Hedge funds gained 0.26% for December as measured by the Standard & Poor's Hedge Fund index, a slight improvement over November's 0.07%. For the year, the index gained 2.28%, lower than the 3.88% for 2004.
Justin Dew, S&P senior hedge fund specialist, said in the release that performance in December "was dominated by three main occurrences: a strong equity market rally in many Asian markets (notably Japan), a correlated decline in the U.S. dollar vs. the yen, and a temporary inversion of the yield curve."
The S&P Equity Long/Short index was the best performer within the hedge fund index series for the year, gaining 9.24%, confirmed S&P spokesman David Guarino.
