Bridgewater Associates added stocks of major banks to its portfolio in the third quarter, securities filings show. This came ahead of a rally that followed Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.
The hedge fund founded by Ray Dalio ended September with larger positions in Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York Mellon and Citigroup. He also established a new position in Bank of America.
Expectations that a Trump victory would lead to an easing of banking regulations has buoyed the sector in recent weeks. The KBW Bank Index is up around 17% since the end of September and has gained almost 12% since the November 5 election.
However, it is not possible to say whether Bridgewater held his position beyond September 30, the deadline for the 13-F filings.
Although they do not contain information on current holdings, the reports are one of the few ways to take a look at the portfolios of often secretive market participants such as hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds.
Bridgewater’s largest dollar position was Wells Fargo, a stake valued at $79.6 million at the end of September.
Other hedge funds betting on the banking sector included Dan Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners, which took a new $174.9 million stake in Bank of America as of Sept. 30, filings show.
