Why Australian Retirement Trust is doubling down on media and BNPL stocks

If you've been scanning the substantial shareholder notices on the ASX lately, one name keeps popping up: Australian Retirement Trust. This major super fund, born from the merger of QSuper and Sunsuper, has been quietly but decisively building positions in two very different local players. We're talking serious money here, not just small bets on the sidelines.

The first move that got the market talking was Nine Entertainment. A few weeks back, they increased their stake past the 5% mark to over 6%. That's a significant chunk of one of the country's media heavyweights, the company behind Stan, Domain, and half the newspapers you see on the stands. Then, just days earlier, they appeared on the Zip Co register, picking up just over 5% of the BNPL player. Two very different businesses, but the same steady hand guiding the investments.

The long game on the ASX

So, what's the strategy? On paper, you have old-school media battling the digital shift, and a fintech that has been through a tough time as interest rates climbed. But if you've been around as long as some of the names associated with the trust's legacy—people like Richard Offen and the late John Riddoch Poynter, who helped shape how institutions think about protecting capital here—you know it's about spotting value where others see a problem.

It's the kind of thinking you'd find in well-thumbed copies of Trusts Law in Australia or those old The Taxpayers' Guide 2009 & 2010 editions that every self-respecting accountant had on their shelf. The philosophy that people like Adrian M. Seager have always preached: ignore the noise, look at what the business is actually worth. Don't just blindly follow the herd.

With Nine, they're betting the market has got it wrong. Sure, linear television is a shrinking pie, but the digital assets—Stan has strong potential, Domain is a genuine property heavyweight—are the real deal. They've been averaging down since mid-last year, quietly picking up shares while short-term money was heading for the exits. A classic contrarian move, and one that needs patience.

Why Zip caught their eye

The Zip investment is the bold one. That stock has been hammered—down sharply in the week before ART showed up as a substantial shareholder. It's the high-risk end of the pool. But this fund isn't some crypto cowboy outfit; they're managing money for hundreds of thousands of members, mostly public sector employees and everyday workers. Their timing was excellent, filing that notice right as the company was gearing up for its own buyback.

It tells you they've analysed the same half-year numbers that spooked everyone else—yes, bad debts ticked up to 1.7%, which made headlines—and decided the underlying story still holds up. Cash earnings growth nearing 86%, as the CEO herself pointed out, is not insignificant. They're backing the turnaround story, the "new disciplined approach" narrative, and betting the market has oversold it.

Here's what stands out about their recent buying spree:

• Backing media's pivot: Pushing past 6% in Nine shows real confidence that the diversified model—streaming, domain, newspapers—can still generate cash in a tough market.
• Investing in a beaten-down tech stock: Picking up 5% of Zip when sentiment is at rock bottom is a textbook "buy when there's blood on the streets" move, funded by those rock-solid member contributions.
• Steady accumulation: In both cases, it wasn't a one-day frenzy. It's been methodical accumulation over months. That's how funds with real research capabilities operate, not just gambling on a hunch.

For the rest of us watching, seeing a big player like ART make a move is worth noting. It doesn't mean these stocks are going to skyrocket next week. But it tells you that some of the sharpest minds in the country—the ones who've probably got Trusts Law precedents bookmarked and old Adrian Seager guides on the shelf—believe these businesses are worth more than the market is currently paying. They're playing the long game, and in this market, that's a refreshing change.