The world's biggest hedge fund got hit hard to start the year.
Bridgewater Associates LP's flagship hedge fund was down 12 percent in the first half of this year, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Bridgewater's Pure Alpha fund, as it is called, is the largest fund in founder Ray Dalio's $150 billion Connecticut-based money management empire.
That marks the worst start to the year since 1995 for that portion of Bridgewater, the Journal reported, citing "people familiar with the firm," and a previous report that appeared in Institutional Investor.
But the news wasn't all bad for Dalio and Bridgewater. Elsewhere at Bridgewater, the money manager's All Weather fund was up 10 percent to start the year.
The S&P 500 is up more than 3 percent so far this year, and the Journal's report stated that the flagship fund has been up every year since 2000, making the under-performance of Dalio's Pure Alpha fund stand out.
The losses come at a time when Bridgewater is expanding; earlier this year it was reported Dalio's fund would open a China unit.
A representative for Bridgewater was not immediately available for comment.