Ray Dalio acquires a stake in submarine maker amid market pessimism

• Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has invested in a company that builds submarines for the super-rich.
• The Bridgewater founder now co-owns Triton Submarines with Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron.
• The investment comes after Dalio recently said he expected low real returns from financial markets in the coming years.

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Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio has invested in a company that makes submarines for the super-rich just weeks after forecasting a lackluster outlook for financial markets in the coming years.

According to the Financial Times, the billionaire investor has acquired shares in Florida-based Triton Submarines along with Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron.

“If you’re just riding a yacht somewhere fancy, that’s one thing. If you’re on a yacht instead and you can go down and explore, first of all it makes the trip better and it also encourages exploration,” Dalio told the outlet.

Founded in 2007 by Patrick Lahey and Bruce Jones, Triton sells its submarines at prices up to $40 million.

Dalio did not disclose financial details of the transaction, such as the amount invested in the company, but noted that he and Cameron are co-owners of the company, according to FT.

The investment in the submarine maker comes as no surprise given Dalio’s interest in ocean exploration, which he has talked about in the past. In 2019, during an interview in his personal three-man submarine, he said that he finds underwater exploration much more exciting and important than space exploration.

But it also goes hand in hand with Dalio’s pessimistic longer-term view of financial markets, where he expects “negative or poor real returns” over the next five years, according to a MarketWatch interview published in October.

Investors have been bearish on US stocks this year as the Federal Reserve steps up its fight against 40 years of high inflation by raising interest rates sharply. Aggressive monetary tightening sent the US S&P 500 stock index into a bear market earlier this year, and many investors now expect the world’s largest economy to enter a recession next year.

Dalio has previously estimated that stocks could fall 20% if the Fed hikes rates above 4.5%. The central bank’s policy rate is currently between 3.75% and 4% and is up 375 basis points this year.