The CFA Institute, a nonprofit association of financial analysts, also is working on new standards for presenting returns to retail clients, says an executive director there, Jonathan Boersma.

WSJ: The Intelligent Investor: New Ways to Weigh Your Adviser

For strategies that invest in a range of asset classes, such as bonds and commodities, investors and advisers should come up with a more-balanced benchmark, says Jonathan Boersma, executive director of Global Investment Performance Standards for the CFA Institute.

WSJ: Advisers Discover 'Managed ETF Portfolios'