By Neil Wilson
Notwithstanding the shocking recent news concerning Raj Rajaratnam and Galleon in the U.S., there has been a marked change in mood of late in the global hedge fund industry. Back in the springtime, when we held our annual EuroHedge Summit in Paris after the turmoil of last year, the atmosphere was still distinctly negative and edgy.
However, by the time of our recent InvestHedge Forum at the British Museum in September, the mood was tangibly more upbeat and positive. So what had changed? And can—or will—it last?
Well, one thing that has become clear since last spring is that the financial world as we know it is not coming to an end. The concerted efforts of governments and central banks, in the form of bailouts, fiscal stimulus and quantitative easing, have done the trick and pulled us out of the abyss—at least for the...