Home Care In Bridgewater, CT

In April 2019, Connecticut announced a prodigious deal with billionaire Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Westport-based Bridgewater Associates. Dalio’s foundation would donate $100 million to the state’s public schools, Connecticut taxpayers would kick in $100 million more, and a nonprofit organization established by the state to administer the funding would raise another $100 million from charitable sources.

That nonprofit was called the Partnership for Connecticut.

The partnership, whose leaders included Gov. Ned Lamont, several state legislators, and Dalio’s wife Barbara, immediately faced questions over transparency. Under the arrangement lawmakers approved, the partnership was exempt from key ethics and disclosure rules.

The endeavor, embattled from the start, barely lasted a year (though it did spend $24 million in March 2020 to purchase laptops for students at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic). A former chief executive then took the partnership to arbitration in late 2020, alleging she received low-level assignments, was expected to “rubberstamp” whatever programs Ray and Barbara Dalio chose, and that her reputation was damaged by rumors and lies spread among the partnership.

The saga — which many viewed as an attempt by the billionaire to exert his personal influence on policy without public scrutiny — followed a similar pattern to some of the stories of former Bridgewater employees, detailed in Rob Copeland’s “The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend,” published this week.

The behemoth hedge fund’s stature, and coffers, grew explosively after the characteristically pessimistic Dalio predicted “the big one” in late summer 2007, just ahead of the Great Recession. Copeland writes, “As the world hit rock bottom, Ray Dalio was on top.” (Bridgewater currently manages about $150 billion in assets.)

But in the years that followed, Copeland writes, Dalio turned his attention to cultivating Bridgewater’s workplace culture, a system he described as “radical transparency” — and some former employees might describe as traumatic.

There were cameras and recording devices all over the firm’s Westport’s offices. Employees were encouraged to file complaints about their colleagues in an internal log, where they critiqued each other on everything from poor management to personal debt to failing to wash one’s hands or even serving wilted peas in the cafeteria.

From the issues that arose, Dalio developed a set of “principles” for behavior that he believed, if followed, would provide resolution to any of the firm’s internal issues. Employees ranked each other — in public scorecards, in real-time — based on how well they lived up to each of the principles (a practice called “dotting”). And if a serious violation occurred, teams assigned to investigate could pull recordings and present a case — usually in front of a large group of people, with the intent of everyone learning a lesson from their colleague’s mistakes.

People sobbed openly in these “drilldowns” (often coordinated by then general counsel James Comey, who would go on to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation). But many of them stayed on afterward, their cases memorialized as lessons in the firm’s video archives. According to the book, Dalio believed that this kind of transparency was necessary to root out people who weren’t fit to work at Bridgewater.

The vast majority of the firm’s employees weren’t involved in investing decisions during those years, Copeland writes. And “the more time that folks at Bridgewater spent on The Principles — and its associated arguments, dottings, trials, and public hearings — the worse the company’s investments seemed to perform.”

Both Dalio and Bridgewater issued statements Tuesday disputing the book’s merits. The company said: “The exaggerated depiction attempts to take aim at who we are by painting a distorted and inaccurate picture through a series of strung-together stories.” Dalio called it “another one of those sensational and inaccurate tabloid books written to sell books to people who like gossip.”

(Copeland is a finance reporter for the New York Times and former hedge fund beat reporter for The Wall Street Journal.)

Dalio is a legend in the finance world, and his public image — intellectual, approachable guru — has been carefully cultivated. But while he espoused a culture of “radical transparency” that in theory encouraged everyone to speak their minds, many of his employees were afraid to disagree with the founder. Those who did saw their scorecard rankings drop.

The concept of transparency, which he has touted so widely, doesn’t seem to live up to its billing. In the case of the Partnership for Connecticut, its leadership panel took a public endeavor — which, by law, should be fully transparent — and exempted it from transparency. That didn’t go over well.

At Bridgewater, new management-level hires went through a typical cycle, Copeland writes. Their hiring was celebrated publicly and internally. They’d be given a first assignment in an area beyond their expertise, and they’d usually fall short. Then the interrogations over their failures would follow. If the shaming led the new hire to quit, it was only natural, Copeland writes. “He was applying his approach to investing rules — testing what worked, and throwing out what didn’t — to human resources.”

