NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Bridgewater Associates

added shares of big banks to its portfolio in the third quarter,

securities filings showed, ahead of a rally that followed Donald

Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election.

The hedge fund founded by Ray Dalio ended September with

bigger positions in Goldman Sachs ( GS ), Morgan Stanley ( MS ),

Wells Fargo ( WFC ), Bank of New York Mellon ( BK ) and

Citigroup ( C/PN ). It also built a new position in Bank of America ( BAC )

.

Expectations that a Trump victory would bring looser

regulations to the banking industry helped lift the sector in

recent weeks. The KBW Bank Index is up roughly 17% since the end

of September and has surged by nearly 12% since the Nov. 5 vote.

Still, it is not possible to say if Bridgewater held its

position past Sept. 30, which is the cutoff date for the 13-F

filings.

Though they do not reveal current holdings, the filings are

one of the few ways to get a look at the portfolios of

often-secretive market players such as hedge funds and sovereign

wealth funds.

Bridgewater's biggest position in dollar terms was Wells

Fargo ( WFC ), a stake worth $79.6 million at the end of September.

Other hedge funds making bets on the banking sector included

Dan Sundheim's D1 Capital Partners, which had a new $174.9

million stake in Bank of America ( BAC ) on Sept. 30, a filing showed.