Individual investors who get investment advice from investment brokers and dealers received a break in Dodd-Frank. Following a required study, the law authorized the SEC to hold such investment professionals to a higher professional standard.

"If a securities broker is providing individualized investment advice to an investor, he has to meet the same high standard of fiduciary duty that an investment adviser has," says Barr.

The distinction is an important one. Under the previous standard, brokers only had to recommend investments that were "suitable." But under a fiduciary standard, they would have to recommend only investments in the best interest of their client.

Unfortunately, the new rule that would make that change hasn't yet been proposed, let alone completed, according to the SEC website.