Which of the following is NOT associated with the primary market?

The designated market maker primarily functions in the secondary market to facilitate the trading of securities by providing liquidity and maintaining orderly markets. They are responsible for managing buy and sell orders for a specific security, ensuring that there is always liquidity for traders looking to transact. In contrast, the primary market is where new securities are issued and sold for the first time, involving processes such as underwriting agreements, tombstone advertisements, and shelf registrations, which are essential to the issuance of new securities and their promotion to investors.

The underwriting agreement is a key element in the primary market, where investment banks and underwriters agree to purchase securities from the issuer and resell them to investors. Tombstone advertisements are utilized to publicly announce newly issued securities, providing essential information about the offering. Shelf registration allows issuers to register a large number of securities that they may sell over a period of time without the need for each offering to be registered individually at the time of sale, streamlining the process of bringing securities to market.

In summation, the designated market maker is not a component of the primary market's operations, which focus on the issuance and initial sale of new securities, making it the correct answer.