Bets Generating Big Returns for Top Investment Gurus in 2012


Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio bought his first stock, Northeast Airlines when he was just 12 years old. The shares tripled in value. Dalio graduated from Long Island University in 1971 and spent some time as a clerk on the NYSE before going to Harvard Business School and in 1973 he graduated with an MBA. He founded his Bridgewater Associates in 1973 and in July 2011, he officially gave up his role as CEO of Bridgewater Associates.

Bridgewater Associates enjoyed returns around 23 percent in 2011, a year when the average hedge fund lost roughly 4 percent. Bridgewater Associates has a variety of principles that lend to its success. The best bets of Dalio are Eastman Chemical Company, 28 percent; Computer Science Corp., 26 percent; Microsoft, 14.8 percent.