An elderly customer wants to use $50,000 to open an investment account that would allow...

A trust account can be structured so that assets pass according to the terms of the trust and avoid probate. Probate is the court-supervised process for distributing assets after death. A properly established trust can hold investment assets for the benefit of named beneficiaries and provide continuity of control, privacy, and estate-transfer efficiency. Choice A is correct. A power of attorney authorizes another person to act on behalf of the customer during the customer’s lifetime, but the authority generally terminates at death and does not itself bypass probate. A separately managed account is an investment management arrangement, not an estate-transfer structure. An individual retirement account has beneficiary designations and tax features, but the question asks for an investment account structure designed to allow assets to bypass probate; a trust account is the most direct and appropriate answer. The SIE outline includes customer account registrations, including trust accounts, individual accounts, retirement accounts, and other account types. This question tests the functional difference between account registration forms and estate-planning authority. Reference: Understanding Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities; Customer Account Registrations; Trust Accounts.