These are the names I've been able to get so far for Tier 1 PE / HF recruitment in London:
Arkesden
Dartmouth
PER
Blackwood
KEA
Hinton Rose
Mirage
CPI
Dynamic
Oxbridge
Sousou
Am I missing any? Are there any Tier 1 recruiters in London specific to HFs?
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This is all from personal experience, so sorry in advance if some people disagree. My background is London BB IBD > L/S HF.
Recruiters: KEA and Blackwood are the best in terms of access to HF and MF PE. KEA can sometimes be dicks though if you're not at a top team in GS / MS / JPM. Some top HF jobs can also come through completely random one/two-man recruitment shops. I don't know as much about PE recruiting but I think OP broadly has all of the right names.
Networking: LinkedIn is typically the first point of contact. Make sure your profile is filled out, and emphasise your deal experience and keywords like valuation, fundamental analysis, financial modelling, etc (sounds dumb but recruiters do search for these things). If you think you can get away with it, consider stating what strategies you're interested in on your profile (e.g. long/short value investing, merger-arb, private equity, etc.)
You can also cold call / email (more effective if you know someone who can make an introduction, particularly if you're not at a top bank)
When talking to buyside recruiters, make sure you have a firm idea of what you want to do, and your motivations behind it You should know whether you want to do PE or HF, and within those, what strategies you're interested in, and also have an idea of the shops you would like to join. HHs will not make any effort with you if they think you're undecided. If you have done your homework, they will feel a lot more confident putting you in for interviews. Tell them about investing books / blogs you have read, your personal investing experience, etc and you're in. If you're genuinely interested in buyside, this shouldn't be difficult.
Re: top bucket, HHs may find out through knowing other people at your shop. I'm not sure there is any other way of verifying, but don't lie. To be honest, none of the HFs I interviewed with really cared at all (I suspect MF PE might care a little more though).
On timing, I recommend starting to network actively towards the end of your first year, especially if you want to do PE (they have more standardised recruiting timetables, and they seem to start earlier and earlier). HF hiring is more sporadic (apart from the large multi-managers e.g. DE Shaw, Citadel, Och Ziff). Most London buyside firms hire after 2-4 years banking. 3 years is probably the most common exit point.
Interviews and Offers: I had a mixed experience in terms of getting pushed to do interviews and accept offers. My advice is to take as many (relevant) interviews as you can - always helpful to get experience and network. You shouldn't be pushed into taking interviews / offers you don't want. At the end of the day, it's your career and your decision, and unless you dick around and interview for jobs you obviously don't want, no one will get upset with you.