Red Cedar Investment Management

What Red Cedar Investment Management does

Red Cedar Investment Management, LLC is a privately held, SEC-registered investment adviser headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a secondary office in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 2014 by a team originating from ClearArc Capital (the former Fifth Third Bank affiliate) and operating as a majority employee-owned firm, Red Cedar manages approximately $3.7 billion in assets under management as of Q1 2026 across a 19-person team. The firm specializes in active fixed income management with a particular focus on preferred securities, an area where the team has operated since 2002, and also offers equity income and multi-asset credit strategies.

The firm's product suite comprises 12 distinct strategies organized across three categories: Fixed Income (Core Plus, Core, Short Term Bond, High Yield Corporate), Equity (Dividend Growth, Dividend Growth Premium Income), and Alternative (Strategic Income and its SRI variant, Preferred and Income Securities, Tax-Advantaged Preferred Securities, Multi-Asset Credit, Multi-Sector Bond). Underlying each strategy is a fundamental investment process that combines top-down macro perspective with bottom-up security selection, supported by proprietary multi-factor quantitative credit models, qualitative assessment, and dynamic tail-risk hedging. The firm distributes primarily through a subadvisory relationship with North Square Investments — which channels over $1 billion of AUM through the North Square Strategic Income Fund and North Square Preferred and Income Securities Fund — and through direct institutional sales to pension funds, endowments, and foundations, with marketing supported by thought-leadership content including the Caveat Emptor podcast.

Revenue is generated via AUM-based investment advisory and subadvisory fees, with rates not publicly disclosed but negotiated with institutional clients. The firm does not report revenue; based on AUM and standard institutional fee economics, implied revenue is in the low-to-mid tens of millions of dollars. Recent momentum has been strong, with the North Square Strategic Income Fund growing from $229.64M to $1.07B between end-2024 and February 2026, firm AUM surpassing $3B by December 2025, and the firm earning 2026 LSEG Lipper Fund Award and With Intelligence Active Fixed Income Mutual Fund of the Year recognition for three-year risk-adjusted performance.

Name

Red Cedar Investment Management

Legal name

Red Cedar Investment Management, LLC

Website

https://redcedarim.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Red Cedar Investment Management is a privately held, majority employee-owned SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $3.7B in assets across active fixed income, equity income, and alternative credit strategies, serving institutional clients and subadvising North Square Investments mutual funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Active Fixed Income Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Sector / Total Return Fixed Income (FSAAAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Large-Cap Equity (Active) (FSAAAIAA)

Keywords

• Fixed income management
• Preferred securities
• Institutional asset management
• Active investment management
• Discretionary portfolio management

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory Fees: Red Cedar Investment Management provides discretionary investment management services to institutional clients, generating revenue through advisory fees based on assets under management.
2. Subadvisory Fees: The firm earns subadvisory fees as the subadvisor to North Square Investments, managing fixed income strategies including the North Square Strategic Income Fund and North Square Preferred and Income Securities Fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Red Cedar Investment Management provides discretionary investment management services to institutional clients, offering 12 distinct active strategies across fixed income, equity, and alternative asset classes with a core specialization in preferred securities and income-producing solutions. The firm earns advisory and subadvisory fees based on assets under management, and also serves as subadvisor to North Square Investments for two mutual fund strategies.

Product overview

Red Cedar Investment Management offers a diversified portfolio of 12 distinct investment strategies across three asset classes: Fixed Income (Core Plus, Core, Short Term Bond, High Yield Corporate), Equity (Dividend Growth, Dividend Growth Premium Income), and Alternative (Strategic Income, Strategic Income SRI, Preferred and Income Securities, Tax-Advantaged Preferred Securities, Multi-Asset Credit, Multi-Sector Bond). The firm is an SEC-registered, majority employee-owned active asset manager specializing in preferred securities and income-producing strategies, with approximately $3.7B in AUM as of Q1 2026. The strategies range from traditional fixed income to specialized alternative approaches, all built on a philosophy of rigorous fundamental research, active management, and exploiting inefficiencies in the income universe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Caveat Emptor: Red Cedar Investment Management's podcast covering market insights and economic analysis.

