Bridgewater Associates, the $165 billion hedge fund founded by Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), disclosed this week that its top five new buys for the third quarter were iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT, Financial), Invesco Ltd. (IVZ, Financial), Progressive Corp. (PGR, Financial), American Tower Corp. (AMT, Financial) and Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN, Financial).
The Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund seeks long-term capital appreciation based on the co-chief investment officer’s principles, which include working for what he wanted, coming up with the best independent options, stress-testing his opinions, avoiding overconfidence and wrestling with reality.
As of the quarter-end, Bridgewater’s equity portfolio contains 333 stocks, of which 110 represent new positions. Excluding the over 78% weight in exchange-traded funds, the equity portfolio’s top three sectors are consumer cyclical, health care and financial services, with weights of 4.45%, 3.30% and 3.22%.
iShares MSCI Taiwan
Bridgewater purchased 3,996,522 shares of iShares MSCI Taiwan, giving the position 1.28% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged $35.26 during the quarter.
According to the iShares website, the iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index consisting of large and mid-sized companies in Taiwan. According to GuruFocus, EWT has a price-earnings ratio of 14.75 and a price-book ratio of 1.73.
Invesco
Bridgewater purchased 1,531,460 shares of Invesco, giving the stake 0.23% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged $17.67 during the quarter.
The Atlanta-based company provides investment management services through platforms like Invesco, Trimark, Perpetual, PowerShares and W.L. Ross. GuruFocus ranks Invesco’s financial strength 4 out of 10 on the heels of equity-to-asset and debt ratios underperforming approximately three-quarters of global competitors.
Progressive
Bridgewater purchased 297,206 shares of Progressive, giving the holding 0.20% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged $78.69 during the quarter.
The Mayfield, Ohio-based company underwrites private and commercial auto insurance and specialty lines. GuruFocus ranks Progressive’s profitability 7 out of 10: While the company’s returns outperform over 89% of global competitors, Progressive’s net margin outperforms just 62.69% of global property and casualty insurers.
American Tower
Bridgewater purchased 98,842 shares of American Tower, giving the position 0.19% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged $218.31 during the quarter.
The Boston-based real estate investment trust owns and leases roughly 15,000 cell towers throughout the U.S., Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. GuruFocus ranks American Tower’s financial strength 3 out of 10 on several weak signs, which include equity-to-asset and debt-to-equity ratios that underperform over 93% of global competitors. Despite this, American Tower’s profitability ranks 9 out of 10 on the heels of a GuruFocus business predictability rank of five stars and a return on equity that outperforms 96.64% of global REITs.
Franklin Resources
Bridgewater purchased 451,521 shares of Franklin Resources, giving the position 0.11% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged $30.57 during the quarter.
The San Mateo, California-based company provides investment management services through brands like Franklin Templeton Investments. GuruFocus ranks the company’s financial strength 7 out of 10 and profitability 8 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include debt ratios that outperform over 73% of global competitors and returns that are outperforming over 76% of global asset management peers.
Disclosure: No positions.
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