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Overall and despite a fair few bumps in the road this year, the S&P Europe 350 index finished 2014 with a better-than-modest total return of 7.8%.
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Returns over the year were contributed the most from the Health Care sector while Energy trailed, the latter being the only sector to post a negative total return for the year.
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The S&P GSCI® index of broad commodities had its worst year since 2009, losing close to a third in value. Gold has had an indifferent year; it closed up by 2% on the month.
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Volatility measures are up in the Europe and in the U.S.; they remain relatively elevated compared to their averages for the year.
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