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Bridgewater and Eileen Murray Reach ‘Amicable and Fair Agreement’ Over Lawsuit
“As we had hoped, we are pleased that we were able to resolve the discussions around Eileen’s post-employment benefits,” the hedge fund firm said Monday.
Bridgewater Associates and its former co-chief executive officer have come to a resolution in her discrimination lawsuit against the company.
Eileen Murray, who left Bridgewater earlier this year, filed a complaint against her former employer in late July.
She alleged that Bridgewater withheld her deferred compensation after she disclosed their ongoing gender discrimination, unequal pay, and breach of contract dispute to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which she became the chairperson of in late June. Their spat continued through September.
“After thoughtful discussions with Bridgewater, we have arrived at an amicable and fair agreement regarding my departure from the company,” Murray said in a statement shared with Institutional Investor via email on Monday.
“As I had said, I am proud of my time at Bridgewater and of the impact that David [McCormick] and I had as co-CEOs, helping the firm grow in a way that increased its strength and stability, including establishing an annual pay equity review, supporting people to achieve their full potential through ongoing efforts to create a diverse and inclusive work environment, while ultimately giving investors a highly differentiated path to value across market cycles,” Murray added. “I am confident that David and Bridgewater have the platform to build on so that employees and investors can realize success for years to come.”
[II Deep Dive: ‘Brazen Hypocrisy’: Eileen Murray’s Lawsuit Against Bridgewater Heats Up]
A spokesperson for Bridgewater confirmed the news on Monday.
“As we had hoped, we are pleased that we were able to amicably and fairly resolve the discussions around Eileen’s post-employment benefits,” they said via email.
“We have a tremendous amount of respect for Eileen and the many contributions she made to Bridgewater during her 10 years of helping to lead the company,” the spokesperson wrote. “She will always be a valued member of the Bridgewater community and we wish her well in her various new ventures.”
This is not the only gender pay issue Bridgewater has dealt with recently.
In September, the Wall Street Journalreported that Karen Karniol-Tambour made a formal complaint with Bridgewater’s leadership after learning that she earned less than some of her male counterparts.
Bridgewater pushed back on this reporting, issuing a statement that said Karniol-Tambour was “shocked at the story’s inaccuracy.” The Wall Street Journal stood by the report.
This is also the second dispute that Bridgewater settled in recent months.
In late August, Bridgewater and the founders of Tekmerion Capital Management, a small investment firm, asked the New York State Supreme Court to permanently dismiss their case. The two sides had been at odds over Bridgewater’s claims that Lawrence Minicone and Zachary Squire — Tekmerion’s founders and ex-Bridgewater employees — had breached the confidentiality agreements laid out in their original employment contracts.
Bridgewater’s Pure Alpha I fund remains down 12 percent for the year, even after gaining 1.36 percent in August, Institutional Investor previously reported. Pure Alpha II, meanwhile, is down 18.6 percent for the year, despite rising 1.91 percent last month.
The firm’s beta fund, All Weather, is faring better this year: it is up 3.8 percent, having risen 2.2 percent in August.