Who are the parties regulated in an offer to sell securities?

The 33 Act regulates offers to sell securities by a number of individuals, including the issuer, underwriter, controlling party, or sales representative. The issuer is the individual or business organization offering a security for sale to the public. Underwriters are individuals participating in the original distribution of securities by selling such securities for the issue or by guaranteeing their sale. A controlling party is one who controls or is controlled by the issuer, such as a major stockholder of a corporation. A sales representative is anyone who contracts with a purchaser or who is a motivating influence that causes the purchase transaction to occur.