Hedging their bets: Number of hedge funds rising.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Cassandra Toroian earned her stripes as a bank analyst, later branching out to found an Internet site aimed at women interested in learning about the financial world.

Now Toroian's added the title of hedge fund manager to her resume, joining legions of financial professionals and the very wealthy -- getting involved in hedge funds.

So what makes Toroian think she and co manager Daniel Cohen can successfully operate a financial securities fund that invests primarily in fixed income debt instruments of banks and thrifts?

"Daniel and I know bank stocks. There are a lot of bank stock hedge funds, but few focus on trust preferreds," she said. "We just thought it would be an interesting twist."

The fund's overall philosophy is to …