U.S. hedge funds managing $3.9 bln closed in 2008

BOSTON, March 26 (Reuters) - Hedge funds are collapsing at a rapid clip in 2008, with managers who oversaw some $3.9 billion in assets shutting down in the first quarter, according to data released on Wednesday.

Since most of 2007's failures came in the summer, with few at the start of the year, the industry may be on track to beat last year's closures of 49 funds that managed about $18.6 billion in assets, data by hedge fund trade publication Absolute Return show.

Some of last year's biggest casualties include three Bear Stearns (BSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) hedge funds that accelerated the investment bank's problems to the point that it had to be rescued from collapse by rival JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

This year's collapses include the Sailfish Multistrategy Fixed Income Fund and two funds run by Peloton Partners LP.

Managers in the once red-hot $1.8 trillion hedge fund industry have pulled in new assets from pension funds and other big investors with promises to make money in all markets, but recently many funds have fallen on hard times in volatile markets.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, editing by Richard Chang)