Hedge Funds See $7.1 Billion Inflows in January

Investors are putting money back into hedge funds.

According to BarclayHedge, a tracking company that compiles the data for the loosely regulated portfolios, investors plowed $7.1 billion of fresh capital into hedge funds in January, reversing the $4.07 billion that pension funds, endowments and rich individuals took out of hedgies in December.

Reuters: “The inflow in January is a very positive sign for the hedge fund industry,” said Sol Waksman, CEO of BarclayHedge. “The first month of the year typically delivers a redemption-driven outflow.”

The renewed interest suggests an aggressive return of risk and comes as the financial markets have rallied broadly from the lows hit in March. Hedge funds now manage roughly $1.5 trillion in assets, BarclayHedge said. Still, the amount of money flowing back into hedge funds is below the industry’s highpoint of roughly $2 trillion at the end of 2007.