What we invest in

The cash asset class includes, but is not limited to investments in money at call, short-term bank bills, and term deposits.

Shares in companies that are either listed on an exchange or not publicly traded.

From time to time this can include equities held as security for financing trades undertaken by the cash asset class which is distinct from the Australian and International shares asset classes.

Investments in real estate assets and strategies that may include office buildings, shopping centres, industrial warehouses, and residential housing. Investments in property include investment in property operating platforms that both own and operate property assets.

Infrastructure includes assets that help governments and communities operate. These assets might include roads, trains, ports, airports, hospitals, schools, or utilities like electricity and water. It can also include digital infrastructure like registries and data centres.

Alternative investments include commodities, multi asset class investments, and active strategies that take advantage of market trends. They don’t meet conventional definitions like cash, fixed income, equities, property or infrastructure.

Fixed income assets are like loans to a government or company.

These are financial contracts that get (or derive) value from the performance of another asset or group of assets. This can include investments like equities, fixed income or currencies. We use derivatives including but not limited to: forwards, futures, options, and swaps.

We may use derivatives to manage risk and exposure, and rebalance investment options to their target asset allocation. We use a combination of derivatives to reflect the risk characteristics of each asset class.

The value of overseas investments can be impacted by currency movements.

The effects of currency movement on an investment can be reduced by ‘currency hedging’. This fixes the value of the Australian dollar relative to one or a number of foreign currencies. For more information, please refer to the PDS that applies to you under the section titled ‘Currency management’.

We hold a significant allocation to unlisted asset classes, particularly the key unlisted asset classes: unlisted equity (or private equity), infrastructure, property and private credit (part of unlisted alternatives). We hold these assets because we believe they'll deliver strong, long-term returns, while reducing our members' exposure to share market volatility.

Unlisted assets aren't generally traded on public markets, so valuations are less frequent. Investment managers engage independent valuation specialists to do valuations, often from the four major global accounting firms or specialist valuation firms.

When investment managers appoint valuers, we provide input on the selection of the valuer. As part of this, we ensure their valuation method complies with the requirements of our regulator (APRA) and the relevant fair value requirements of the Australian and international accounting standards.

At least 80% of our unlisted asset holdings are revalued in any given quarter. This process ensures that the daily unit price Australian Retirement Trust provides to our members is a fair and accurate reflection of the value of the assets in the investment options.

The portfolio holdings are for the investment options offered by Australian Retirement Trust as at 31 December 2024.

You can see these portfolio holdings on our Superannuation and Retirement investments pages. Visit QSuper to see portfolio holdings of the Lifetime investment option and Self Invest.

The information on this website about investment holdings is current as at 31 December 2024 and relates to the investments held by Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd (ABN 88 010 720 840, AFSL 228975), as trustee of Australian Retirement Trust (ABN 60 905 115 063) at that date.

The law requires superannuation trustees to disclose their portfolio holdings as at 30 June and 31 December each year. We also value the trust our members place in us to invest their super savings on their behalf. So we believe it’s important to be transparent and make it easy to see what they're invested in.

The holdings will be updated twice a year, as at 30 June and 31 December. We aim to provide the updates within 90 days of those dates.

The format is required to be displayed in accordance with Schedule 8D of the Corporations Regulations 2001 (Cth). This should make it easier for members to compare our holdings against those of other superannuation funds. Note: you may notice that this may be different to the asset classes described in the PDS that applies to you.

No. When you invest with us, the investment options are managed by our team of investment professionals who determine the holdings to aim to achieve the investment objectives set out in the PDS that applies to you.

Internally managed assets are managed by the Australian Retirement Trust investment team directly. For internally managed assets, the report will display the name of the asset. For externally managed assets, we will display the investment manager appointed by our investment team to manage the asset on our behalf.

This is in accordance with section 1017BB Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Corporations Regulations 2001 (Cth) and ensures that the underlying data is protected for commercial reasons.