top hedge fund list - JPM Chase remains the biggest

--J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. remains the biggest U.S. hedge-fund manager as total assets of the biggest hedge fund firms topped $1.6 trillion as of Jan. 1. --Assets of the biggest hedge funds increased 34% in 2007 although three of the 10 largest hedge fund firms lost $24 billion in assets during the second half of the year, according to a new biannual survey published by Absolute Return magazine, a unit of HedgeFund Intelligence. --Since July, Goldman Sachs Group, J.P. Morgan and D.E. Shaw all lost hedge fund assets. Paulson & Co. and Avenue Capital Group joined the top 10 firms, replacing Tudor and ESL Investments Inc., run by Sears Holdings Corp. Chairman Edward S. Lampert. Assets of the 262 hedge fund firms that manage $1 billion or more increased by $407 billion, or 34%. That's $60 billion more than their gain in 2006 and greater than any one-year increase since Absolute Return began tracking industry assets in 2003. During the second half of the year, fund assets increased by 10%, the smallest half-year increase since the survey began. J,P. Morgan hedge funds had $44.7 billion in assets, down 20% from $56.2 billion in July but up 24% from the total in January 2007. J.P. Morgan's assets are $8.7 billion higher than the second- and third-place firms: Bridgewater Associates and Farallon Capital Management -- both of which manage $36 billion. Renaissance Technologies rose to fourth place with $34 billion, a 42% jump, while Och-Ziff Capital Management rose one spot to fifth place, with $33.2 billion, up 58%. Paulson joined the top 10 for the first time after its assets quadrupled in 2007 to end the year at $29 billion. The biggest loser of 2007 was Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which fell to seventh place from second as assets dropped 27% in the second half to end the year at $29.20 billion. D.E. Shaw fell to sixth place, from third.