As part of our "bringing together the best" philosophy, we seek partners who offer a truly differentiated and aligned approach. A 100% founder-owned Australian equities manager specialising in small companies, LSN Capital Partners focuses on long-term value, a disciplined process, and strong alignment with investors, making them a natural partner for Continental.
We recently sat down with the team to discuss their journey and approach.
The Founders' Story
LSN Capital Partners officially began in 2021, but its foundation was laid decades earlier. The firm's founders, Nick Sladen and Nick Leitl, first met through junior sport before reconnecting years later in the funds management industry.
After years of experience across a range of asset classes, they identified the ASX Small Cap sector as the area where they had achieved their strongest investment success and where they saw the clearest opportunities for future returns.
With shared history, professional experience, and an aligned investment philosophy, their partnership is built on long-standing trust.
The LSN Capital Partners Philosophy
LSN's investment philosophy is built on two core components: rigorous, bottom-up fundamental research and disciplined portfolio construction.
The LSN Capital Investment Framework, their proprietary system used to identify emerging industry leaders, focuses on six key pillars: Growth, Margins, Returns, Balance Sheet, Management, and Valuation. The fund follows a style-neutral approach, constructing a portfolio of 30 to 50 Australian small companies.
“Our framework is designed to identify high-quality businesses with durable earnings, strong balance sheets, and attractive long-term return potential, all while maintaining a rigorous focus on risk management.”
The LSN Capital Partners Advantage
LSN Capital’s structure is built for alignment. The firm is 100% independent and wholly owned by its founders, who are also significant investors in the fund.
“This ownership structure ensures a strong alignment of interests between us and our investors. Combined with a transparent and repeatable investment process, our approach aims to deliver strong returns over the medium to long-term.”
This discipline extends to the fund itself, which has a deliberately capped capacity. This approach is designed to maintain the optimal scale and flexibility required to navigate the ASX Small Cap market effectively.
LSN's View on What's Next
The LSN team sees the ASX Small Cap market showing signs of renewed strength, supported by falling interest rates, improving earnings visibility, and a selective investor rotation back into undervalued sectors.
They note that domestic cyclicals, such as consumer, building, and industrial stocks, are rebounding as the RBA’s rate cuts filter through and household cash flow improves.
Beyond the cyclical recovery, LSN identifies several major structural themes. Energy transition remains a key focus, with the team favouring small-cap producers and service companies tied to renewables, battery metals, and waste recycling. The technology sector also continues to evolve, with capital flowing toward profitable, cash-generative businesses in SaaS, cybersecurity, and logistics automation.
Finally, M&A activity remains elevated as private equity and offshore trade buyers take advantage of depressed valuations. With valuations at attractive levels relative to ASX large caps, ASX small caps offer an appealing mix of cyclical recovery, earnings growth, and long-term structural opportunity.
Learn more about the LSN Capital Partners
Nick Sladen | Portfolio Manager
Nick has more than 25 years of financial services experience, including over 17 years in direct Australian equity investment management with a track record of outperformance.
Prior to establishing LSN Capital Partners in 2021, Nick was Portfolio Manager – Australian Equities at Myer Family Investments. He began his investment management career with Perennial Growth Management, which was acquired by Janus Henderson in 2015, where he served as Co-Portfolio Manager of the Janus Henderson Australian High Conviction Fund.
Nick holds a Bachelor of Business (Economics & Finance) from RMIT University and has also completed a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance & Investment from FINSIA.
Nick Leitl | Portfolio Manager
Nick has over 20 years of experience in financial markets, including more than 19 years in global investment management.
He was a key member of a small, highly rated investment team at K2 Asset Management, where he was responsible for stock selection and portfolio management across Australian, global, and Asian equity funds, achieving a strong track record across all market cycles. Nick was also a member of K2 Asset Management’s investment and asset allocation committees.
Nick holds a Bachelor of Business (Economics & Finance) from RMIT and a certificate with Corporate Finance Institute® (CFI) - Financial Modelling & Valuation, Honour Roll.
