This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Bridgewater Associates' 13F portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on their regulatory 13F Form filed on 11/13/2023. Please visit our Tracking Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Associates 13F Portfolio series to get an idea of their investment philosophy and our previous update for the fund's moves during Q2 2023.
Assets Under Management ((AUM) is at around $150B. The 13F portfolio is less than ~20% of their total AUM. This quarter, the 13F portfolio value increased ~2% from ~$16.19B to ~$16.55B. The holdings are diversified with recent reports showing around 1000 different stakes. Around 42 of them are significantly large (more than ~0.5% of the 13F portfolio) and they are the focus of this article. The top three individual stock positions are at ~10% while the top five holdings are close to ~15% of the 13F assets: Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Costco, PepsiCo, and Wal-Mart Stores.
Note 1: The firm uses asset class diversification among uncorrelated positions to achieve absolute returns. As such the stakes can be on or against debt, equity, and other markets around the world. To learn more about their unique investment philosophy, check out their video channel and Ray Dalio's books.
Note 2: Although Ray Dalio is a Sinophile whose fascination for China goes back to 1984, it is interesting that China's exposure in the portfolio is de-minimis.
Stake Increases:
iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG): The large 5.52% IEMG stake was first purchased in 2016. Recent activity follows. Q3 2021 saw a ~225% stake increase at prices between ~$61 and ~$67. That was followed by a stake doubling in Q1 2022 at prices between ~$51 and ~$62. Q1 2023 also saw a ~22% increase at prices between ~$46 and ~$52. IEMG currently trades at ~$50. There was a ~6% further increase this quarter.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV): A fairly large stake in IVV was built during the 2017-2018 timeframe at prices between ~$245 and ~$295. It was sold down during the two quarters through Q1 2021 at prices between ~$325 and ~$400. The seven quarters through Q4 2022 had seen the stake rebuilt at prices between ~$359 and ~$477. The stock is now at ~$456 and the stake is at 5.31% of the portfolio. There was a ~11% trimming during Q1 2023 and a similar increase over the last two quarters.
Note: a much smaller stake in IVV was part of the portfolio during the 2012-16 timeframe.
Procter & Gamble (PG): PG is currently the largest individual stock position at 4.23% of the portfolio. It was established in H2 2020 at prices between ~$120 and ~$144. H1 2021 saw a ~80% stake increase at prices between ~$124 and ~$139. The two quarters through Q1 2022 also saw a ~45% increase at prices between ~$139 and ~$164. Q4 2022 saw a ~25% reduction at prices between ~$124 and ~$154. The stock currently trades at ~$150. The last two quarters saw minor trimming while this quarter saw a minor ~4% increase.
Coca-Cola (KO): The four quarters through Q2 2021 saw a ~8.2M shares KO stake built at prices between ~$45 and ~$56. That was followed with a ~40% stake increase in Q1 2022 at prices between ~$58 and ~$63. There was a ~25% selling during Q4 2022 at prices between ~$54 and ~$64. The stock currently trades at ~$57.40, and the stake is fairly large at ~3% of the portfolio. This quarter saw a ~10% increase.
Note: Much smaller stakes in these two positions were part of the portfolio during the decade through 2016.
Costco Wholesale (COST): The 2.69% of the portfolio COST stake was built during the four quarters through Q2 2021 at prices between ~$305 and ~$395 and the stock currently trades at ~$581. There was a ~30% stake increase in Q1 2022 at prices between ~$477 and ~$577. Q4 2022 saw a ~22% reduction at prices between ~$453 and ~$540. That was followed with a ~15% trimming in the last two quarters. This quarter saw a minor ~3% increase.
PepsiCo (PEP): The four quarters through Q2 2021 saw a 2.7M shares stake built at prices between ~$129 and ~$148. That was followed with a ~55% stake increase over the two quarters through Q1 2022 at prices between ~$150 and ~$176. There was a ~25% reduction during Q4 2022 at prices between ~$160 and ~$186. The last two quarters also saw trimming while this quarter saw a ~4% increase. The stock is now at ~$167 and the stake is at 2.74% of the portfolio.
Note: Much smaller stakes in these two positions were part of the portfolio during the decade through 2016.
Walmart (WMT): The 2.60% WMT position was purchased during the four quarters through Q2 2021 at prices between ~$119 and ~$152. Q4 2021 saw the stake sold down by ~45% at prices between ~$135 and ~$151. H1 2022 had seen a two-thirds increase at prices between ~$118 and ~$160. The last four quarters saw a ~48% selling at prices between ~$123 and ~$157. The stock is now at ~$155. There was a minor ~5% increase this quarter.
