The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today released a report that it commissioned to examine the distinctions between the investment advisor and broker-dealer industries.

The study, which was carried out by the RAND Corporation, finds that most investors don’t understand the distinction that regulators make between advisers and broker-dealers. However, investors also indicated that they are largely satisfied with the service they’ve received.

“Given the growing complexity of the financial service market, we were not surprised to find that many survey respondents and focus-group participants did not understand key distinctions between investment advisers and broker-dealers — their duties, the titles they use, the firms for which they work, or the services they offer. Yet they tended to have relatively long-term relationships with their financial service professionals, and they expressed high levels of satisfaction with their services,” the study said.

“The commission has been anxious to receive RAND’s study of the investment adviser and broker-dealer industries, and the nature of their relationships with customers. The report will assist the commission’s efforts to update our regulations to improve investor protections in today’s new marketplace,” said SEC chairman Christopher Cox. “Our staff is now studying the report and the potential regulatory implications of its findings.”

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association immediately commented on the study. “The RAND study confirmed that investing and saving for the future can be a complex and occasionally confusing endeavor,” said Ira Hammerman, senior managing director and general counsel of SIFMA.

“But we must recognize that some of the confusion appears related to the broad range of customer choice. Any efforts to reduce confusion must ensure we don’t diminish customer choice. To that end, we urge the SEC to work towards preserving customer choice so that investors have access to products and services best suited for their individual needs,” Hammerman added.

“The broker-dealer community is already more heavily regulated and scrutinized than any of its peers or competitors, including financial planners. This robust regulatory regime, including oversight by FINRA, provides customers with clear disclosure and powerful protections,” Hammerman said.