* Drawbridge fund suffered $3.3 bln redemptions Jan. 31

* Clients redeemed $1.5 bln from hybrid hedge funds

* Assets under management fell 11 pct to $29.5 billion (Adds comment from conference call, details)

By Joseph A. Giannone

NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) - Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which went public two years ago, when investment funds were booming, said on Monday the financial crisis deepened its quarterly loss fourfold, generated more writedowns and prompted more customer redemptions.

Fortress, one of the world's largest managers of hedge and private equity funds, reported its net loss widened to $140 million, or $1.50 a share, for the fourth quarter, from $29 million, or 43 cents a share, a year earlier.

The weak results reflected a loss of $265 million from stakes in private equity and hedge funds as well as interest expenses. Fortress set aside $299 million for writedowns and for "clawbacks," refunding previously paid fees if it writes down investments later.

"2008 was obviously the single most volatile and difficult year in the financial markets at any point since we have been alive, and the volatility has continued here in the first quarter," Fortress Chief Executive Wesley Edens said on a conference call.

A little over two years ago, Fortress became the first U.S hedge fund firm to go public, leading what was expected to be a parade of other IPOs by high-flying fund managers. Yet the sale coincided with the peak in financial markets.