The Texas Wesleyan Alumni Association is proud to announce that Luther King will receive the 2024 Honorary Alumni Award. Luther has been a strong supporter of Texas Wesleyan for nearly two decades. He generously gives to the annual Business Hall of Fame event which supports the Thomas H. Law business scholarship, he has visited with business students on campus and has served on the President’s Advisory Board for the past several years. 

J. Luther King, Jr., CFA, CIC is the Founder and Managing Principal of Luther King Capital Management Corporation (LKCM) which is a registered investment advisory firm located in Fort Worth, Texas. He attended Fort Worth public schools where he graduated from Poly High School. He received B.S.C. (1962) and the M.B.A. (1966) degrees from Texas Christian University (TCU). In 1968, he received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force Reserve. In 1963, his professional career began at First National Bank of Fort Worth as a credit analyst. In 1970, he became a senior investment officer managing mutual fund assets for Los Angeles-based Shareholders Management Company, which later became a part of American General Insurance Company. In 1973, he joined Lionel D. Edie & Company, a New York-based investment firm, where he was the only non-New York Director and Manager of the Dallas office. Lionel D. Edie was sold to Manufacturers Hanover Trust in December of 1978.  

In 1979, Luther King founded Luther King Capital Management. The firm manages approximately $27.8 billion in client assets. The firm consists of 67 investment and other professionals, including 27 CFA Charter holders, 8 CPAs, 4 CFPs, 35 employees with MBAs, and has a total of 96 employees. LKCM is one of the largest independent employee-owned investment advisory firms in the Southwestern United States. The firm manages investment portfolios for employee benefit plans, foundations and endowments, mutual funds, corporations, high net worth individuals, limited partnerships, and wealthy families. 

Luther King is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder and was recognized in the November/December 2007 issue of CFA Magazine as “Most Inspiring” in the investment advisory profession. He is a founding member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the CFA Society of Dallas/Fort Worth. In May of 2008, he was awarded the Daniel J. Forrestal III Leadership Award for Professional Ethics & Standards of Investment Practice by the CFA Institute. In addition, he is a CIC. He has served or is serving on the boards of five publicly traded companies, four of which are or were listed on the New York Stock Exchange. As a director, he has served as the chair of both audit and compensation committees. He is past Chairman of the Board of the Investment Adviser Association. He served as a member and past Chairman of the Investment Advisory Committee for the Trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas. He has served as Vice Chairman of the Board of the University of Texas Investment Management Company, which has responsibilities for the endowment of the University of Texas, and a portion of the endowment for Texas A&M University. Luther is a Trustee and former Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Texas Christian University where he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1992. In 2011, he and his wife, Teresa, received the Royal Purple Award from TCU. In 2021, he received the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, from Texas Christian University. In 2002, he established the LKCM Center for Financial Studies in the Neeley School of Business at TCU. He has been a member of the Neeley School of Business International Board of Visitors since 1991. Additionally, he serves on the boards of several privately held for profit companies where he has been a founding investor or that are or were controlled by clients of LKCM. He also serves on the board of several philanthropic organizations and is a former Trustee of St. Marks’s School of Texas. Luther is past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fort Worth Club. He received the Golden Deeds Outstanding Citizen award, the Distinguished Citizen award, and the Fort Worth Business Executive Hall of Fame award.   

Beginning in the 1970’s, Luther began assembling property in Central Texas and established 4K Land and Cattle Company, a farm and ranch operation. The ranching and farming activities consists of more than 100,000 acres and has received several conservation awards. 

In 1964, he married Teresa King, who is a graduate of University of North Texas and a former schoolteacher. They have two sons, Bryan and Mason, who are active as professionals in LKCM and family investments. 

About the Alumni Medal Awards 

Each year, Texas Wesleyan University honors distinguished alumni and friends. Their achievements and contributions are amazing reflections of the University, and we are honored to celebrate and recognize them each year.

This year’s Alumni Medal Dinner will be held at the Fort Worth Club on Friday, Nov. 1. The reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by dinner and program at 7 p.m.

The event is open to all alumni, friends and faculty and staff, and tickets are $75 per person. Register online to reserve your seat, and be sure to check out other homecoming weekend activities as well.

Questions? Contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 817-531-6548 or alumni@txwes.edu.