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Doug Krizner: Investors plowed more than $100 billion into hedge funds in the first half of this year. According to a new report, that's almost as much as hedge funds raised in all of 2006.

Hedge funds are risky lot — but as Amy Scott reports, that hasn't made them less attractive.

Amy Scott: Money from institutions and wealthy investors from all over the world has swollen hedge fund coffers to more than $1.7 trillion. That's according to industry tracker Hedge Fund Research.

Charles Gradante follows hedge funds for the Hennessee Group. He says the recent stock market correction could push even more money into hedge funds as investors look to protect themselves.

Charles Gradante: As the market gets richer in terms of the Dow being at 14,000, more and more people are taking money out of their brokerage account, and they're going into hedge funds to protect the possibility of a correction in the market.

Hedge funds make money in a down market by betting that some stocks will fall. That's worked for funds playing in housing and lender-related stocks.

Funds that haven't done so well invested in securities backed by subprime mortgages — the kind that recently got Bear Stearns in so much trouble.

In New York, I'm Amy Scott for Marketplace.