Bridgewater's top leaders call for votes on each other: WSJ

FEB 6, 20166:23 AM

[WASHINGTON] Ray Dalio, founder of the world's most profitable hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, is spatting with co-chief executive officer Greg Jensen over each other's behavior and asking employees to vote on the matter, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Friday.

Mr Dalio, whose efforts to promote a culture of honesty include recording conversations and requiring employees to publicly talk about their mistakes and weaknesses, called on management and stakeholder committees at the US$154 billion hedge fund to vote on Jensen's integrity, the Journal wrote, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Mr Jensen asked those employees to assess whether Mr Dalio is sticking to plans he kicked off about five years ago to handover control of the hedge fund, the Journal wrote.

Westport, Connecticut-based Bridgewater is more than halfway through a 10-year succession plan, under which Mr Dalio split his CEO role among Mr Jensen, Eileen Murray and David McCormick.

Mr Dalio remains co-chief investment officer with Bob Prince, a role the two have shared since 1986. A spokesman for Bridgewater didn't return a phone call seeking comment.

Mr Dalio told the Journal that "The question here about Greg is whether he said things about me on tape in our meetings that he did not discuss with me before," and that he doesn't question Mr Jensen's integrity "by any traditional definition."

Mr Jensen told the paper that the dispute has been "healthy."

Mr Dalio's Bridgewater Pure Alpha fund, set up in 1975, has earned US$45 billion in absolute terms through last year, making it the hedge fund that's earned the most money for investors in the history of the industry, according to estimates by LCH Investments NV, a London-based firm that invests in hedge funds.

Mr Dalio promotes the Bridgewater culture through his 'principles', a 123-page presentation available on the company website. It includes personal anecdotes, such as being inspired by The Beatles to try meditation, and maxims such as "Don't try to please everyone," and "Use checklists."

Conversations at the company are either audio or videotaped so that employees can make their own assessments.

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