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Rising bearishness among investors has led to a retreat into defensive assets, according to the latest quarterly manager and intelligence trends report from Bfinance.

Cbus Super, the superannuation fund for blue-collar workers, has announced it paid out almost $300m in insurance claims over the last financial year, a rise of $40m from the year before.

The $700 million not-for-profit fund Lutheran Super has announced it is to merge into Mercer Super, with the transfer set to take place in the fourth quarter this year.

Superannuation assets fell 0.5% in value over the 12 months to the end of June, according to the latest quarterly figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).