July 19 (Bloomberg) -- The California State Teachersâ Retirement System, the second-biggest U.S. public pension fund, earned 12.3 percent in the year ended June 30, led by gains in stocks and bonds that offset losses in real estate. Calstrs, as the Sacramento-based fund is known, ended the fiscal year with $129.8 billion under management, up from $118.8 billion a year earlier. Stock holdings earned 14.5 percent and its bonds rose 12.3 percent, the fund reported today. Investments in private equity funds rose 21.7 percent, while real estate fell 12.4 percent. âWeâre not out of the woods yet,â Calstrs Chief Investment Officer Christopher J. Ailman said in a statement. âThe American economy suffered a near-death experience in 2008, and itâs going to take some time to fully recuperate from that.â The gain comes as the fund that provides benefits for 833,000 public school and community college teachers plans to ask lawmakers in 2011 for an increase of as much as 14 percent to what the state and school districts already pay toward employee retirement benefits. The fund lost 25 percent in 2009, led by a 43 percent drop in real-estate and a 28 percent decline in private-equity. The pension said in January that its unfunded liability, the difference between assets and anticipated future costs, had almost doubled to $42.6 billion since June 2008. http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...und-earns-12-after-record-loss-last-year.html Did they thank uncle Ben for his part of this success story?