Exam Weight: ~2-3 questions (2% of exam)
Agents are the individuals who represent broker-dealers or issuers in securities transactions. Under the Uniform Securities Act, only natural persons can be agents, registration is tied to a specific employer, and a separate set of rules governs who must register, how they register, and what disqualifies them from doing so.
What You'll Learn
- Master the definition of an agent, the three defining elements, the natural-person-only rule, the partner/officer/director rule, and the exclusions from the agent definition (issuer-representative exclusions and the broker-dealer clerical exclusion)
- Understand agent registration through Form U4 and the CRD system, the 30-day effective-date rule, December 31 expiration, Form U4 update deadlines (10 business days vs 30 days), Form U5 termination, the 2-year license-lapse rule, dual registration with IAR, grounds for denial/suspension/revocation, and Administrator authority over agents