By Summer Zhen
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Bridgewater Associates sold all its U.S.-listed China shares in the second quarter, signalling a major shift in its portfolio allocation, as the trade war between the world’s two largest economies escalated.
One of the world’s biggest hedge funds, Bridgewater sold its entire holdings in about 16 Chinese stocks and two China-focused exchange-traded funds with a total value close to $1.5 billion, Reuters calculated, based on a U.S. regulatory filing on Wednesday.
The filing, which is a quarterly mandatory requirement for investment managers to disclose U.S. equity holdings, does not include Bridgewater’s holdings in Chinese stocks outside of the U.S, such as those listed in Hong Kong or mainland A-shares.
Bridgewater didn’t immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
Over the April to June period, Bridgewater’s largest selling included 5.7 million shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, 2.8 million shares in online retailer JD.com and 2 million shares in search engine firm Baidu, the filing showed.
Meanwhile, it added more shares in major U.S. tech firms including Nvidia, Alphabet and Microsoft.
Founded by billionaire and longtime China bull Ray Dalio about 50 years ago, the Connecticut-based fund has been an active China investor for many years. Dalio sold his remaining stake in Bridgewater last month.
Bridgewater launched its China onshore fund in 2018 and has since rapidly grown its assets under management in China to about 50 billion yuan ($6.96 billion).
The fund’s risk-off stance on China comes as U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on imports from China to over 100% in early April, which China reciprocated. The tit-for-tat moves sent shockwaves through global markets, leading to big corrections in both U.S. and China stocks in April.
Investor concerns over the possible forced de-listing of Chinese companies from U.S. exchanges have also mounted.
($1 = 7.1807 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Summer Zhen; Editing by Rachna Uppal)
