Bridgewater Associates, The World's Biggest Hedge Fund Firm, Is All About ETFs

Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates is the world's biggest hedge fund firm, managing roughly $169 billion in assets. According to its latest 13F filing, however, its public equity portfolio is valued at only $12.83 billion. The portfolio is mainly focused on financial stocks, which account for 87 percent of its total value.

This article will look into Bridgewater’s top 3 positions and some other moves outside of the financial sector.

The Podium

The podium is (and has been, for years) occupied entirely by ETFs: Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fd VWO, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Indx (ETF) EEM. These three positions account for more than 86 percent of the equity portfolio’s total value, with a combined worth of over $11 billion.

Related Link: 13F Season: A Look At Warren Buffett's Q1 Moves

The largest bet continues to be placed on the VWO ETF. After disposing of 4,213,310 shares over the quarter, the fund owns 111,999,698 shares, worth more than $4.5 billion.

Second in line is the SPY ETF, which saw the fund boost its exposure by 6 percent between January and March, inclusive, to 16,408,500 shares. Completing the top three is the EEM ETF, which witnessed a 2 percent reduction in Bridgewater’s exposure. The fund disclosed ownership of 76,743,491 shares, worth more than $3 billion.

Other Interesting Moves

The world’s largest hedge fund’s biggest non-ETF stake is placed in the world’s most valuable company: Apple Inc. AAPL. After almost tripling its participation over the quarter, Bridgewater declared holding 732,997 shares of the tech behemoth, worth about $91 million.

Related Link: Tiger Global Is Into Consumer Discretionary, Tech Segments In Latest 13F

The most valuable newcomer was The Coca-Cola Co KO, which saw Dalio acquire 577,774 shares, worth more than $23 million.

The largest position closed was the one at United States Steel Corporation X. The fund sold 569,965 shares over the quarter, taking its holdings to zero shares.