NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Bridgewater Associates on Wednesday appointed Bob Prince, one of its chief investment officers and a veteran of four decades, as the chair of its board of directors after the hedge fund delivered blockbuster returns in 2025.

As part of the latest moves, Prince will replace Bridgewater's outgoing chair Mike McGavick, the firm told Reuters. Margo Cook, who completed her term as a board chair last ‌year, will remain on the eight-member board as an external director. 

"The same areas that inspired me 40 years ago to join Bridgewater continue to excite me today - the ​challenge of coming up with big ideas under a mission to understand the world, working with the most remarkable people ‍along the way. I'm looking forward to continuing that journey as chair," said Prince. "We couldn't ⁠have had a smoother transition ⁠to where we are today without Mike and the support of the rest of our committed board."

Prince joined Bridgewater in 1986 at a time when it ‌primarily operated as a research firm under founder Ray Dalio. Prince ​became interested in joining Bridgewater after coming across a research document focused on understanding the boom-and-bust cycle of investing that was published by the firm. 

Since then, Prince has played an instrumental role in helping ⁠shape the firm's investment process and various strategies, including so-called ‍risk parity. Bridgewater, ​which managed about $92 billion of assets at the end of September, currently operates five macro funds focused on different areas and regions - the flagship Pure Alpha fund, the All Weather fund, the Asia Total Return fund, ‍the China Total Return fund, and the AIA Macro fund, which uses artificial intelligence to make investment decisions.

The Pure Alpha fund produced a return of 34% last year, as Bridgewater posted the highest profits in its 50-year history. The firm has in recent years bet on new strategies, including the $5-billion AI fund and an exchange-traded fund that it launched with State Street Global Advisors. 

Prior to joining the firm, Prince worked as an executive at a regional lender called the First National Bank of Tulsa, ​where he ‍worked with Bridgewater to develop some of its strategies. Prince is a graduate of the University of Tulsa with an MBA and a degree in finance. 

Westport, Connecticut-based Bridgewater was founded by Dalio in New York in 1975. ​Nir Bar Dea took over as CEO in 2022, and the following year unveiled a strategic overhaul by restricting new inflows into Pure Alpha and returning some assets to clients, betting that a smaller pool of money would allow the firm to better explore trading opportunities. Dalio has exited the firm, after selling his remaining stake in Bridgewater and stepping down from its board of directors last year.

Bridgewater's leadership team also includes co-chief investment officers Karen Karniol-Tambour and Greg Jensen, who also serves as managing CIO for the Pure Alpha fund. Other top ​executives include deputy chief investment officers Ben Melkman, David Trinh, and Blake Cecil.

The firm recently unveiled a plan to expand its employee ownership initiative, which will see more than 60% of staff own equity this year. Bridgewater currently has a headcount of between 1,200 and 1,300 employees, and at the end ‍of last year roughly 300 employees held ownership stakes in the firm.