City Comptroller John Liu is out with a release this morning touting big new gains in the city’s pension fund.

According to the report, the New York City Pension Funds recorded investment returns of more than 20 percent in Fiscal Year 2011, the first time in 13 years that they have achieved this mark. FY 2011 was the first full year that Liu was the steward of the city’s pension fund, and the report notes that the gains were six percent better than the previous year’s, due to stock and bond market recoveries “as well as new actions taken by the Comptroller’s office.”

The previous steward of the city’s pension fund, of course, was former city comptroller Bill Thompson, who, like Liu, is considered a candidate for mayor for 2013. If both throw their hat into the ring, a key component of Liu’s campaign will be that he boasts a better record than Thompson–witness Liu’s relentless pounding of the CityTime scandal, which occurred on Thompson’s watch.

Says Liu in a statement, “While the markets remain volatile, we have vigorously pursued a diversification strategy to enhance our returns while lowering pension costs to the City. This will protect pensioners and taxpayers alike in the long run. It has been gratifying to work closely with our dedicated Trustees to achieve these results.”

Follow David Freedlander via RSS.