We've been talking a lot of about more hedge funds going public in the wake of Fortress Investments' offering. It appears to be a reality. We're likely to see more hedge funds go public before more private equity funds make the move. According to an AP update, Souren Ouzounian, banker at Merrill Lynch, said at a conference that six of his hedge-fund clients are mulling IPOs. A Lehman Brothers banker said four clients are going to file in "the fairly near term." But you have to wonder if the thought processes have been complicated a bit by the lure of the private placements market, which is more active than the IPO market these days. Oaktree Capital Management last week placed securities privately in its management company.

For more:
- here's the AP update