Ray Dalio, Founder & CIO Mentor Bridgewater Associates, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 16th, 2024.
Adam Galici | CNBC
A post-election America worries U.S. billionaire Ray Dalio, who called for reforms numerous times amid a political landscape strife with what he views as irreconcilable differences between both Democratic and Republican parties.
Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the founder of the investment firm Bridgewater Associates spoke about major geopolitical and election-related concerns, the issue of rising U.S. deficit and how investors can best position their portfolios.
“Both of the candidates worry me,” Dalio told CNBC. “This left, right and fighting each other is a problem as it becomes more of the extremes. I think there needs to be a bringing of Americans together, that middle of that, and making great reforms. … There needs to be a strong leader of the middle, I believe, that makes great reforms. … Neither of the candidates does that for me.”
Dalio noted that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is “a lot more capitalist” than Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, and therefore better for domestic capital markets. However, he warned that there will be big deficits in an economy run by either party. Both candidates have major differences, including in tax policies, he added, noting that Trump’s plan to collect greater tariff revenue could lead to a spike in prices depending on how much that revenue is converted into internal productivity.
Consequences of the election are “really more a left-right question, and it’s a shame because we need to bring the country together in a smart way and make great reforms. We need to do that,” Dalio said. “The debt is concerning, the internal conflict is concerning, the external conflict is concerning, and certainly the climate and the cost of the climate is concerning.”
Dalio said he continues to be concerned about the increase in U.S. Treasury supply. About a third of U.S. Treasurys are held by foreigners, leading to a supply-demand issue that has more upside than downside risk for investors, he said.
“We have a real debt problem. … I think one man’s debts is another man’s assets,” Dalio said. “Treasury market is basis of all capital formation. At some point, when you combine it with the internal conflict issue, if you have a downturn — when the downturn comes — I’m worried about internal political and social conflict.”
When positioning one’s portfolio, the famed investor said gold should be part of a diversified and balanced strategy that reduces overall risk.
