It's been a tough year for Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) shares. This ASX 200 healthcare stock has had an exceptionally rough 2023. Until last Wednesday, Healius had lost over 55% over the year to date.
The company has had a bit of a bounce-back since then, gaining an impressive 25% or so following a well-received annual general meeting. Even so, the Healius share price remains down by more than 44% this year as of today.
So chances are you are thanking yourself right now for not owning this company — if indeed you aren't a shareholder. But the chances that you might hold this stock, at least indirectly, just went up substantially.
That's because not one, but two, major superannuation funds have just bought a large parcel of Healius shares.
According to an ASX filing, super fund Host Plus reported that it purchased approximately 10.28 million shares in the healthcare company last week, taking its total holdings to 45.43 million shares. That allows the fund 7.97% of total voting power.
Additionally, the Australian Retirement Trust has also made a substantial investment. Also last week, this fund bought more than 11 million shares, bringing its total investment to 65.25 million shares, with 11.45% voting power.
According to statistics from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA), Australian Retirement Trust and Host Plus are the second and fourth-largest superannuation funds in the country by member count.
Why are Host Plus and Australian Retirement Trust buying Healius shares?
As of December 2022, both funds together account for more than 3.8 million superannuation accounts. So chances are, if you're a member of either Australian Retirement Trust or Host Plus, you now indirectly own Healius shares. Congratulations.
It might come as a surprise to learn that your super fund invests in shares. After all, most people don't know too much about their own super funds, apart from maybe being aware that they are probably invested in something pleasantly called a 'balanced fund'.
This balance refers to the different mix of asset classes that most super funds invest in. These typically include ASX shares, international shares, government bonds, cash investments, and perhaps some unlisted assets like infrastructure.
If you own an Australian Retirement Trust or Host Plus balanced fund, you've probably just got a look at its newest constituent.
