“Hedge funds went through both hell and high water last year.” Those were the words of Christopher Miller, chief executive of hedge fund rating agency Allenbridge HedgeInfo, summing up the industry’s experiences at the height of the credit crunch.

Such adversity makes the revival of the $1.5 trillion (€1 trillion) industry this year all the more noteworthy. By the start of January this year, it held 20% fewer assets than it did in June 2007, when the credit crunch began.