BlackRock is the world's largest money manager, but the firm was not a major player in the hedge fund world until December 2009, when it acquired the $13.5 billion Barclays Global Investors business. That move catapulted it into the top ten largest hedge fund firms in the world; it ranks at No. 8 on the Hedge Fund 100 for the second time in three years. BlackRock began managing hedge funds as early as 1996, but it sealed its spot in the top ten with a series of acquisitions, most notably the BGI deal. Over the years BlackRock has evolved from a risk management and fixed-income institutional asset manager to…