World’s Biggest Hedge Fund Opens Singapore Office
SINGAPORE – Lured by the city-state’s deep talent pool, US$150 billion hedge fund Bridgewater Associates has opened an office in Singapore, indicating that it plans to further expand and strengthen its investment research and services offered to institutional clients in Asia, reported The Business Times on Wednesday morning (31 August, SGT).
“There is no shortage of fantastic talent in Singapore and one of our hopes with this new office is to harness the power of that talent and the diversity it brings to our organisation, to deepen our global macroeconomic understanding. We’ve specifically tasked the team here with identifying the best and brightest local minds with a real passion for markets and serving our clients,” said Kyle Delaney, President and Chief Commercial Officer of Bridgewater Associates.
Moreover, Bridgewater Associates intends to recruit local talents.
“We think it’s really important to not just establish a presence, but also to hire locally. We have an idea-meritocratic culture, where we bring together the best minds from diverse backgrounds, people who think differently, have different cultural experiences and different educational backgrounds. This enables us to have a deep, unmatched understanding of how global markets and economics operate and an edge in the markets,” he explained.
At present, the hedge fund’s Singapore office has 12 employees, including two local hires, but it has a global workforce of around 1,300.
With a capital markets services licence here, the office is helmed by Chip Packard, Head of client service for Eurasia, while on-the-ground operations will be led by Margaret Wang, Head of Bridgewater Associates (Singapore).
Notably, Bridgewater Associates is touted as the largest hedge fund in the globe, and it was founded by billionaire Ray Dalio. It offers services to institutions including family offices, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and third-party wealth managers. Monies from Asia is believed to account for over 33 percent of its business, and the company has catered to institutions in the Asia Pacific region, including those in Singapore, for almost 30 years.
