Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, is reportedly giving more control to its top executives, the latest move as billionaire founder Ray Dalio takes a lesser role managing the $150 billion firm’s day-to-day operations.

“This will both broaden the ownership across the firm and help us remain employee controlled for generations to come,” Bridgewater’s co-chief executives, David McCormick and Eileen Murray, wrote in a Thursday letter to clients that was reviewed by The New York Times.

Last year, Dalio announced he would step down from managing the firm, Business Insider reported at the time. According to a client note from the time, Dalio said he expected “to remain a professional investor at Bridgewater until I die or until those running Bridgewater don’t want me anymore.”

Dalio remains co-CIO and co-chairman of the firm.

You can read the full Times report here.

A person close to the firm sent the following statement to Business Insider about the changes:

  • "This is the next stage in Bridgewater's long-planned, well thought out transition from what was once a founder-led boutique to an institutional caliber global asset manager built for the long term."
  • "Ray Dalio, along with Bob Prince and Greg Jensen, the three CIOs of the firm and the majority owners, today announced to the employees of the firm a plan to create an employee partnership whose members will participate in the governance and management of the firm moving forward."
  • "While the firm has long had a number of key employees with phantom equity ownership, this group of employee partners will not only be economic owners but will be partially responsible for the governance of the firm and the direction of the organization moving forward."
  • "This partnership structure will further strengthen the foundation of Bridgewater as an employee-owned and employee-controlled firm."
  • "Ray [Dalio], Bob [Prince] and Greg [Jensen] have selected a small group of "seed partners" and an additional group of provisional partners to help determine the eventual make up and direction of the partnership. The seed partners represent a balance across the firm of senior leaders who hold a variety of responsibilities. These seed partners are essentially a design committee, to explore and lay the basic building blocks of the partnership."
  • "This group of seed partners, along with input from the provisional partners, will be charged with determining the functions, the members, the responsibilities and other aspects of the partnership. It is also expected that the employee partners will elect three members to Bridgewater's Board of Directors."
  • "However, it is very much of a work in progress. In the spirit of transparency, they are sharing the plan with the Bridgewater community as it is being developed."
  • "Ray, Bob & Greg's aspiration for this partnership is that it is able to represent and govern in a way that is consistent with the heart and soul of Bridgewater, and can become a center of mass of leadership, ownership, and governance. Through time, it can develop into what the next generation aspires to and part of what the prior generation counts on to carry the company forward. They caution, it will take a lot of figuring out, and they are excited to watch as it is built."