macro competitors.
Nir Bar Dea, who was named Bridgewater’s sole chief executive officer in 2023, has taken steps meant to increase the firm’s returns, including capping the size of its flagship funds and focusing more on artificial intelligence.
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