Hedge-fund managers, marketers and Wall Street firms have been predicting an uptick in money flowing into hedge funds for several months now.
Another indication that the flows are picking up comes this week from Gartmore Group Ltd., the U.K.-based fund manager that listed shares on the London Stock Exchange at the end of last year. Gartmore said it's seeing momentum for account levels keep rising: Its high-fee-paying hedge fund business shrank by 7% in the year to £3.9 billion from £4.2 billion, hurt by investor withdrawals in early 2009.
But Gartmore said it had net inflows of hedge-fund money for the rest of 2009. That kind of reversal is what many managers often watch for before adding significant new staff.