Delivering Alpha

Raymond Dalio

Ray Dalio
David A. Grogan | CNBC

Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, a global leader in institutional portfolio management and the largest hedge fund in the world, with approximately $150 billion in assets under management.

Dalio started Bridgewater out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York in 1975 and over the course of its 40-year history has grown it into one of the world's leading innovators and industry's top-performing managers; according to LCH Investments, Bridgewater has made more money for investors than any other hedge fund manager since inception.

Under his guidance, Bridgewater Associates has introduced several industry-changing approaches to investing, including pioneering the investment strategy risk parity, being one of the first managers to separate alpha and beta and offer products based on each, and being the first firm to manage currency overlay strategies, which led aiCIO magazine to call Ray the "Steve Jobs of Investing" in 2011.

As a global macro investor, Dalio has become a valued advisor to policymakers throughout the world and in 2013 decided to share his unique way of looking at markets and economies with the world in a 30-minute animated video entitled "How the Economic Machine Works." Available in seven different languages on YouTube and the firm's website (EconomicPrinciples.org), the video has been viewed nearly 4.5 million times.

Dalio attributes much of the firm's success to its distinctive culture, which is marked by radical truth and radical transparency that produces meaningful work and meaningful relationships. The culture is outlined in "The Principles," a 123-page document authored by Dalio, which has been downloaded by more than 2 million people. For his achievements, he has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People by TIME magazine, one of the 50 Most Influential People by Bloomberg Markets and one of the 40 Most Important People in the Financial World by Forbes. He has also been the recipient of over 20 "Manager of the Year" awards.

Dalio graduated with a BS in finance from C.W. Post College in 1971 and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School in 1973. He has been married to his wife, Barbara, for 37 years and has four grown sons. He enjoys spending time in the wilderness and is active philanthropically.