By Anirban Sen
NEW YORK, Dec 31 (Reuters) – Bridgewater Associates’ main macro funds delivered a record-breaking performance in 2025, with its flagship Pure Alpha fund generating a 33% jump, buoyed by a robust year for the major indexes in the U.S.
The hedge fund, currently led by Chief Executive Nir Bar Dea, posted the highest profits in its 50-year history, according to a person directly familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity because the return figures are not public.
The largest global multi-strategy hedge funds have broadly enjoyed healthy gains this year, helped mainly by a strong performance from the U.S. stock market that has been lifted by euphoria around AI-focused stocks. Fund managers have also benefited from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade wars that triggered volatility in bond and currency markets. Global macro hedge funds like Pure Alpha typically invest in stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities.
The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq are on track to post double-digit gains this year. It would mark their third consecutive year in the green, a run last seen during the 2019-2021 period.
For the year till Dec. 29, Bridgewater’s Pure Alpha fund recorded a 33% gain, according to the source, outperforming the S&P 500, which rose 16.97% during the same period. The firm’s All Weather fund rose 20.4%, while its Asia Total Return fund surged 36.9% and the China Total Return fund jumped 34.2%.
The firm, which had about $92 billion of assets under management as of Sept. 30, has in recent years bet on new strategies, including a $5-billion fund that uses artificial intelligence to make investment decisions and an exchange-traded fund that it launched with State Street Global Advisors. The artificial intelligence fund, or the AIA Macro fund, delivered an 11.9% return during the same period, the source said.
Bridgewater’s move towards the AI strategy came in 2018 after co-chief investment officer Greg Jensen hired chief scientist Jas Sekhon. The firm rolled out its Artificial Investor tool in 2024. The Artificial Investor team is currently led by Jensen, who also serves as managing CIO for the Pure Alpha fund, and by Sekhon.
STRONG YEAR FOR MULTI-STRATS
Macroeconomic hedge funds, which trade across financial assets based on the relative economic health of different countries, posted a 14.96% gain on average year-to-date to the end of November, according to a report from Goldman Sachs.
Westport, Connecticut-based Bridgewater was founded by billionaire Ray Dalio in New York in 1975. Bar Dea took over as CEO in 2022, and the following year unveiled a strategic overhaul by restricting new inflows into Pure Alpha and returning some assets to clients, betting that a smaller pool of money would allow the firm to better explore trading opportunities.
Bridgewater’s transition to new leadership has been in the works since Dalio moved out of investment decision-making and into a mentorship role in 2020. Dalio has exited the firm, after selling his remaining stake in Bridgewater and stepping down from its board of directors this year.
The firm’s other top executives include co-chief investment officers Karen Karniol-Tambour, Jensen, and Bob Prince. In January, Bridgewater promoted macro trader Ben Melkman to deputy chief investment officer, alongside David Trinh and Blake Cecil.
Earlier in December, Bridgewater unveiled a plan to expand its employee ownership initiative, which will see more than 60% of staff own equity in the firm next year, Reuters reported.
(Reporting by Anirban Sen in New YorkEditing by Nick Zieminski)
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