LONDON (Reuters) -Bridgewater founder and former CEO Ray Dalio says gold might be a way to shield investors from unhealthy markets, overburdened with debt.

"A well diversified portfolio would have somewhere between 10 and 15% in the portfolio of gold," said Dalio, who sold his remaining stake in Bridgewater Associates and stepped away from the hedge fund he founded in July.

Dalio warned that as the U.S. spends more to service its debts, this "squeezes out other spending" and builds up as plaque would in a clogged human circulatory system. "A doctor would warn of a heart attack," he added.

Gold was uncorrelated with other assets, its value tending to rise during a crisis when other assets fall, Dalio told attendees at a launch event for Abu Dhabi Finance Week, scheduled for December.