Canada Taps Senior Bridgewater Executive to Run Sovereign Wealth Fund — Update

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney named the co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater Associates, Karen Karniol-Tambour, as the head of the country's new sovereign wealth fund.

Karniol-Tambour's appointment marks the next step in Carney's effort to jump start the construction of so-called national projects, and help promising domestic startups expand.

The Canada Strong Fund, unveiled earlier this year, will start with a capital commitment of 25 billion Canadian dollars (US$17.7 billion). Last week's annual budget plan said individual Canadians could participate in the fund's returns through the purchase of government-issued notes.

Karniol-Tambour has worked at Bridgewater--one of the world's largest hedge funds-- for two decades. As co-chief investment officer, she supervised the transition of Bridgewater research into trading strategies, among other things.

"Karniol-Tambour brings the experience and ambition to lead this mission - making investments that strengthen our economy and build lasting wealth for Canadians," Carney said in a statement.

Bridgewater Chief Executive Nir Bar Dea said the firm is thrilled that Carney tapped Karniol-Tambour for the job, and thanked her for the impact she's made at Bridgewater. "As a proud Canadian, this is an opportunity for Karen to serve her country and take on the important work of public service," Bar Dea said.

Canadian officials have said the sovereign-wealth fund would invest exclusively in Canada, and take minority ownership stakes in projects and companies and operate independently from the government.

The fund's initial C$25 billion capital base will come from the federal treasury, sparking criticism because Canada is a net debtor as opposed to net saver. Canada had posted 15 consecutive quarterly current-account deficits until swinging to a surplus for the April-to-June period this year.

According to recent remarks from Karniol-Tambour posted on Bridgewater's web site, she said that artificial-intelligence investments and trade protectionism were driving markets and portfolio risks. "This is an environment where you're going to either get higher inflation or higher productivity growth. I think you're probably going to get both," she said, adding this type of sustained growth would be beneficial to assets and stocks relative to fixed income.

Carney has made it a top priority to increase investments in new trade corridors and resource projects to build resilience in a previously complacent Canadian economy, in a bid to reduce Canada's reliance on trade with the U.S. to drive growth.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

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November 09, 2026 12:16 ET (17:16 GMT)