The bar for entering the hedge-fund industry has been raised, and smaller funds are having trouble raising money from investors. The increased costs of running a hedge fund now compared with 10 years ago also make it challenging for startup hedge funds. 2018 was the fifth consecutive year where total hedge-fund launches declined, despite big-name launches like Michael Gelband's ExodusPoint and Daniel Sundheim's D1 Capital Partners. Becoming a hedge-fund manager in 2019 is harder than ever before.