Halfway through 2009, hedge funds are keeping it simple, stupid. The average fund was up around 10% through the end of June, according to preliminary data that haven't yet been released by hedge-fund data providers, while the S&P 500 was up about 3.2%, including dividends.

While that early estimate of hedge-fund returns is likely to be revised, it's a sign that, for the funds that have survived the financial crisis, there has been a return to basics. The market collapse last year exposed deep problems in the hedge-fund industry, including too much leverage and too many funds following the same trends. The industry shed hundreds of billions of dollars amid massive losses and investor redemptions.