One possible outline of the future of hedge funds is beginning to emerge from the wreckage of the industry’s six-year boom, and it looks very much like the business did in the 1980s, but with lower fees.

Several of the biggest hedge funds, including the venerable Tudor Investment Corp, run by Paul Tudor Jones, are returning to their roots as traders of the most liquid currency, interest rate and equity index markets. Both have split off toxic, hard-to-sell assets into special vehicles from which investors cannot withdraw their money.