Bridgewater's Dalio says Trump's populist policies could hurt world economy

(Reuters) - Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates LP, said he is increasingly concerned about the Trump administration's "populist" policies that could hurt the world economy.

The detrimental effects of these policies could be more powerful than the beneficial effects of Trump's pro-business policies, Dalio and co-Chief Investment Officer Bob Prince said on Tuesday.

"We are now in a period of time when how this balance tilts will be more important to the economy, markets, and our well-beings than normally dominant drivers such as central bank policies," Dalio and Prince said in a note.

"While there is a lot of potential to improve fiscal policies and make beneficial structural reforms, there is also a significant risk that his populist policies could hurt the world economy (and worse)."

In November, Dalio said Trump's policies would have a "broadly positive" effect on the U.S. economy and that bond prices likely made a "30-year top."

Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries.

Bridgewater oversees about $150 billion in client assets.

(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)