When the stock market rally that saw the benchmark S&P 500 soar this year began to lose steam in late July, Bridgewater Associates’ flagship Pure Alpha fund was already “moderately” bearish on US stocks, according to a report by Reuters.
The report cites an investor presentation seen by Reuters as confirming the fund’s bearish positioning on both US stocks and Treasuries.
The S&P 500 is up 15.6% year-to-date while the Nasdaq 100 has risen 30.2%, but both indexes are down from their recent highs, losing 3.4% and 5.2%, respectively.
Yields on Treasuries, meanwhile, which move inversely to bond prices, have continued to climb, with the yield on the 10-year US benchmark Treasury on hitting 4.27% on Tuesday, its highest since 24 October.
According to the presentation, Pure Alpha held bearish positions in 15 of the 28 assets analysed, including the US dollar, metals and global equities.
