Philadelphia Inquirer: “Bridgewater Opened a Unit in Shanghai in 2016, a Time When Other U.S. Investors Were Backing Away from China”

Philadelphia Inquirer: “[McCormick’s] Involvement…in Which Women Who Left Bridgewater Felt Pressured to Remain Silent About Incidents Involving Male Colleagues”

PENNSYLVANIA — Connecticut hedge fund CEO and mega-millionaire David McCormick’s disastrous leadership of Bridgewater Associates is under fresh scrutiny in a new report, highlighting his record of investments with China, mismanagement of the Pennsylvania teacher pension fund, and pressuring women to remain silent about sexual harassment at the firm.

ICYMI: Philadelphia Inquirer: China, Pa. teachers, and a ‘cult-like’ culture: Why Dave McCormick’s time at Bridgewater, the world’s largest hedge fund, matters for his Senate run

• Dave McCormick’s 13 years as a leader of the world’s largest hedge fund is an important résumé line for the Republican as he runs for the Senate.

• With $124 billion in assets under management, Bridgewater is not a typical hedge fund.

• In addition to being massive, Bridgewater is known on Wall Street as a unique and sometimes-controversial firm that [..] has an intense internal culture of “radical transparency” that has been called “cult-like.”

• […]

• Bridgewater at one point managed almost $5 billion for PSERS, making it the largest money manager for the pension fund

• PSERS paid Bridgewater almost $700 million in fees over the years, The Inquirer has reported. Citing disappointing returns, the pension fund had pulled all of its money out of Bridgewater by 2022.

• […] “It was a very bad deal for Pennsylvania and a very good deal for Bridgewater.”

• [..] the firm’s investment strategies often failed to outperform the market — and after fees, it was at times a net negative compared to what the state could have obtained with low-fee index funds.

• […]

• The line of attack isn’t surprising because Bridgewater isn’t just any major U.S. investor when it comes to China.

• The firm opened a unit in Shanghai in 2016, a time when other U.S. investors were backing away from China, according to Reuters. 

• […]

• Pennsylvania Democrats this year have attacked McCormick for his reported involvement in two instances in which women who left Bridgewater felt pressured to remain silent about incidents involving male colleagues.

• In one case, a Bridgewater employee accused one of McCormick’s predecessors as CEO of touching her inappropriately.

• Years later she met with Dalio and McCormick at a diner, Copeland wrote. Dalio told her he heard journalists were looking into alleged misconduct at the firm, and during the exchange, McCormick said, ”Maybe the issue is that you aren’t being a supportive public presence for us,” Copeland wrote.

• The other incident described by Copeland centered on a woman who left the firm and signed a nondisclosure agreement after management discovered she had a romantic relationship with a male coworker.

• “Shortly before leaving, she also received an unexpected in-person visit from Bridgewater co-CEO David McCormick. He told her that if she ever broke the agreement, she would be in litigation for the rest of her life,” Copeland wrote.