Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates had a busy opening quarter to the year. The investing maven bet big on technologies associated with the mobile computing sector while continuing to add other tech stocks to their portfolio. The firm filed it’s 13F report with the SEC yesterday on the 45 day deadline for submitting ownership of the stocks.
The following picks were recorded on the 31st of March. Because of the delay in filing the 13F reports are often inaccurate guides to what firms are holding, or buying, now. Our exclusive sources tell us that this is true of Dalio at least as much as anyone else. His prolific career has put him in the top 100 wealthiest people worldwide and the top 50 in the United States. You don’t get there by being lackadaisical in trading.
In the period Dalio appears to have come into the mobile computing market in a big way. Three of the most eye catching buys made in the quarter are completely submerged in the market.
The first of these, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was bought in the first quarter up to a total of 460,100 shares by March 31st. The firm’s prospects are increasing as competition heats up between the bigger companies to merge in order to add spectrum to their asset lists. The bet on wireless data as a growing market seems to be common among many investors at the moment and Dalio is coming at it from both sides.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was also added complementing the bet on AT&T. The firm is bigger but has similar operations and faces similar problems in the future. The two big ones facing the industry are the roll out of full 4G connectivity and the acquisition of new wireless spectrum. Both smaller wireless firms and Lightsquared’s orphaned chunk of wireless real estate are fair game going forward. Bridgewater bought 451,400 shares in Verizon in the period.
Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) is not a data company but it does make the chips that provide the backbone of many portable devices including smart phones and tablets. The company has seen a skyrocket in recent years as it surged further than it ever had before in the market. The company will face new competition later in the year as Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) begins to roll out its new mobile chips. The competition shouldn’t be truly apparent for some time yet as the market continues to expand but once it is submerged a fierce battle will begin.
