Ruthie Ackerman

The recession rocked women’s confidence in their investment decisions, according to a survey released Thursday by MassMutual.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a hedge fund manager with diverting investment proceeds of over $12 million into other funds, which he then used to fund a real estate venture and a San Francisco record company.

Despite controversy over a proposal to reign in the bonuses of Wall Street executives, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 to issue for comment a plan to reduce incentives and prohibit institutions from maintaining compensation arrangements that encourage “inappropriate risks.”

Women are not only becoming more responsible for the finances in their own homes, but they are passing on their knowledge to their own parents.

The Securities and Exchange Commission was ready to vote on four proposals on Wednesday, including limiting bonuses to Wall Street executives, new governance rules for clearinghouses, the removal of credit-ratings impacting money market mutual funds, and reopening the public comment period on a proposal to limit the control big banks have in governing clearinghouses.

National Advisors Trust launched a program on Monday to put a dedicated trust officer in registered investment advisor offices in order to create opportunities for more long-term trust business with high net worth clients.

Individual life insurance sales increased 4% in 2010, according to LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Life Insurance Sales Survey, which was released on Monday.

A MassMutual Retirement study found that women put their retirement assets in target-date options twice as often as risk-based options in the fourth quarter of 2010, while men were just as likely to use a target-date fund as they were a risk-based one.

Traders feel more optimistic about the stock market than they did six months ago, said Kelli Keough, vice president of active trading at Charles Schwab, at a breakfast briefing in New York City on Wednesday, to announce the launch of the firm’s new platform for active traders.

Private companies are just as confident in the U.S. economy as they were prior to the recession, according to PwC U.S.’s Private Company Trendsetter Barometer survey released on Tuesday.

Close to 80% of those who took part in a phone survey have little-to-no debt or are “comfortable” with their debt level.

Hershey Trust announced Tuesday that Bryn Mawr Trust will buy its private wealth group.

With less guaranteed income when they retire, a larger number of older workers remained in the workforce in 2010, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Annuities sold through banks hit a rough patch last year, but 2011 looks brighter as interest rates begin to rise and the Dow Jones Industrial Average continues to improve.

Joseph Price, FINRA senior vice president of corporate financing and advertising regulation, told Dow Jones a second Social Networking Task Force will meet in March and more guidance will be issued by the end of the year.

UMB Healthcare Services announced on Tuesday it has had a significant increase in the number of health spending accounts and expects even more in 2011.

A survey by PNC Wealth Management found that the recession has created a rift between wealthy couples on how they view personal finances, as well as plan and discuss money.

PIMCO announced on Monday that it launched a distribution platform for financial advisors and individual investors to better serve the retail market.

Women are not only saving less for retirement than men, but are also putting fewer dollars into their health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements as well, according to the most recent research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Although saving for retirement is critical for women - they live longer and make less money than men - women save 40% less than men, according to a new research study by LIMRA.