Alfred Winslow Jones is credited with creating the world's first hedge fund in 1949. He is the namesake to what is known as the Jones-model hedge fund.
The hedge fund industry has grown dramatically over the past decade. There were as few as 500 known hedge funds in the world in 1991 when Praesideo launched its first fund. Now there 7000+ estimated hedge funds.
Many hedge fund strategies, particularly arbitrage strategies, are limited as to how much capital they can successfully employ before returns diminish. As a result, many successful hedge fund managers limit the amount of capital they will accept.