Bridgewater Associates has appointed Nir Bar Dea to the newly created role of deputy chief executive, CEO David McCormick announced in an email to staff on February 11, which he published on LinkedIn Friday.
Among other changes to the fund's investment committee and other operating groups, Chief Operating Officer Brian Kreiter is leaving the firm, McCormick said. Founder and Chairman Ray Dalio will remain in his roles and "continue to serve as a mentor across functions," he added.
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Dalio, 71, founded Bridgewater in 1975 and has largely overseen its growth to more than $140 billion in assets under management, easily making it the largest hedge fund. He has taken a less active role in recent years, appointing his first co-CEO, Eileen Murray, in 2011. Dalio relinquished his co-CEO title in 2017, in favor of an advisory role.
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Murray, who left Bridgewater in 2020, had since been involved in a dispute with the firm over deferred pay. That lawsuit ended "amicably and fairly" in a settlement in October, a Bridgewater spokesperson previously told Insider.
It's not clear when — if ever — Dalio will completely leave the firm. According to McCormick's memo, Dalio "has agreed to stay deeply involved in our investment team as both an idea generator and mentor."
Bridgewater has been hammered amid stock-market volatility during the coronavirus pandemic. The fund lost $12.1 billion in 2020, even as other firms found great success.
"We have learned and innovated a lot over the last year across the firm," McCormick said in his memo. "There is much about our processes and systems that is great but there are areas that need to improve and evolve. In order to achieve this right mix, we need to continue our transformation across a number of different dimensions to ensure we successfully manage our portfolios, serve our clients excellently, and operate Bridgewater in a world-class manner."
Read his full memo on LinkedIn here.
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