Nicholas Investment Partners

What Nicholas Investment Partners does

Nicholas Investment Partners, L.P. is an independent, employee-owned (and majority women-owned) US investment boutique founded in March 2006 by Catherine Nicholas, the former Global CIO of Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management. The firm manages two primary actively-managed equity strategies: the US Small Cap Strategy, which builds high-conviction portfolios of small-cap companies undergoing transformative change and benchmarks against the Russell 2000 Growth Index, and the NicTech Strategy, a concentrated TMT-focused portfolio targeting disruptive software and semiconductor names. Investment decisions are driven by a combination of fundamental research and a proprietary quantitative model used for idea generation, with integrated company-specific and market-level risk management and a typical 2–3 year holding horizon that produces low portfolio turnover.

The firm distributes its strategies through a direct institutional sales channel targeting public and corporate pensions, foundations and endowments, private wealth clients (high-net-worth individuals and family offices), and financial professionals (RIAs and wealth managers), supported by a separate mutual fund platform at nicfunds.com. A related entity, Nicholas Investment Management, manages the BLOX (Nicholas Crypto Income ETF), extending the brand into adjacent strategies. The firm is headquartered at 12520 High Bluff Drive, Suite 390, San Diego, CA, with 11–50 employees and operates as a California limited partnership with no parent company or external venture or private equity backing. Revenue is generated through management fees on assets under management; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated individually with each client segment.

Name

Nicholas Investment Partners

Legal name

Nicholas Investment Partners, L.P.

Website

https://nicpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nicholas Investment Partners is a 100% employee-owned US investment boutique managing US Small Cap and NicTech (TMT) equity strategies for pensions, foundations, private wealth, and financial professionals, using fundamental research combined with a proprietary quantitative model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Management

NAICS

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

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Consulting RIAs (OCIO/Endowments/Foundations/Pensions) (FSAAACAG)

Keywords

• Small cap investing
• Institutional asset management
• Technology equity strategy
• Mutual fund solutions
• Active equity portfolio management

Headquarters

HQ city

Rancho Santa Fe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Fees: Nicholas Investment Partners generates revenue through management fees charged on assets under management across its investment strategies, including US Small Cap and NicTech strategies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Nicholas Investment Partners is an independent investment boutique offering actively-managed equity investment solutions focused on small-cap and technology-related markets. The firm manages the US Small Cap Strategy and the NicTech Strategy, plus a mutual fund platform (Nicholas Partners Funds) accessible via nicfunds.com, serving institutional and private wealth clients through fundamental research combined with proprietary quantitative analytics.

Product overview

Nicholas Investment Partners offers actively-managed investment solutions centered on two primary strategies: the US Small Cap Strategy targeting small-cap companies for long-term capital appreciation relative to the Russell 2000 Growth Index, and the NicTech Strategy focused on disruptive software and semiconductor opportunities within the TMT sector. The firm also provides access through a mutual fund platform (Nicholas Partners Funds). The investment approach combines fundamental research with quantitative analytics, maintaining high-conviction, diversified portfolios designed for dynamic, less-followed markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• US Small Cap: High conviction portfolios in dynamic, less-followed small-cap markets targeting long-term capital appreciation.
• NicTech

Products and services

• US Small Cap Strategy A high-conviction, diversified portfolio strategy targeting small-cap companies undergoing transformative growth, seeking to outpace the Russell 2000 Growth Index through research-driven stock selection and risk management. Designed for institutional and private wealth clients.
• NicTech Strategy A TMT-focused investment strategy targeting disruptive breakthroughs in software and semiconductor technologies, seeking long-term capital appreciation through a concentrated, high-conviction portfolio with a typical 2-3 year investment horizon.
• Nicholas Partners Funds Actively-managed investment solutions offered through a mutual fund structure to serve institutional and private wealth clients.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Nicholas Investment ManagementminorOthers · 21 May 2025Nicholas Investment Partners is related to Nicholas Investment Management which manages the BLOX ETF (Nicholas Crypto Income ETF). The entities share the Nicholas brand but appear to be separate operating entities with BLOX issued by a distinct legal entity. BLOX utilizes an active option-writing strategy on Bitcoin and Ethereum to generate high income.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kalmar Investments: Boutique asset manager running US small-cap growth strategies using a research-driven, concentrated approach with low portfolio turnover; closely matches Nicholas's fundamental edge in less-followed small-caps.
• Brown Capital Management: Employee-owned, minority-owned boutique with deep small-cap growth pedigree running concentrated, high-active-share portfolios; one of the most direct operating model comparisons for Nicholas Investment Partners given similar ownership and process DNA.
• Argent Capital Management: Employee-owned boutique focused on US small-cap growth equities for institutional clients; comparable scale and fundamental, high-conviction investment style.
• Wasatch Advisors: Employee-owned boutique asset manager specializing in US small-cap and SMID growth strategies; closely mirrors Nicholas Investment Partners' sub-scale, high-active-share, fundamental-plus-quant approach to inefficient small-cap markets.
• Emerald Advisers: Employee-owned boutique running fundamental small/mid-cap growth and value strategies for institutional and intermediary clients; comparable scale, ownership model, and diversified channel mix.
• Royce Investment Partners: Specialist small-cap asset manager focused exclusively on US small-cap equities with a long-duration, fundamental-research approach; directly comparable by universe and process philosophy.
• Chartwell Investment Partners: Boutique manager specializing in small/mid-cap equities with a fundamental, research-driven process for institutional and private wealth clients.
• Pekin Hardy Strauss: Employee-owned boutique providing small/mid-cap growth equity strategies to institutional clients; similar boutique structure and active management posture.

Emerging players

• Alger: Growth-oriented asset manager with explicit TMT/technology specialization and quantitative overlay capabilities; comparable via the NicTech strategy given overlapping tech-sector focus and fundamental-plus-quant integration.

Broad incumbents

• T. Rowe Price: Large diversified asset manager with established US small-cap growth and TMT strategies; represents the scaled incumbent competing for the same institutional small-cap allocations Nicholas targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Nicholas Investment Partners