Products and services

• Core Plus A fixed income strategy targeting 70% core U.S. holdings with 30% plus holdings seeking opportunities less correlated to U.S. interest rates, emphasizing global flexibility, relative value, high quality, and high current yield for institutional clients.
• Core A core fixed income strategy seeking to add value through enhanced yield, high quality, and relative value management, focusing on security selection, sector rotation, yield curve structure, and duration risk management for institutional investors.
• Short Term Bond A fixed income strategy focused on capital preservation through investment in U.S. government bonds, investment grade corporate bonds, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, emphasizing current income through rigorous capital structure analysis.
• High Yield Corporate A high yield corporate bond strategy seeking attractive risk-adjusted returns by investing in below investment grade fixed income securities through a disciplined, independent, and repeatable multi-factor quantitative credit model approach.
• Dividend Growth An equity strategy investing in dividend growth stocks (80-100% of portfolio) that combines valuation and relative strength disciplines to provide capital preservation and competitive long-term total return.
• Dividend Growth Premium Income An equity strategy based on the belief that companies with premium dividend yield, enhanced dividend growth, and consistent earnings provide superior capital preservation and competitive long-term total return.
• Strategic Income A multi-sector alternative strategy with transparent, repeatable investment process producing a high-quality portfolio via global flexibility and income from a wide range of asset classes, with low correlation to traditional investment grade fixed income.
• Strategic Income SRI A socially responsible investing (SRI) version of the Strategic Income strategy that aims to make impact investments aligned with client ethos while providing sensible risk-adjusted returns.
• Preferred and Income Securities A strategy seeking total return through current income and capital appreciation by investing at least 80% of net assets in preferred and debt securities including traditional preferreds, hybrid preferreds, floating rate securities, corporate debt, and AT1s.
• Tax-Advantaged Preferred Securities A strategy maximizing after-tax yield by investing in traditional and hybrid preferred securities that take advantage of qualified dividend income (QDI) and dividends received deduction (DRD) tax benefits.
• Multi-Asset Credit A strategy seeking total return and capital appreciation by investing in below investment grade securities across the high yield credit spectrum, utilizing proprietary quantitative credit models with rigorous fundamental research.
• Multi-Sector Bond A strategy with transparent, repeatable investment process producing a high-quality portfolio via global flexibility and income from a wide range of asset classes, with low correlation to traditional investment grade fixed income and dynamic tail-risk hedging.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5-star Morningstar ratings across 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods for North Square Strategic Income Fund
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• North Square InvestmentscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 October 2025North Square Investments is the primary strategic partner for Red Cedar Investment Management. Red Cedar serves as the subadvisor for North Square's fixed income funds, including the North Square Strategic Income Fund and North Square Preferred and Income Securities Fund. As of September 2025, Red Cedar surpassed $1 billion in assets under management in North Square Funds. This subadvisory relationship is a key growth driver for Red Cedar, with the Strategic Income Fund growing from $229.64 million at end of 2024 to over $1 billion by early 2026.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cohen & Steers: Public asset manager specializing in preferred securities, real assets, and income strategies. Most directly comparable to Red Cedar given its preferred securities franchise and institutional/retail income product suite.
• Income Research + Management (IR+M): Boutique active fixed income manager with strong institutional focus, multi-sector capabilities, and a comparable employee-owned culture. Highly analogous to Red Cedar in scale, distribution model, and strategy mix.
• DoubleLine Capital: Active fixed income specialist founded by Jeffrey Gundlach with multi-sector and income strategies. Comparable as an active fixed income boutique with strong institutional and intermediary distribution.
• Brandywine Global Investment Management: Multi-sector fixed income manager with global flexibility and income-oriented strategies, comparable to Red Cedar's Strategic Income and Multi-Sector Bond products.
• Loomis Sayles: Active fixed income manager with full suite of multi-sector, core plus, and high yield strategies — direct overlap with Red Cedar's fixed income product lineup.
• Tortoise Capital Advisors: Income-focused asset manager known for income-oriented equity and credit strategies. Comparable to Red Cedar's Dividend Growth and Preferred & Income Securities strategies targeting institutional income mandates.
• Easterly Investment Partners: Boutique asset manager where Red Cedar's Director of Business Development Benjamin Tillson previously worked. Comparable as a smaller institutional fixed income and income-oriented boutique.

Broad incumbents

• Western Asset Management: Large established active fixed income manager with deep multi-sector, core plus, and preferred securities capabilities. Operates at much greater scale but competes for overlapping institutional mandates.
• Victory Capital: Multi-boutique asset manager (parent of INCORE Capital Management, where Red Cedar's Senior Credit Strategist Brad Filips previously worked). Comparable as a fragmented multi-affiliate platform with active fixed income exposure.

Emerging players

• Calvert Research and Management: Active fixed income manager with a strong SRI/ESG overlay — relevant comparison for Red Cedar's Strategic Income SRI variant and for institutional mandates that blend active fixed income with responsible investing mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCOgMXgXGO6cxoBLA5km5mxQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/red-cedar-investment-management-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Red Cedar Investment Management