A former top executive at hedge fund firm Citadel Investment Group is starting his own investment company, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Ervin Shindell is launching a firm called RoundKeep Capital Advisors, the newspaper said, according to marketing documents it has seen. Joseph Rotter, Robert Doherty and Robert Donath, who also worked at Citadel, are joining the firm.

The launch of a new firm may be an early sign that the hedge fund industry, hit by its worst-ever performance last year for returns, and also suffering heavy client withdrawals, is recovering. Data from Hedge Fund Research, a Chicago-based fund tracker, shows returns at 11 per cent between January and the end of September, with further gains indicated by results over the past two weeks.

Mr Shindell, who was a member of Citadel's management committee, left the Chicago-based hedge fund firm in March last year, according to a separate report by Reuters.