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From Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia:

The Australian hedge fund industry continued on its positive roll, ending December with a 1.1% gain and returning 17.41% for the whole 2009, independent research group Australia Fund Monitor (AFM) said last week.

AFM said the hedge fund industry sustained its positive trend which began in March 2009 when equity markets started showing signs of recovery from the downward spiral of the previous year.

Early this month, TheAustralian.com.au reported that new Australian funds were riding the wave of confidence after having more than doubled their money in 2009. Naos Asset Management’s Small Companies Fund led the pack with a 175% return last year, more than three times the Small Companies Accumulation Index gain of 57.4%.

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) index finished 3.60% in December and 30.84% YTD.

But the spark in Australia’s hedge fund industry varied between strategies and underlying classes, AFM said. Funds investing in a range of equity based strategies (equity long only, long/short, market neutral, etc.) rose 24.77% and significantly outperformed the non-equity section consisting of strategies such as global macro, commodities, and currencies, which managed a ri......................

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