Hedge funds’ stellar performers

Several hedge funds reported stellar returns last year even as the financial crisis claimed some big Wall Street names and credit markets seized up. Among the top performers were some relatively unknown names such as Cedar Hill Capital Partners, which rose more than 100%, and the Vicis Gamma fund, up about 90%, according to estimates from funds of hedge funds. Better-known star performers included Ionic Capital, up almost 20% last year with assets of $3.9bn after starting up in June 2007 with $600m. The average hedge fund across all strategies ended the year down 18.3% despite a slight, 0.4%, gain in December, according to Hedge Fund Research.