Ray Dalio may no longer be steering the investment ship at Bridgewater Associates, but his recent warning on X has left little doubt about where he thinks the world is headed.

"We're witnessing a classic breakdown of the major monetary, political, and geopolitical orders," Dalio wrote, calling it a "once in a lifetime" phenomenon, the kind that "has happened many times in history, when similarly unsustainable conditions were in place."

The spark? Tariffs. But the fire, Dalio says, runs deeper.

“These tariff announcements are important developments. But most people are overlooking the much larger forces that are driving just about everything," Dalio said.

While he's not actively managing the fund, Bridgewater's latest 13F filing offers a glimpse into how the firm is positioning itself in the face of this macro upheaval.

Read Also: Expert Warns Of ‘Perfect Storm’ As Trump Tariffs Slam Global Stock Markets — Advises Investors To Seek Safety In Gold And Fixed-Income Instruments

Tariffs, Turmoil And A Bet On The Index

Despite Dalio's big-picture warning, Bridgewater's top holding as of the fourth quarter of 2024 was the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY)—now a whopping 22.1% of the portfolio. Add iShares Core S&P 500 (NYSE:IVV) and iShares Emerging Markets (NYSE:IEMG) and nearly half the firm's equity book is riding broad indices.

That's a defensive play wrapped in passive exposure, especially as markets wobble under new trade war concerns.

The fund didn't stop there. Among its top new buys were AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) and PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) – low-multiple names that look like classic recession hedges.

Applovin Corp (NASDAQ:APP) also made the list, a curious pick that may reflect a contrarian bet on adtech amid volatility.

From Tech Titans To Utility Muscle

Bridgewater has trimmed back tech allocations to the sector, which fell from 19.8% to 16.3% quarter over quarter. Still, it holds heavyweights like Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), albeit at lower portfolio weights than before.

Meanwhile, two quiet climbers in the portfolio are worth noting: Constellation Energy Corp (NASDAQ:CEG) and Vistra Corp (NYSE:VST), both utility players sitting comfortably in the top 10 holdings. In a world Dalio sees veering toward chaos, old-school stability may be back in fashion.

Macro Chaos, Micro Calculations

Dalio's post paints a stark picture of structural breakdown—"unsustainable conditions" colliding with a new era of tariffs and geopolitical chess. While Bridgewater's allocations don't scream panic, the tilt toward broad ETFs, dividend-value names and utilities suggests the firm is bracing for bumps ahead.

Whether or not the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world Dalio describes becomes a reality, Bridgewater seems to be preparing for the long game – passive on the surface but deeply macro-aware under the hood.

Read Next:

• Ray Dalio Says Don’t Make The Mistake Of Thinking What’s Happening Now Is Due To Trump Tariffs

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