WGAL: “The Documents We Found Showed Those Investments Were Made When McCormick Led Bridgewater Associates”

PENNSYLVANIA — A new fact check from Lancaster’s WGAL confirms that Connecticut hedge fund executive David McCormick invested millions in blacklisted Chinese military companies that produced stealth bombers, fighter jets, and aircraft carriers.

WGAL: Fact check: Bob Casey campaign ad claims Dave McCormick invested in China’s military

• One of the claims the Casey campaign has been making is that McCormick invested in China’s military.

• One ad states, “As a Wall Street CEO, he ran the No. 1 foreign hedge fund in China, pouring money into companies that build missiles and bombers for China’s military.”

• Dave McCormick led a hedge fund in Connecticut called Bridgewater Associates. He was co-CEO starting in 2017, then CEO in 2020.

• Bridgewater filed federal disclosure forms, which are required by the U.S. Department of Labor. Based on these forms, we can see where some of the hedge fund’s investments were made.

• When McCormick was CEO in 2020, we found Bridgewater made hundreds of thousands of dollars in investments in subsidiaries of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, or AVIC.

• The U.S. Department of Defense says, “AVIC designs and produces China’s military aircraft, including the future H-20 flying wing stealth bomber.”

• Also, in the hedge fund disclosure forms, News 8 found investments Bridgewater made in 2019 in Aisino Corp, a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, or CASIC.

• A U.S. commission that reviews relations with China says, “CASIC is China’s largest missile designer and manufacturer.”

• Remember, the claim we’re checking is that the hedge fund Dave McCormick led poured money into companies that build missiles and bombers for China’s military.

• The documents we found showed those investments were made when McCormick led Bridgewater Associates, so we label the claim as true.

• Both former President Donald Trump in 2020 and President Joe Biden in 2021 sanctioned the Chinese companies we highlighted, citing their involvement in China’s military.

• The sanctions banned U.S. investment in those companies.

See Also:

Bloomberg: GOP’s McCormick Led Bridgewater During China Military Investment

CNN: McCormick wants the US to divest from China. As a hedge fund manager, he oversaw investments in Chinese companies