Most hedge funds don't have the inherent edges that investment banks do (e.g. customer orders, seeing 2-way flow in OTC markets etc, having diversified revenue streams, access to massive leverage and financing, ear with the Fed/Treasury, ability to issue stock etc).
Plenty of other markets to trade. Equities will not be the game. Futures, Comds, Euro/Emerging Markets, Currency..... A lot of things to trade, just not US public held Companies.
JP Morgan took over and has Bear Stearns Barclay's and others took over Lehman's IB units... Goldman and Morgan didn't go anywhere Royal Bank of Scotland, Credit Suisse, UBS and most other international IBs are unchanged. So what were you reading again?