Principles & Culture
Our unique success is the direct result of our unique way of being. We want an idea meritocracy in which meaningful work and meaningful relationships are pursued through radical truth and radical transparency. We require people to be extremely open, air disagreements, test each other’s logic, and view discovering mistakes and weaknesses as a good thing that leads to improvement and innovation. It is by continually striving together for the highest levels of truth and excellence that we create meaningful work and meaningful relationships.
We are both idealistic and practical. We believe that creating excellent outcomes requires setting ambitious goals and applying our understanding of how the world works, as reflected in principles, to achieve them. Our Principles are ways of dealing with situations. They are the evolving record of our understanding of what works well. They’re not just read and followed, but stress-tested on an individual and collective level as our shared approach to working together. As Bridgewater is an idea-meritocracy in which we value independent thinking, we urge you to read and assess them for yourself.
Company Culture and the Power of Thoughtful Disagreement
Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio discusses meaningful work and meaningful relationships through radical truth and radical transparency.
Learn More About our Principles
We believe that producing excellence requires approaching both work and people in a principled way. Above all else, we want to figure out what is true and figure out how best to deal with it.
Culture of Openness
Employees share what it’s like here — from radical transparency and principle-based decision-making, to embracing what you don’t know and how that drives innovation.
What We Do
Bridgewater Associates is focused on understanding how the world works. By having the deepest possible understanding of the global economy and financial markets, and translating that understanding into great portfolios and strategic partnerships with institutional clients, we've built a distinct track record of success. We've done this for more than 40 years by having great people operate in a culture of radical truth and radical transparency. Today, we manage about $160 billion for approximately 350 of the largest and most sophisticated global institutional clients including public and corporate pension funds, university endowments, charitable foundations, supranational agencies, sovereign wealth funds, and central banks.
Creating Unique Insights
Bridgewater has historically focused on building the best possible understanding of global economies and markets. Click below to access a collection of our best thinking and insights.
How the Economic Machine Works
Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio explains how the economy works in a simple, mechanical way.
Client & Industry Recognition
Bridgewater has been shaping an industry for the past 40 years. Click below to access a collection of press and media about us from major news outlets.
OUR LEADERSHIP
Our distinct way of studying the world combines a systematic approach to learning with an idea meritocracy where the best ideas win out, resulting in the deepest possible understanding of global markets and economies. Relentlessly inquisitive and innovative by nature, our executive team brings together 100+ years of industry experience, providing expert leadership for the Bridgewater team and long-term value for our clients.
Technology & Innovation
We are engineering systems to understand the world. Our philosophy is that the world can be understood, and we strive to build a fundamental, cause-and-effect understanding of markets and management. Technology is crucial to advancing our mission. Our technologists collaborate with our researchers and managers to design, engineer, and run platforms which enable systemization and scale in everything we do.
Diversity & Inclusion
At their essence, our values – building meaningful work and meaningful relationships, finding people who think differently, and creating an environment where the best ideas win (no matter who came up with them) – lead us to embrace diversity and treasure our differences. If our mission is to have the deepest possible understanding of how global economies work, we must find and grow the best talent – across gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation/identity, religion and more.
That’s why we have dedicated diversity professionals reporting directly to the CEOs, several community groups with the goal of supporting/building our diverse communities, and a senior Diversity Council empowered to drive forward our vision and plan for continuing to make Bridgewater a vibrant, inclusive community.
Careers
It takes all types to make Bridgewater great. If you’re someone who enjoys creating innovative ways to reach ambitious goals, who is open to and energized by receiving honest feedback, and who likes asking and being asked “why?” — then we should talk. We don’t just look for people who can do a particular job. We look for people we want to share our lives with.
MEANINGFUL WORK,
MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
The mutual trust built from being radically transparent and honest with our thoughts — and from pushing each other to continually improve — leads to lasting relationships.
Community
Meaningful relationships are just as important as meaningful work — both are required and mutually reinforcing. So we support relationships to help them grow organically, with people having many options for getting involved in the community, if they choose to.
For example, we are now home to 87 common interest, support, diversity, and activity groups ranging from sports teams and health and wellness groups to book and car clubs and a community garden. We gather families for our big summer and Halloween parties and have many other celebrations throughout the year, including an annual TalentFest and our unique Scrum race. And we encourage people to get together on their own to do whatever interests them by helping pay for events they organize themselves.
The Scrum
What began as a challenge between a handful of employees in 2004 is now one of our most beloved traditions. Every year, more than 100 participants take the plunge and race around our headquarters — running, swimming, and scrumming their way to the finish line.
Bridgewater 40th Anniversary
In June 2015, we paused to look back at our evolution over 40 years. During an evening of storytelling and festivities, we reminisced about our past before dancing the night away.
Contact
Bridgewater Associates is located in Westport, Connecticut — about one hour from New York City.
