Free guides on the NISM Research Analyst exam — syllabus, passing marks, fees, study plans and practice questions to help you pass on the first attempt.
New to almost every candidate, and worth a third of the module. How the Indian IRF contract works, what the exam asks, and the hedging logic behind it.
The product the certification is named for. Every threshold, every strategy limit and the suitability judgement a distributor is expected to make.
A week per module, a week of full papers, and the six chapters worth 68 marks done first. The plan for the longest NISM paper.
Twelve questions weighted the way the paper is — four from each module — with the reasoning and the arithmetic shown.
Three modules — mutual funds 68 marks, equity derivatives 52, interest rate derivatives 30 — and six chapters worth 58 marks between them.
90 of 150 to pass, 3 hours, and negative marking of just 10% — which changes the guessing arithmetic completely.
Structures and thresholds, mostly — and the exam asks the thresholds. Every number in one place.
Five numbers the exam asks you to compute and, more importantly, to choose between. Worked examples, and the rule for which measure fits which investor.
Three weeks: one for the formulas, one for the technical units, one for timed papers. The plan is built around the 25 questions that carry half the marks.
Twelve questions in the exam's style, half of them the numerical kind that carry 2 marks, with the working shown.
Ten units, no published weightage table, and half the marks on 25 numerical questions. Where the questions actually concentrate, and the order to attack them.
60 of 100 to pass, 25 two-mark questions, negative marking that scales with the question — the numbers that make Level 2 different.
Who qualifies, what they may sell, and the one condition — beat the benchmark three years running — that decides whether a scheme is on the list.
A fifth of the V-B paper comes from one chapter of operational rules. Here they are, in the order the exam asks them.
Ten days is enough. Ten chapters, one of them a fifth of the paper, no negative marking — the plan front-loads Investor Services and finishes on timed papers.
Twelve questions in the exam's own style, weighted the way the paper is, with the reasoning spelled out.
Ten chapters, and one of them — Investor Services — is a fifth of the paper. The official weights, and what each chapter actually asks.
25 out of 50 to pass, no negative marking, 2 hours for 50 questions, 3-year validity — the numbers for NISM Series V-B Mutual Fund Foundation.
The 2026 guide to NISM Series V-D, the certification for distributing SEBI's Specialized Investment Funds — the 150-question, 3-hour pattern, 10% negative marking, three-module syllabus and official chapter weightages.
The 2026 guide to NISM Series V-C, the advanced Level 2 certification for mutual fund distributors — the 1-mark and 2-mark question split, negative marking, the 60-mark pass and where the marks sit.
The 2026 guide to the NISM Series V-B Mutual Fund Foundation certification — who the new cadre is, the 50-question pattern, 50% pass mark, 10-chapter syllabus and a two-week plan.
Five cases, four questions each, 20 marks — a fifth of the paper, and the part most candidates never practise in the right format.
Four marks, and the fastest chapter in the syllabus to finish. Instruments, depository receipts and who regulates what.
Six marks, and the chapter that explains why the certification exists at all — what an analyst owes the reader of their report.
The rule behind almost every question: a bonus or split changes the number of shares, not the value of what you own.
29 marks — more than any other topic in NISM XV, and more than technical analysis and regulation combined. The frameworks the exam actually asks about.
Ten days is enough. Six chapters, four of them equally weighted, no negative marking — the plan is about breadth, not depth.
How shares actually change hands after listing — and the investor rights and obligations the exam returns to again and again.
Twelve questions from the chapters that carry 80 of the 100 marks, with the reasoning spelled out.
Only six chapters, and four of them carry 20 marks each. The most evenly weighted NISM syllabus — which changes how you should study it.
VIII needs more time than V-A or XII — it is genuinely quantitative and it penalises wrong answers. Four weeks, in the order the material actually builds.
The chapter candidates underestimate. Dense, almost entirely memorisation — and therefore among the most reliable marks in the paper.
Twelve questions from the 40-mark core, including the payoff arithmetic where candidates get the number right and the sign wrong.
All 10 chapters with their official marks. Forwards and Futures plus Options are 40 of the 100 — and everything else assumes you know them.
Fifteen days is enough for V-A if you follow the weightages rather than the workbook's page order. Here is the plan, day by day.
Twelve questions covering the highest-weighted chapters, with the reasoning spelled out — including the two-condition rule candidates most often get wrong.
