After a decade of easy money pushing equity markets in one direction, Wall Street hedge fund manager Ricky Sandler says the return of volatility and higher interest rates is seeing money return to long-short strategies.

The founder and chief investment officer of Eminence Capital flew out to meet prospective clients in Sydney and Melbourne last week and said that wealth platforms and family offices were most interested in his $US2.6 billion ($4.1 billion) flagship long-short equity fund. The firm also manages a $US4.1 billion global long-only equity strategy.