The partnership’s chief executive settled her claims in private arbitration, but the issues she cited publicly aren’t dissimilar from those described in Copeland’s book.

A third of new employees lasted less than a year and a half at Bridgewater. Naturally, those who departed the firm signed nondisclosure agreements.

Dalio is no longer at the helm at Bridgewater, the Principles are no longer mandatory training for new hires, and the taped trials of employees who violated those principles have been deleted from the firm’s “Transparency Library,” Copeland writes. These days, Dalio’s audience is much wider than the firm’s 1,200-plus employees who used to file in on Monday mornings to hear him talk about the latest economic research — gatherings called “What’s Going on in the World.”

Last month, Dalio made his annual visit to speak to attendees of the Greenwich Economic Forum at the Delamar Hotel in Greenwich. He showed an animated video and offered insights from his research on the direction he expects for the “changing world order” (characteristically pessimistic). As he talked, many in the audience took notes.

Dalio concluded by telling the Delamar Hotel audience how, at 74, he’s working on his legacy and looking to give back.

“The most important thing for me is to pass along everything,” he said. “To pass along some of the knowledge and principles that I’ve learned over a period of time — which is why I’m doing this, why am I writing books and so on — and to pass along the wealth, and to pass along … Bridgewater. What a joy it’s been.”

On LinkedIn, where he counts more than 2.5 million followers, Dalio dismissed Copeland’s book Tuesday in a post. “The book won’t matter to people who know Bridgewater and me well, and they are the people who matter most to me,” he wrote. “From this point on, I’m not going to give it more attention.”

Erica covers economic development for CT Mirror. Before moving to Connecticut to join the staff she worked in Los Angeles for public radio’s Marketplace and, before that, for the Wall Street Journal's L.A. bureau. She grew up in Minneapolis, MN, graduated from Haverford College and earned a master’s in journalism from the University of Southern California.

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BRIDGEWATER — Gov. Ned Lamont and his wife Annie Lamont have donated a 45-acre preserve to the Bridgewater Land Trust, according to the nonprofit.

The property, which will be called The Lamont Preserve, has been owned by the couple since 2005, the Bridgewater Land Trust said.

In a statement, Annie Lamont said she’s “confident” the Bridgewater Land Trust will be “good stewards” of the preserve.

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“The environmental benefits, protection of wildlife and extension of a protected forest is truly a gift to the entire community,” she said in the release.

Gov. Ned Lamont's office said he doesn't have a comment.

The land trust will permanently protect the land, which consists of forestland, meadow and wetlands along Lake Lillinonah with connecting frontage on Northrup Street, according to the nonprofit.

The conservation value of the land is "particularly high with almost half of a mile of lake frontage. In addition, it extends an existing protected greenway owned by the Nature Conservancy and is part of an identified small core forest ... protecting vital wildlife habitat," according to the nonprofit.

The land includes small meadows near the Northrup Street entrance that gives way to a mature hardwood forest descending steeply to the shoreline along Lake Lillinonah, the Bridgewater Land Trust said.

Julie Stuart, executive director of the Bridgewater Land Trust, said she’s "very grateful" to the Lamonts “for preserving this land in perpetuity. We look forward to further evaluation of the property to determine how it can be best preserved. There is potential for public access from existing trails owned by the Nature Conservancy.”

Christian Feuer, president of the land trust, said the donation “will not only enrich our community but also inspire others to support our mission of conserving our precious land.”

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GREENWICH — A year ago, the founder of one of the world’s largest hedge fund managers completed handing over control of the firm. Today, he maintains that he is not rethinking his decision.

Ray Dalio dismissed on Tuesday recent reports that he was considering a return to Westport-based Bridgewater Associates that would extend beyond his current roles as a board member and mentor to the firm’s chief investment officers. He outlined his plans during an on-stage interview with Bloomberg TV anchor and reporter David Westin, on the first day of the 2023 Greenwich Economic Forum’s annual conference at the Greenwich Delamar hotel.

“That is such a wrong,” Dalio said in response to a question from Westin about the reports. “By the way, don’t trust the media.”

