Bridgewater Associates’ flagship Pure Alpha fund posted a standout 33% gain in 2025, marking one of the strongest years in the firm’s 50-year history, according to an unnamed person familiar with the firm's performance figures.

The return comfortably outpaced many large hedge fund peers and exceeded the performance of major equity benchmarks over the same period.

The strong showing came amid a favourable environment for global macro strategies, with robust US equity markets and heightened volatility across bonds and currencies creating opportunities for active managers. The S&P 500 rose just under 17% during the year, while broader market strength was underpinned by continued enthusiasm for AI-related stocks and policy-driven market swings.

Bridgewater’s performance was broad-based across its main strategies. Its All Weather fund gained 20.4% in 2025, while the Asia Total Return and China Total Return funds advanced 36.9% and 34.2% respectively. The firm’s newer AIA Macro fund, which incorporates artificial intelligence into investment decision-making, delivered an 11.9% return over the same period.

The results come as Bridgewater continues to evolve under chief executive Nir Bar Dea, who took over in 2022. In recent years the firm has deliberately reduced assets in Pure Alpha, returning capital to investors in a bid to enhance flexibility and performance. As of the end of September, Bridgewater managed around $92 billion in assets.

The hedge fund has also been expanding its use of AI-driven strategies, following the launch of its Artificial Investor platform in 2024. The initiative is overseen by co-chief investment officer Greg Jensen, alongside chief scientist Jas Sekhon.

Global macro hedge funds as a group have enjoyed a strong year, with Goldman Sachs data showing the strategy up nearly 15% year-to-date through November.