Calif. pension funds grow more than 20 percent

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The nation's largest public pension fund has posted its highest investment returns since before the recession, reporting returns of 20.7 percent for the fiscal year ended June 30, the fund's investment team announced Monday.

That preliminary figure is the best after-fees return in 14 years for the California Public Employees' Retirement System, which oversees benefits for 1.6 million current and retired state and local government employees and their families.

It's also the second consecutive year CalPERS has topped the 7.75 percent investment return target assumed in its long-range financial model.

Critics say the assumption is too optimistic …