I don't deal with hedge funds, but worked somewhat indirectly with them at IBs... The only figure I ever heard, was 3 years worth...
And that is AUDITED.
I would recommend using at least 2 unrelated methods:
--- A separate, traded account at a respectable institution. Stay away from small introducing brokers or 2-man shops.
--- Since you are at the starting end and cannot be tracked by hedge fund type sites, set up an audited account at one of: timertrac.com, collective2.com, timerdigest.com, futurestruth (if automated) or hulberts (if you can get accepted). Also, being on these sites might even get you a couple of leads...