All 12 units with their official marks, ordered by weightage. Two chapters are worth 30 marks between them — start there.
Upfront commission has been banned since 2018. What is left is trail — paid monthly on the assets you retain — plus a targeted B30 incentive that changed in March 2026.
Four steps: pass NISM Series V-A, complete Aadhaar-based KYD, get your ARN from AMFI, empanel with AMCs. What each one costs and how long it takes.
20 marks of NISM XII. How a company raises capital from the public — book building, the prospectus, ASBA, allotment when oversubscribed, and listing.
20 marks of NISM VIII, and the chapter everything else builds on. Cost of carry, basis, convergence, mark to market and the P&L arithmetic candidates most often get backwards.
Scheme Related Information and the Legal and Regulatory Framework are 10 marks each — a fifth of the paper. The three scheme documents, the riskometer, and who regulates what.
The arithmetic chapter of NISM V-A, worth 8 marks. NAV computation, TER slabs, loads, and the two-condition rule that decides which day's NAV you get.
15 marks, and mostly memorisation. The four risk-return hierarchies, core versus satellite, and how the exam expects you to match a scheme to an investor.
The joint-largest chapter in NISM V-A at 15 marks. Account opening, transactions, cut-off timings, SIP/SWP/STP, nomination and transmission — all the operational detail the exam actually asks about.
60% to pass, no negative marking, ₹1,003 fee, 3-year validity — the numbers for NISM Series XII Securities Markets Foundation.
V-A, VIII, XII or XV? A side-by-side comparison of who each NISM certification is for, what it costs, what it takes to pass and where it leads.
The full 2026 guide to the NISM Series XII Securities Markets Foundation certification — pattern, syllabus, 60% pass mark, ₹1,003 fee and a study plan.
Options is the largest chapter in NISM VIII. Calls, puts, moneyness, intrinsic vs time value, the Greeks and payoff arithmetic — explained the way the exam tests them.
60% to pass, 0.25 deducted per wrong answer — what NISM VIII's negative marking means for how you should actually sit the exam.
The full 2026 guide to the NISM Series VIII Equity Derivatives certification — pattern, syllabus, 60% pass mark, negative marking, fees and a study plan.
Free NISM Series V-A mock tests that mirror the real exam: 100 questions, 2 hours, 50% to pass, with an explanation on every answer.
The numbers you need for NISM Series V-A: 50% to pass, no negative marking, ₹1,500 fee, 3-year validity — plus how CPE renewal works.
The full 2026 guide to the NISM Series V-A Mutual Fund Distributors certification — pattern, syllabus, 50% pass mark, ARN registration, fees and a study plan.
Take a free, real-feel NISM Series XV mock test online — 100 questions, 2-hour timer, 60% pass mark, with explanations and a topic-wise score breakdown.
Roles, eligibility, salary range, top recruiters and a step-by-step path to becoming a SEBI-registered research analyst in India in 2026.
15 important NISM Series XV questions with answers and explanations across valuation, ratios, SEBI regulations, technical analysis and corporate actions.
Chapter-wise NISM Series XV syllabus with topics, high-weightage areas and how to study each section for the Research Analyst exam.
Passing marks, fees, negative marking, registration steps, certificate validity and renewal for the NISM Series XV Research Analyst exam — all in one place.
Free cash flow, discount rate, terminal value and a worked example — DCF valuation made simple for the NISM Series XV exam.
Profitability, liquidity, leverage, efficiency and valuation ratios — with formulas and meaning — that every research analyst needs for the NISM Series XV exam.
A week-by-week 30-day plan to clear the NISM Series XV Research Analyst exam on the first attempt — what to study, when to mock, and how to revise.
Anchoring, herding, overconfidence, loss aversion and more — the behavioural-finance biases you need to know for the NISM Series XV exam, with simple examples.
Registration, disclosures, the 30-day trading rule and other key thresholds from the SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014 — distilled for the NISM XV exam.
The full 2026 guide to the NISM Series XV Research Analyst certification — pattern, syllabus, passing marks, fees, registration and a proven study plan.
Support/resistance, trends, moving averages, candlesticks and key indicators — the technical-analysis concepts most tested in the NISM Series XV exam.
Cost, duration, difficulty, recognition and career value — NISM Series XV vs CFA compared to help you choose the right path as a research analyst in India.