Fund Evaluator:
LKCM Balanced (LKBAX)
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Best Performing in Moderate Allocation Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
LKCM Balanced Overview
LKCM Balanced (LKBAX) is an actively managed Allocation Moderate Allocation fund. LKCM launched the fund in 1997.
The investment seeks current income and long-term capital appreciation. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in a portfolio of equity and fixed income securities. It seeks to invest in the equity securities of high quality companies that typically exhibit certain characteristics, including high profitability levels, strong balance sheet quality, competitive advantages, ability to generate excess cash flows, meaningful management ownership stakes, attractive reinvestment opportunities, strong market share positions, and/or attractive relative valuation.
About LKCM Balanced (LKBAX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 24.58 years: Mark Johnson (2010), Scot Hollmann (1997), J. King (1997). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Govt/Credit Interm TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. LKCM Balanced has 123 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 24.3% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
LKCM Balanced is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. LKCM Balanced has 2.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 66.7%. There is 2.3% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 28.9% (28.9% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). LKCM Balanced has 2.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $108 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Moderate Allocation category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
LKBAX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The LKCM Balanced expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Moderate Allocation category. LKCM Balanced has an expense ratio of 0.80%, which is 20% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. LKCM Balanced has a portfolio turnover rate of 6%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.2 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 52% for the Moderate Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, LKCM Balanced returned 2.5%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Moderate Allocation category had an average return of 1.4%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
LKCM Balanced has a trailing yield of 1.36%, which is below the 1.95% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
LKCM Balanced Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 5.4%, 2.5 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 6.7% over the past year (grade of F), 9.6% over the past three years (grade of F) and 4.3% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 8.2% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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LKBAX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 8/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| LKBAX Return (NAV) | 2.5% | 2.7% | 6.7% | 9.6% | 4.3% | 8.2% |
| LKBAX Grade | A | A | F | F | F | D |
| +/- Category | 1.0% | 1.5% | -5.9% | -3.5% | -2.3% | -0.4% |
| Moderate Allocation Avg | 1.4% | 1.2% | 12.6% | 13.1% | 6.6% | 8.6% |
| LKBAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.3% |
LKBAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| LKBAX Return (NAV) | 5.4% | 8.4% | 11.0% | 10.8% | -13.8% | 14.0% | 15.3% | 21.9% | -2.2% | 12.9% | 9.7% |
| LKBAX Grade | F | F | D | F | C | C | B | B | A | D | A |
| +/- Category | -2.5% | -4.9% | -1.3% | -3.5% | 0.1% | -0.4% | 2.4% | 2.0% | 2.9% | -0.9% | 2.0% |
| Moderate Allocation Avg | 8.0% | 13.4% | 12.2% | 14.3% | -14.0% | 14.4% | 12.9% | 19.8% | -5.1% | 13.8% | 7.7% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 8.7% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.72 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.95 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (27% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.83 |
| R-Squared: | 77% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 1.4% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $108 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 109 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | No Load |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 6% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 28.7 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 24.6 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Hollmann Scot (1997), King J. (1997), Johnson Mark (2010) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 123 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 24.3% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 2.3% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 66.7% |
| Foreign Stock: | 2.3% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 28.9% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 2.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | LKCM |
| Phone Number: | 800-688-5526 |
| Website: | www.lkcm.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | December 30, 1997 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $2,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 1.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.00% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.80% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.99% |
| Share Class: | LKCM Balanced |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 500 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