McDonald's (MCD): MCD is a 2.36% of the portfolio position first built during the four quarters through Q2 2021 at prices between ~$184 and ~$237. The two quarters through Q1 2022 saw another ~55% stake increase at prices between ~$222 and ~$270. There was a ~25% reduction during Q4 2022 at prices between ~$233 and ~$278. The last two quarters saw further trimming while this quarter there was a ~4% increase. The stock is now at ~$279.
CVS Health (CVS): CVS is a 1.22% of the portfolio stake primarily built during Q2 2022 at prices between ~$89 and ~$107 and the stock currently trades well below that range at $68.26. There was a ~20% trimming over the two quarters through Q1 2023. The last two quarters saw a ~15% increase.
Abbot Laboratories (ABT), Becton, Dickinson (BDX), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Comcast (CMCSA), Estee Lauder (EL), HCA Healthcare (HCA), iShares iBOXX Inv. Grd. ETF (LQD), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), iShares MBS ETF (MBB), Kimberley-Clark (KMB), Kroger Co. (KR), Meta Platforms (META), Mondelez International (MDLZ), Merck Inc. (MRK), McKesson (MCK), Monster Beverage (MNST), Stryker (SYK), and Target (TGT): These small (less than ~1.25% of the portfolio each) stakes were increased this quarter.
Stake Decreases:
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): A small position in SPY was first established in Q1 2006. An amended filing in Q4 2007 showed a huge 40% of the 13F portfolio stake (~12M shares) established in the high 140s price range. The position size peaked at ~21M shares by 2011. The decade through 2020 had seen the position reduced to 3.7M shares through minor selling in most quarters. H1 2021 saw another ~45% reduction at prices between ~$370 and ~$430. That was followed with a ~20% selling during Q3 2022 at prices between ~$357 and ~$430. There was a further ~16% reduction last quarter at prices between ~$404 and ~$443. SPY now trades at ~$454 and the stake is at 2.57% of the portfolio. This quarter also saw a ~4% trimming.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): The 2.56% JNJ stake was a small position in their first 13F filing in Q4 2005. The stake has wavered. The current position was built during the four quarters through Q2 2021 at prices between ~$137 and ~$171. The two quarters through Q1 2022 had seen a ~55% stake increase at prices between ~$155 and ~$180. Q4 2022 saw a ~25% selling at prices between ~$160 and ~$180. The last two quarters saw another ~25% reduction at prices between ~$151 and ~$175. The stock currently trades at ~$150.
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO): VWO is a 1.42% of the portfolio stake. It was first purchased in 2009. The position size peaked at over 115M shares in 2014. This is compared to 8.47M shares currently. Recent activity follows. 2020 saw a ~45% selling at prices between ~$31 and ~$50 while in Q3 2021 there was a stake doubling at prices between ~$49 and ~$53. Q2 2022 saw a one-third reduction at prices between ~$40.50 and ~$48. That was followed with a ~40% selling during Q1 2023 at prices between ~$38.50 and ~$43. VWO currently trades at $40.82. This quarter saw another ~25% reduction at prices between ~$39 and ~$43.
Starbucks (SBUX): The 1.40% SBUX stake was built during the four quarters through Q2 2021 at prices between ~$74 and ~$118. The two quarters through Q1 2022 saw another ~45% stake increase at prices between ~$79 and ~$117. The stock currently trades at ~$104 There was a ~18% trimming over the two quarters through Q1 2023. The last quarter saw a ~9% increase while this quarter there was a ~7% trimming.
Alphabet (GOOG): The 1.25% stake in GOOG saw a ~210% increase last quarter at prices between ~$87 and ~$109. The stock currently trades at ~$138. There was a ~15% trimming this quarter and that was followed by a ~20% reduction this quarter at prices between ~$117 and ~$139.
Visa Inc. (V): The 1.18% Visa stake saw a ~18% increase during Q1 2023 at prices between ~$207 and ~$231 and it is now at ~$250. This quarter saw a ~16% trimming.
AbbVie (ABBV), Booking Holdings (BKNG), Boston Scientific (BSX), Microsoft (MSFT), PDD Holdings (PDD), PayPal Holdings (PYPL), and Veeva Systems (VEEV): These very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) stakes were reduced during the quarter.
The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Bridgewater Associates' 13F holdings in Q3 2023:
John Vincent
Focused on analyzing 13F reports & building tools to help DIY investors generate absolute returnsthrough exploiting inefficiency, volatility, and momentum.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of GOOGL, META, PYPL either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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