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Dalio appeared to be referencing an article published last month by The New York Times that said the retirement contract for the 74-year-old Dalio allowed him to retake control of the firm if its financial performance declined. The article cited five unnamed people “with knowledge of the agreement.”

Dalio, “doesn’t necessarily want to come back to run the firm he founded 50 years ago,” the Times article said. “Instead, he has repeatedly brought up the idea of starting a new fund within Bridgewater that he hopes would help improve the firm’s investment returns, four of the people said. Bridgewater’s main fund has been on a downward slide since Mr. Dalio’s retirement.”

But Dalio said at the conference that, “I’m not creating my own fund. I have a family office that manages family and foundation funds. I’m doing that.”

Family offices are private wealth management advisory firms that serve exceptionally wealthy individuals. By many measures, Dalio ranks as the richest person living in Connecticut. As of Tuesday, his net worth totaled $16.5 billion, ranking No. 103 worldwide, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Bridgewater officials were not immediately available to comment on Dalio’s remarks at the conference.

As he has handed off control of Bridgewater’s investment portfolio and day-to-day operations, Dalio has become in recent years a prominent speaker and writer on management and economic issues. He has written a bestselling series of “Principles” books.

“I’m 74-years-old, and the most important thing for me is to pass along everything, to pass along some of the knowledge and principles that I’ve learned over a period of time, which is why I’m doing this, why I’m writing the books and so on,” said Dalio, a longstanding Greenwich resident who has spoken at all six of the Greenwich Economic Forum’s annual conferences in its hometown since its launch in 2018. “And to pass along the wealth, and to pass along other things, and pass along Bridgewater. What a joy it’s been to start it out of a two-bedroom apartment, and 47 years later, to build this extended family and these wonderful people, who are very, very capable. To have them, this next generation, flourish and being a bit of mentor to them — what a joy that is. So my objective is to do that.”

Dalio referenced a book by Joseph Campbell, called “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” which he said one of his sons gave him, to describe the current stage of his life.

“In that third transition — (Campbell) described it, and I essentially feel it — there’s what he called the passing of the boon,” Dalio said. “The boon is what you’ve acquired — the gifts you’ve acquired over that period of time. So I’m now in that phase. I’m going to put out one more book, (about) economic investment principles, and then I’m going to be done with that phase … I’m savoring life with my family and the things that I like to do. That’s where I am.”

In its post-Dalio era, Bridgewater is navigating many changes. In March, Bridgewater CEO Nir Bar Dea announced a restructuring that would include layoffs. He did not specify the number of job losses, but Bloomberg reported that the firm was eliminating about 100 jobs from a workforce of approximately 1,300 people.

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Bridgewater has not responded to inquiries in recent months from Hearst Connecticut Media about the current head count at its headquarters in the Nyala Farms complex, off Interstate 95’s Exit 18.

Among other recent developments, Bridgewater earlier this year ended its jobs-based incentives deal with the state Department of Economic and Community Development, a decision that resulted in it paying off the approximately $6.5 million balance of a state loan and forgoing the possibility of earning $18 million in additional tax credits.

“Bridgewater is proud to be based in Connecticut. We’ve called Connecticut home for over four decades, and we have no plans to relocate,” Sarah Fass, Bridgewater's chief human resources officer, said in a statement in May. “We made an agreement with the state to enter the program in 2016, and like many companies, our workforce and workplace has evolved significantly since that time. Even with these changes, we remain a strong supporter, contributor and advocate for Connecticut.”

Bridgewater had $123.5 billion in assets under management, as of Jan. 31 — ranking No. 2 globally, beyond the London-headquartered Man Group, according to Preqin, one of the leading providers of financial services data. Bridgewater’s clients include public and corporate pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, charitable foundations, foreign governments and central banks.

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BRIDGEWATER — One of the goals of the town's new master plan is to address power outages and other weather-related disruptions to residents’ lives.

“As long as they get their piece of paper, you get your checkbox that you’re eligible for state grants, and you have your POCD on file,” he said.

Goals

Another goal of the plan is to continue strengthening and maintaining the town's existing facilities and protecting its open spaces, environment, water and farming community — all of which were goals outlined in the plan the town approved in 2012.

In the last decade, Read said the town has improved its senior center and sidewalks, which have been made more walkable and bike-friendly, among other goals suggested in the 2012 plan. Despite its name, the plan doesn't need to focus solely on conservation and development.

