The head of the world’s largest publicly-traded hedge fund firm says rumors of the industry’s decline are greatly exaggerated.

Peter Clarke, Man’s CEO, said the explosive growth of the hedge fund industry will continue, in spite of poor returns and widely-reported trouble, especially related to the U.S. subprime mortgage market.

And hard evidence backs him up: According to HedgeFund Intelligence, hedge funds now manage some $2.5 trillion globally.

“I’d say there is no current indication that industry growth rates will materially change,” said Clarke, at an event sponsored by Reuters in London. “We continue to see an institutional appetite for products.”