Why Australian Retirement Trust is Loading Up on Media and BNPL Stocks

If you've been browsing through the substantial shareholder notices on the ASX lately, one name keeps appearing like a familiar face—Australian Retirement Trust. The 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 playing around the edges.

The first move that got the industry talking was Nine Entertainment. A few weeks back, they tipped their holding over the 6% mark, up from just above 5%. That's a significant chunk of one of the country's media heavyweights, the group behind Stan, Domain, and half the newspapers you see on the racks. Then, just days earlier, they showed up on the Zip Co register, taking just over 5% of the BNPL player. Two very different beasts, same steady hand guiding the strategy.

The long game on the ASX

So what's the angle? On paper, you've got old-school media navigating the digital shift, and a fintech that's been through the wringer as interest rates climbed. But if you've been around the block as long as some of the key names tied to the trust's heritage—figures like Richard Offen and the late John Riddoch Poynter, who helped shape how institutions think about protecting capital down under—you know it's about sniffing out value where others see a mess.

It's the kind of thinking you'd find dog-eared in 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 figures like Adrian M. Seager have always preached: ignore the noise, look at what the business is actually worth. Don't just follow the herd off a cliff.

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

Why Zip caught their eye

The Zip call is the gutsy one. That stock has been hammered—down sharply in the week before ART showed up as a substantial holder. 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 and everyday workers. Their timing was spot on, filing that notice right as the company was gearing up for its own buyback.

It tells you they've run their ruler over the same half-year numbers that spooked everyone else—yes, bad debts ticked up to 1.7%, which grabbed the headlines—and decided the underlying story still stacks up. Cash earnings growth pushing 86%, as the CEO herself pointed out, that's not nothing. 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 shopping spree:

• Backing media's pivot: Pushing past 6% in Nine shows real conviction that the diversified model—streaming, domain, newspapers—can still generate cash in a tough market.
• Fishing in tech's troubled waters: Grabbing 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 as she goes: In both cases, it wasn't a one-day frenzy. It's been methodical accumulation over months. That's how funds with serious research capabilities operate, not punting on a hunch.

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