“In my mind, development is a very bad word to use for a town plan,” Read said. “Development gets construed as lots of buildings, which Bridgewater doesn’t want. Nobody really wants that around here … The town is actually very well built out, according to our zoning regulations, and that hasn’t changed since 2012.”

Given Bridgewater’s rural community and low water supplies, Read said the town is not suitable for intense development. Because of the town’s low water supplies, he said Bridgewater doesn’t have any sewers or public water availability, but instead has on-site wells and on-site septic systems.

“It’s a very sensitive area that way because it has no public water, no public sewer, no public transportation,” Read said. “It’s not really conducive to concentrated development — it was true 10 years ago and it’s true today. It reaffirms the concept that development is limited to single family homes within our zoning regulations. Could it change a little bit? Possibly, but the zoning regulations would have to change.”

The Planning and Zoning Commission adopted the new master plan on Nov. 17. Read said the Board of Selectmen will vote on the plan at its Dec. 13 meeting. The plan would then be submitted to the Connecticut State Library with copies of sent to the state Office of Policy and Management.

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Once the plan is fully approved, Read said it will be available on the town’s website.

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BRIDGEWATER -- Bill Stuart, who held sway as first selectman in this small town for so long that a bumper sticker on his car reads, "This is my Town," is packing it in after 30 years.

Stuart announced Wednesday he will not seek another four-year term in November. An FBI investigation of town finances and a long-running feud with a former friend and political ally cast a pall over his last year in office.

"I'm leaving the town in great shape," Stuart said Wednesday. "Recreation, the senior center, town facilities, the highways, all are in great shape. The town's in the best fiscal shape it has been in all my years in office."

But Stuart acknowledged that his political battles have taken a toll.

"I might have run for another term, but George Allingham has been ruthless in coming after me over the last few years," he said, "and Bridgewater doesn't deserve to be continually dragged through the mud."

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Allingham, the town's former Board of Finance chairman and for decades fast friends with Stuart, first raised questions about Stuart's management of town finances in 2008.

Since then, there have been lawsuits and accusations brought against Stuart by and regarding the Allingham family. New Milford attorney Paul Garlasco and Stuart also have had a running feud involving lawsuits and ethics charges.

The FBI last July raided Town Hall, seizing boxes of records and later interviewing some town officials. Federal officials have declined to discuss the status of any investigation.

In recent years, Stuart's management of the Burnham Fund, a charity for the needy, had drawn criticism from some who said he mismanaged it, claims that Stewart said were baseless.

The Burnham Fund was created in 1925 from the $10,000 bequest of a former resident who directed the money be used to aid the town's poor. The fund has grown in value to more than $250,000.

Until three years ago, Stuart, as first selectman, had sole authority over how the funds were to be disbursed. Now, a majority of the town's selectmen have to approve any grants.

Supporters and foes alike have acknowledged through the years that Stewart has got his way on most matters, major and minor.

"He runs the town as his personal fiefdom," neighbor and friend Michael Chelminski told The News-Times last year. "But he's done a lot of good things for the town. You go to his office and tell him your road needs fixing. The next week, the road crew is out there."

With a population of 1,727, according to the 2010 census, Bridgewater is the smallest town in the area. It's also, by far, the least densely populated town in the region, with 106 people per square mile.

Celebrities like its leafy beauty and its privacy. Writers like Van Wyck Brooks and Theodore White lived there. For a time, so did theater and film director Mike Nichols and his wife, newswoman Diane Sawyer. Actress Mia Farrow is still in residence.

Bridgewater is the only dry town in the state. Stuart, like other residents, has a bar set up in his garage.

The first selectman and his family own Shallow Brook Farm, which raises, sells and boards horses. His son, Bill Stuart Jr, also raises beef cattle. Their land has been owned by the Stuart family since 1926.

Stuart said Wednesday that he is happy fellow Democrat Curtis Read is running for first selectman. Read now serves on the Board of Selectmen.

"With Curtis Read running, there's a bright future ahead for the town," Stuart said. "I've been waiting for someone to come along who can keep moving the town forward."

"With his experience and business knowledge," he concluded, "Curtis will do just that."

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