The professional association representing state securities regulators attacked the brokerage industry Wednesday for confusing fee disclosures.

“It can be difficult for investors to comparison shop among different broker-dealer firms due to the different terminology used by the firms and the lack of consistent fee descriptions or definitions. Different firms may use different terms for the same service,” the North American Securities Administrators Association said in an investor alert.

The group warned until fee disclosures are more consistent and transparent, the burden falls to the investor to understand all the fees.

Nasaa urged individual retail investors not to place any money into a brokerage account until a firm provides a fee list.

Pointing out fees can be sky-high, the regulators said in one case, a firm charged $500 for a securities certificate when its cost was $60, a 733 percent markup.

The group said investors should also watch out for fee changes.