Exempt transactions for agents include which of the following?

• A. Unsolicited brokerage transactions
• B. Transactions between issuers and underwriters
• C. Transactions between financial institutions
• D. Private placement

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that some trades can occur without the agent needing to register because the client initiates them, rather than the agent soliciting the trade. The classic example is an unsolicited brokerage transaction: the client places the order on their own, and the agent merely executes it. Since the investor started the trade, this activity is exempt from the agent’s registration requirements under the relevant securities laws.

The other scenarios describe transactions that are part of issuer–underwriter activity, interbank or institutional dealings, or private placements. While those may be exempt in their own contexts, they are not the typical example of an exempt transaction for agents in this setting, where the emphasis is on a client-initiated trade.