The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking for contract proposals as the first step of a major study that will compare different regulatory systems as they apply to broker-dealers and investment advisers, and how they affect investors. “Our goal is to improve investor protection by updating our regulation to deal with the realities of today’s marketplace,” SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said in a statement. “Unbiased, high-quality research provided through the contract envisioned in our request for proposals will help us do so.” The study was first suggested last year after the SEC adopted a rule allowing broker-dealers to offer fee-based brokerage accounts without being required to comply with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The deadline for request for proposal submission is Aug. 24. The SEC also announced that it has published a work plan together with the Committee of European Securities Regulators to focus on the application by internationally active companies of International Financial Reporting Standards and the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the U.S. and the European Union, respectively. The goal is for the two groups to work on modernizing financial reporting and disclosure information technology and regulatory platforms for risk management, among other things.