Over time, the hedge fund industry has changed dramatically. The first global macro hedge fund, the Jaguar Fund was launched only in 1986 by Julian Robertson. In the next four years macro funds became the dominant class of hedge fund:

Dominant hedge fund strategies used in 1990:

Dominant hedge fund strategies used in 2000:

Equity hedge is now the most common type of hedge fund, it is also perhaps the most "normal" as many equity hedge funds tend to be not all that different to common mutual funds. Contrast this to the situation ten years ago, where global macro funds, the most aggressive type usually with the most leverage was the dominant fund. Hedge funds do appear to be entering into more mainstream use, previously they were only available to very rich and very aggressive investors that wanted something suitably risky to impress their friends, now hedge funds are being marketed to mums and dads as a common option to tick in their super funds.