2009 has proved so far to be a bumper year for hedge funds — not least due to a huge rebound in the price of most assets — helping eradicate at least some of the bad memories of last year.

Citadel’s Kenneth Griffin has been a case in point.

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal (which dubs him a ‘titan’ and a ‘hedge fund king’), says Citadel made $5 billion in trading profits in the first nine months of this year as markets recovered.

This comes after what the WSJ says was an $8 billion loss of clients’ money last year.

Until 2008, and like many top funds, Griffin was turning investors away. Those in the fund paid 20 percent of profits plus commonly 4 to 8 percent of assets, the article says.

Griffin now has plenty of new ideas — he is launching four new funds and expanding into investment banking to plug the gap left by Lehman – but he is now cold-calling investors to raise money.

How times have changed.

(See also Back in rude health and Madoff shadow looms over UBP)