Mulvaney Capital Management’s December gain was not nearly enough to offset its double-digit losses for the year. The firm’s Global Markets Fund rose an impressive 8.47% last month, but still posted a full-year decline of 23.14%.

By comparison, the Barclay CTA Indices returned an estimated 7.53%.

Last month, the trend-following strategy, which covers the major financial and commodity futures markets, captured “a strong burst of price appreciation in the tangible commodities with grains, gold and oil all surging to new highs,” according to the firm. “The breadth of the rally was impressive: we finally exited a very profitable short sugar position we had held since June 2006.”

The fund now manages $86 million.