Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates is the world’s largest hedge fund, with $124 billion in assets. Even after giving more than $1 billion to philanthropic causes, Dalio himself has a net worth of roughly $15.4 billion, according to Forbes. Dalio is no longer Bridgewater’s chairman and co-chief investment officer, but investors still follow the fund’s holdings closely. Bridgewater’s flagship Pure Alpha II fund outperformed in a weak market in 2022, but reportedly lost 7.6% during the bull market rally in 2023.
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Here are Bridgewater’s nine top stock and fund holdings in 2024, according to the hedge fund’s latest 13F filings:
| Investment | Portfolio weight |
| iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (ticker: IVV) | 5.67% |
| iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) | 5.29% |
| Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) | 3.81% |
| Coca-Cola Co. (KO) | 2.64% |
| Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) | 2.54% |
| Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) | 2.43% |
| PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) | 2.32% |
| McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) | 2.25% |
| Walmart Inc. (WMT) | 2.24% |
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)
The good news for investors concerned about the U.S. stock market outlook in 2024 is that Bridgewater’s single biggest investment is iShares’ IVV S&P 500 exchange-traded fund, or ETF. Bridgewater is seemingly betting the U.S. stock market rally will continue and the U.S. economy will likely avoid a recession. The S&P 500 is weighted by market capitalization, meaning the IVV ETF’s top holdings include Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL). Bridgewater owns more than 2.1 million shares of the IVV ETF worth about $1.08 billion.
iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG)
In 2022, Bridgewater exited stakes in Chinese stocks Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA), JD.com Inc. (JD), Bilibili Inc. (BILI) and NetEase Inc. (NTES), but it hasn’t completely given up on Chinese investments. Instead, Dalio appears to be taking a more diversified approach to China via the IEMG fund. The emerging market ETF is only about 23% exposed to China. The IEMG fund has lagged behind the S&P 500 in recent years, but it has significantly outperformed JD.com and Alibaba. Bridgewater sold 491,965 shares of the IEMG fund in the fourth quarter but still holds about 18.6 million shares worth about $952.2 million.
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG)
Procter & Gamble is a blue-chip consumer products company and owner of popular brands such as Pampers, Tide and Bounty. It is also Bridgewater’s most valuable individual stock holding. PG shares have outperformed the S&P 500 so far in 2024, generating a total return of 9.4% through Feb. 27. Consumer staples stocks like Procter & Gamble are typically considered solid defensive investments during periods of market uncertainty. Dalio’s fund sold 157,320 shares in the fourth quarter, but Bridgewater still holds about 4.6 million shares of PG stock worth $739.7 million, representing 3.8% of its portfolio.
Coca-Cola Co. (KO)
Coca-Cola is another blue-chip consumer staples stock that is an excellent defensive play in an uncertain environment. Unfortunately, KO shares have disappointed in the past year, generating a total return of just 4.1%. Coca-Cola has also been a top long-term holding of fellow billionaire and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) CEO Warren Buffett, putting Dalio in good company. In the fourth quarter, Bridgewater dialed back its Coca-Cola investment by selling 992,771 shares and reducing its stake by 11%. Bridgewater still holds roughly 8 million shares of KO stock worth $482.9 million.
[READ: Billionaire George Soros’ 7 Top Stock Picks in 2024.]
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST)
Costco is a leading members-only discount retailer. The company has seemingly been immune to the online competition from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) that has crushed other retailers. In fact, COST stock has more than tripled the total return of the S&P 500 over the past decade. Costco is Dalio’s largest bet on a discount retailer, but he also holds large stakes in competitors Walmart Inc. (WMT) and Target Corp. (TGT). In the fourth quarter, Bridgewater sold 140,612 Costco shares, decreasing its stake by about 17%. Bridgewater now owns 687,572 shares of COST stock worth $512 million.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
Johnson & Johnson is a blue-chip global pharmaceutical and health care product producer. Dalio first started loading up on Johnson & Johnson during the initial U.S. COVID-19 outbreak in the first quarter of 2020. The company completed the spin-off of its Kenvue Inc. (KVUE) consumer business in May 2023, which was Johnson & Johnson’s largest restructuring in its history. JNJ stock has generated a total return of just 6.6% in the past year, but Bridgewater increased its stake in the fourth quarter, buying 50,332 shares. The firm now owns 2.77 million shares of JNJ stock worth $446.7 million.
PepsiCo Inc. (PEP)
Dalio rarely puts all his eggs in one basket. In addition to his large stake in Coca-Cola, competitor PepsiCo is another one of the fund’s largest holdings. PepsiCo’s stock is down 1.7% in the past year, underperforming both the S&P 500 and Coca-Cola. Dalio has owned PepsiCo shares since the first quarter of 2020, but he cut his stake by about 8.9% in the fourth quarter. After selling 238,341 shares last quarter, Bridgewater now holds about 2.4 million shares of PEP stock worth $410.6 million and representing 2.3% of its portfolio.
McDonald’s Corp. (MCD)
McDonald’s is the world’s largest fast food restaurant chain. Bridgewater invested in McDonald’s in the first quarter of 2020, but Dalio has a much longer history with the company. In his early days on Wall Street in the 1970s, Dalio worked with a chicken producer to hedge production prices using corn and soymeal futures, which allowed the company to offer McDonald’s the fixed price for chicken it needed to launch its iconic Chicken McNuggets in 1983. After selling 126,344 shares in the fourth quarter, Bridgewater holds 1.35 million shares of MCD stock worth about $398.2 million.
Walmart Inc. (WMT)
Walmart is a leading discount retailer. In 2023, Walmart moved past its struggles with inventory management and supply chain disruptions. Bridgewater has maintained a stake in Walmart since the third quarter of 2020, and the stock has even outperformed competitor Amazon over the past three years. Much like it did with Costco, Bridgewater cut its position in Walmart in the fourth quarter, selling 148,355 shares and reducing its stake by about 5.5%. Even after the recent selling, Bridgewater still owns about 2.5 million shares of WMT stock worth about $151.6 million.
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Billionaire Ray Dalio’s 9 Top Stock and ETF Picks originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 02/28/24: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
