(Yicai Global) April 7 -- The size of one of Bridgewater Associates’ China-themed funds swelled by 13 percent in the first quarter, as the world’s biggest hedge fund manager further expanded its presence in the Chinese market.

The Bridgewater All Weather China fund has assets of USD6.15 billion as of March 30, up from USD5.4 billion at the end of last year, according to recent figures from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Set up by the world’s biggest hedge fund manager in 2017, it is an all-weather fund that tends to perform stably under different economic conditions and has flexible investment strategies, allowing it to diversify across stocks, bonds, and commodities. The minimum investment in the fund is USD10 million.

The scale of Chinese private equity funds under Bridgewater’s management has also exceeded CNY10 billion (USD1.6 billion) because of the firm’s popularity among Chinese investors, Yicai Global learned.

At the end of last year, Bridgewater China Investment Management partnered with China Resources Trust to launch an onshore fund that raised CNY8 billion (USD1.3 billion) in only one week. The fund, which is managed by China Resources Trust and has Bridgewater as its investment advisor, has the lowest minimum subscription of CNY2 million (USD314,400), Yicai Global learned.

The fund’s investment portfolio consists of stocks, bonds, and commodities and earned a paper profit of 6 percent as of March 25, an insider told Yicai Global, without disclosing details about the positions.

Bridgewater, established in 1975, managed assets worth USD235.5 billion as of March 30. It entered the Chinese market in 2016, launched its first private fund product in 2018, and secured a license to operate as an investment counselor in the country the following year.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione