(Bloomberg) For over a decade, an invitation of the Chinese Communist Party officials to the Bridgewater Associates has remained a secret for Ray Dalio, who has held strong ties with Beijing.
The supposedly benchmarking invitation by Dalio underscores the Bridgewater founder’s strong business partnerships with Beijing amid ongoing trade war tussles between the US and the Chinese government.
Dalio, who says he has been traveling to China for 37 years, opines he has for that time learned the thinking of the country’s top policymakers. He prefers to call China a “strict parent,” and a “top-down country.”
The Bridgewater founder seemed to criticize China in 2015 when he said that there “were no safe places to invest.” He backtracked the note later, saying China is capable of handling the challenges of slowing growth it was facing.
Dalio, whose hedge fund manages $5 billion for Chinese clients, has defended Beijing, a move that has created conflict with Bridgewater’s CEO David McCormick. McCormick, who is looking to vie for the Pennsylvania Senate seat, has in the past said he disagrees with Dalio’s Sinophile views.
The Bridgewater founder’s radiance to China is now causing him troubles back home as he faces a challenge replacing the fund’s CEO McCormick. The fund’s flagship Pure Alpha 11 fund has made little returns this year, with annualized earnings in ten years of only 1.6%.
Bridgewater’s Beijing office was opened in 2011, while the Shanghai-situated Bridgewater China Investment Management was set up five years later. The fund was licensed to manage money onshore in 2018.
