Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, has given up control of the firm, ending a drawn-out transition of power that had come to define the industry’s succession problems.

The 73-year-old, who until last month was one of three co-chief investment officers at the firm and sat on its investment committee, has transferred all of his voting rights to the board of directors, said people familiar with the details. Dalio will remain on the board as founder and CIO mentor.

“The transition of Bridgewater from Ray is done!” said an email to employees sent on Tuesday by co-chief executive officers Nir Bar Dea and Mark Bertolini. “This process wasn’t easy and we didn’t always agree, but together, we’ve now finished something that very few firms or founders have accomplished, shifting from being a founder-led boutique to being an enduring institution led successfully by the next generation.”