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About

Lawson Kroeker provides a broad, thoughtful, prudent, and ongoing financial roadmap tailored to each client. We focus on and understand each client’s risk tolerance and needs—whether growth, capital preservation, tax mitigation, or special situations.
Adam Yale

Partner and Portfolio Manager

Who We Are

Lawson Kroeker Investment Management, founded in Omaha, Nebraska is a third-generation wealth management firm that helps a select group of high-net worth clients achieve their life goals by providing investment advice and building custom investment solutions.

Lawson Kroeker provides a broad, thoughtful, prudent, and ongoing financial roadmap tailored to each client. We focus on and understand each client’s risk tolerance and needs—whether growth, capital preservation, tax mitigation, or special situations.

We also help clients with trust and estate management and philanthropy services.

Our disciplined and repeatable investment management process focuses on owning a small group of individual businesses’ stocks and bonds and holding them for a long time. We believe this makes our approach tax friendly. We further believe that our discipline regarding price and business quality benefits clients’ portfolios in the long run.

We are fiduciaries, so we are required by law to manage our client’s money for their benefit.

Our clients often come to us through client referrals and introductions from Omaha-based professionals such as accountants, lawyers, and bankers. Many come to us through community, school, and religious activities.

We are proud that our clients stay with us even when they move away from Nebraska, and our client’s adult children often stay with us for several generations.

Unlike many other firms, investors  speak directly with our investment managers. This means you are talking with the person actually making your portfolio decisions, not someone who is outsourcing the responsibility to third party mutual fund managers. And because we manage money directly, without the use of outside managers, investors typically pay lower fees, which may mean higher returns over the long-term.

Thoughtful

Lawson Kroeker mindfully focuses on your needs, goals and risk tolerance. Our thoughtful investment process seeks to carefully select securities, producing concentrated portfolios in attractive businesses to help you build and preserve wealth.

Disciplined

Your long-term success derives in great measure from what we believe is our disciplined, deliberate, and diligent process—we work hard to pay fair prices (and not overpay) when we buy securities for your individual portfolio.

Independent

Being an independent firm means we listen and think about what investments are appropriate for you. We are not beholden to parent company directives or approved lists. We ourselves own the same stocks that we purchase for clients.

History

In 1986, Frank Lawson and Ken Kroeker formed Lawson Kroeker, guided by the principles of independence, discipline, and diligence to manage client portfolios and make thoughtful investment decisions. They sought to create an environment free from the “noise” of larger, more bureaucratic, trend-following investment firms. They hoped the firm would attract committed professionals who valued objectivity and prioritized client interests.

In our third generation, we still believe these foundational values are a cornerstone to our clients’ success. Our team remains true to focused, patient, long-term investing and wealth management, providing clients with a roadmap to building and preserving wealth.

In 2022, Lawson Kroeker merged with Red Cedar Capital, LLC. The two firms’ shared values of objective, unhurried, and disciplined asset management were an ideal fit for one another’s clients and principals. The combined firm has investment management depth and multi-generational perspectives, providing ongoing continuity and consistency for our clients. Like Frank and Ken, our size, alignment with clients, and long-term approach are the best ways to serve clients today and long into the future.

Ken Kroeker

Co-Founder

Ken Kroeker co-founded Lawson Kroeker Investment Management. Although Mr. Kroeker has retired from day-to-day activities, he continues to be resource to the current team drawing from his 50+ years of investment management experience.

When he started, Ken said it would be a permanent firm. “Frank and I owned stock in the company, and we’ve sold that to Tom Sudyka and Bruce Van Kooten, both of whom had a strong history with Lawson Kroeker. And they’ve selected a few to sell it to as they move it forward—instead of selling out the business to another investor.”

“When we look at a stock, we really are in it for the long-term. Everybody says they’re long-term, but they aren’t. We say we are, and we are. There are some stocks I’ve owned for 20 years. When you look for an idea to invest your time and energy in, you want something that can last indefinitely … and that’s what we offer.” – Ken Kroeker

Prior to founding Lawson Kroeker, Mr. Kroeker spent seventeen years at the Omaha National Bank (now U.S. Bancorp), the last nine years of which he was Trust Investment Chair. He holds a B.A. Education, University of Nebraska (Kearney), and an M.A. Finance, University of Nebraska.

Frank V. Lawson, Jr.

Co-Founder

1924-2017

Frank V. Lawson, Jr., was the company co-founder and a great inspiration to our team. His knowledge, integrity and excellence impacted each of us. Frank offered his uncommon wisdom in the fields of investments, and of life, with great generosity.

Today, we confidently continue his work. We warmly encourage you to sit down in our office and learn more about Frank—and to find out how his philosophies are still a cornerstone of our work every day.

Our Story

Over the Years

  • April 1986

    Frank Lawson and Ken Kroeker form Lawson Kroeker Investment Management

  • July 1986

    Bob Tredway joins Lawson Kroeker

  • December 1991

    $90 million Assets Under Management (AUM)

  • September 1999

    Tom Sudyka joins Lawson Kroeker

  • December 2001

    $244 million Assets Under Management (AUM)

  • April 2006

    Bruce Van Kooten joins Lawson Kroeker

  • December 2006

    $343 million Assets Under Management (AUM)

  • December 2011

    $390 million Assets Under Management (AUM)

  • June 2012

    L/K Ltd Partnership #1 converts to LK Balanced Fund (LKBLX)

  • July 2012

    Pat Riordan joins Lawson Kroeker

  • March 2015

    Chad Clauser joins Lawson Kroeker

  • August 2017

    Frank Lawson passes away

  • December 2017

    Ken Kroeker retires

  • December 2022

    Lawson Kroedker merges with Red Cedar Management; Adam Yale joins LK; $584 million Assets Under Management (AUM)

The Future

On December 31, 2022, Lawson Kroeker Investment Management merged with Red Cedar Capital, LLC of Omaha, NE. The combined entity operates under the Lawson Kroeker name. The merger continues to build upon the founders’ vision of leading an autonomous, objective and enduring firm for the benefit of its clients.

The combined firm bolsters the team’s investment management depth and experience, provides continuity and consistency in managing portfolios, and strengthens our aligned focus on creating customized balanced portfolios for our clients. Lawson Kroeker’s deep bench of investment professionals continue to employ a fundamentals-based, tax-aware, business fundamentals-based investment style.

We believe our clients will be beneficiaries of our combined research, judgment and abilities from day one, and over the long-term as well.

Investing in Omaha

Lawson Kroeker is deeply dedicated to Omaha. Since our founding in 1986, we’ve developed strong relationships with many families and institutions. The firm has also historically supported community groups and philanthropic efforts in and around Omaha. Some of our commitments, both in time and financially, have focused on higher education, the arts, and non-profit organizations, such as:

  • Archdiocese of Omaha
  • Bellevue University Investment Committee
  • Creighton Heider College of Business
  • Jewish Federation of Omaha
  • Methodist Health Systems
  • NorthStar Foundation
  • Omaha Public Schools Facility Task Forces
  • St. Cecilia Cathedral Educational Endowment
  • Westside Community Schools Board of Education

Investing Aligned With You

Lawson Kroeker is invested in each client’s success. We provide personized wealth and investment management solutions custom tailored for you, based on our thoughtful, disciplined, and independent philosophy.

We own what we recommend to clients. When you succeed, we succeed. This means our investment goals are aligned with you.

Because we buy stocks and/or bonds for our clients, and don’t invest with outside managers or pay high distribution costs, we believe our fees are very competitive. Our fees are clear and transparent because we believe you should know what you are paying for.

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