Released in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers, the list includes business principals and senior portfolio managers in high-powered positions and who have been industry pioneers.

The list comes on the heels of a recent report that found women-owned hedge funds consistently reported stronger returns, and even performed better during the financial crisis, than funds owned by men. The finding was based on a study by Hedge Fund Research, which tracked the performance of women-owned funds from 2000 to 2009.

Women manage an estimated 3% slice of the $1.5 trillion invested in hedge funds, according to Hedge Fund Journal.

Below are three particularly noteworthy women, the rest of the list can be found here:

1. Leda Braga, principal and portfolio manager of BlueCrest Capital. This college lecturer turned JPMorgan quant analyst oversees $9.6 billion in assets, making her one of the world’s top female portfolio managers. One fund she manages with firm co-founder and CEO Mike Platt gained 43% in 2008, making it one of the top-performing systemic funds.

2. Mina Gerowin, managing director of Paulson & Co. Gerowin heads an investing team from the London arm of the $33 billion hedge fund bearing the name of her former classmate at Harvard Business School — John Paulson. Before joining Paulson seven years ago, she was an ibanker at Lazard Freres where she got her hands dirty in international M&A and LBOs.

3. Elena Ambrosiadou, founder and CEO of IKOS. IKOS opened in 1991 as one of the first independent hedge funds in Europe. It has grown into a global shop with offices in major financial hubs and an asset base of about $1.5 billion. With over two-and-a-half decades of hedge-fund and business management experience under her belt, Ambrosiadou is recognized as one of the industry pioneers in Europe.

Write to Yoree Koh