Ray Dalio's Bridgewater keeps faith in gold despite its slide

(Bloomberg) - Billionaire hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio maintained his holdings in the two biggest gold-backed ETFs even as an investor exodus sent prices of the metal tumbling.

As of June 30, Dalio's Bridgewater Associates maintained its 3.9 million shares in SPDR Gold Shares, the largest exchange-traded funds backed by bullion, and 11.3 million in iShares Gold Trust, the second-largest, according to a regulatory filing.

ETF investors turned sour on gold in the three months ended in June, with more than $1 billion exiting SPDR Gold and the iShares fund posting its first quarterly outflow since 2016. The flight from the funds has continued, with holdings in all bullion-backed ETFs tracked by Bloomberg shrinking to the smallest in six months.

The metal's haven appeal waned on a strengthening dollar and a rally in equities, sending prices down 5.5 percent in the period. Robust U.S. growth bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to keep raising borrowing costs, adding to headwinds against the non-interest-bearing asset.

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Filings released this month don't include hedge funds' current position, which may have changed since the end of the quarter. Money managers who oversee more than $100 million in the U.S. must file a Form 13F within 45 days of each quarter's end to list those stocks as well as options and convertible bonds. The filings don't show non-U.S. securities, holdings that aren't publicly traded, or cash.

(By Luzi Ann Javier)