The number of hedge funds shutting down in the second quarter of this year continued to outpace the numbers that opened up, although practitioners predict that this trend will reverse after managers enjoyed their best start to a year in a decade.

Almost 300 funds shut down in the second quarter while 182 launched, according to data provider Hedge Fund Research. The firm's president Kenneth Heinz said this showed that the aftershocks of the credit crunch continued to be "both widespread and sustained."