It’s been nearly a decade since Tributary was spun out of parent company First National Bank of Omaha’s wealth-management division. During that time, assets under management have ebbed and flowed but total roughly USD 3 billion as of November 2023, up from USD 2.2 billion in 2014, leading to recent hires in client services, operations, and investments. Although the firm has broadened its client base beyond the bank’s wealth clients by extending its distribution to several brokerage platforms, it remains a small industry player.
The firm offers a handful of equity strategies, but more than two thirds of assets are concentrated in its small-cap mandate, offered to institutional and wealth clients as well as through its flagship mutual fund, Tributary Small Company. A team of four portfolio managers and three analysts together support these strategies using a solid investment process. While there have been some investment-personnel departures, most portfolio managers are long-tenured. The team orientation limits key-manager risk, but succession planning is only in early stages, and portfolio manager Mark Wynegar also serves as the firm’s CEO. Three fixed-income funds and one balanced fund under the Tributary banner are subadvised by First National Advisers, LLC, also a subsidiary of the bank.