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"Tax reform in the US helped to propel the rise in global equities in December," says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

The Event Driven Index soared 2.51% in December, Technology was up 2.30%, and Distressed Securities gained 2.19%. Emerging Markets gained 1.79%, Healthcare and Biotechnology added 1.53%, and Pacific Rim Equities were up 1.15%.

Fixed Income Arbitrage lost 0.98% in December, and the Convertible Arbitrage Index was down 0.12%.

Overall, 2017 was a good year for hedge fund performance, with the strongest annual return since an 11.12% gain in 2013 and 10.88% gain in 2009. All 17 of Barclay's hedge fund indices ended the year in positive territory.

The Technology Index led the pack in 2017 with a 25.67% gain, its highest annual return in 18 years. The Healthcare & Biotechnology Index was up 19.71% for the year, Emerging Markets gained 18.80%, Pacific Rim Equities were up 15.44%, and Equity Long Bias gained 13.92%.

"With December's positive performance, the S&P 500 set an all-time record with fourteen consecutive positive monthly closes," says Waksman. "No surprise that equity hedge funds had a very good year."

The Barclay Fund of Funds Index gained 0.66% in December and ended the year with a positive return of 6.20%.