Excerpt: The financial reform bill passed on a 60-40 vote late in the day on May 20th. The Menendez-Akaka amendment, which would have made broker-dealers and insurance agents who provide investment advice act in the best interests of their customers, never came up for a vote.... What was included in the bill ... was an amendment that calls for the [SEC] to study the all-in-one fiduciary standard issue and propose to Congress changes in the law designed to address any gaps or overlaps in the way broker-dealers and advisors are regulated, and to determine if those gaps are harmful to investors.