Hedge funds are facing tough times

NEW YORK, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- The days of guaranteed success and huge wealth gained through managing a hedge fund appear to be fading and may be over, one U.S. investment manager said.

"For the past five or six years, it seemed anybody could go to their computer and print up a business card and say they were in the hedge fund business and raise a pot of money," Richard Moore, the treasurer of North Carolina told The New York Times. "That's going to be gone forever," he said.

Hedge funds are going through their toughest year. In the past three months, the number of hedge funds shrank for the first time, dropping by 217 to 10,016, the Times reported.

In the same period, the $1.7 trillion industry lost $180 billion.

Many wealthy investors are pulling back from the market. Some money mangers say they fear thousands of hedge funds could fold in the current economy, the Times said.

"Hedge funds are having a bad year, absolutely, but they're still holding up better than stocks," Robert Dennis, investment director for the Massachusetts pension oversight commission, told the Times. "Losing less money than another investment is, while not great, it's still something to be at least satisfied with."