Bridgewater's Ray Dalio Offers Advice to the Everyman Investor

Ray Dalio, chairman of the world’s biggest hedge fund (Bridgewater Associates), recently shared his “best advice for the common investor” with Business Insider’s Henry Blodget.

According to Dalio, the article says, most investors can’t compete with professionals and institutions that allocate huge sums of money each year in an effort to beat the market. Instead, argues Dalio, the common investor “should be building a diversified portfolio with assets that are balanced according to their risk rather than their dollar amounts.” Such a portfolio, says Dalio, should also be built to withstand different growth and inflation scenarios.

Dalio recounted a portfolio recommendation he made to performance coach Tony Robbins for his 2014 book Money: Master the Game:

  • 30% stocks
  • 15% intermediate-term bonds (7 to 10-year Treasuries)
  • 40% long-term bonds (20 to 25-yr. Treasuries)
  • 5% gold
  • 5% commodities

Dalio recommended to Robbins that investors rebalance their portfolios once a year.

The hedge fund behemoth emphasized to Blodget that this allocation might not be right for everyone, but could be used as a “starting point for people looking to build diversified portfolios.” Dalio also underscored the need for investors to be “highly aware of all transaction costs and fees” to ensure they’re not overpaying.

Dalio concludes by stressing that investing should be viewed as a long-term endeavor, not one in which investor can “make quick wins from time to time” which, he argues, is “more difficult that trying to compete in the Olympics.”