NISM Series V-C is the advanced level for mutual fund distributors, and the plan for it is shaped by one fact: 25 of its 75 questions carry 2 marks each — half the paper — and they are the numerical ones. A candidate who is strong on theory and weak on arithmetic fails; the reverse passes. So the plan front-loads the formulas.
It assumes you hold V-A or know its content. NISM says as much: the case studies expect it.
Week 1 — the formulas and the units they live in
Days 1–3: Scheme Evaluation. Sharpe, Treynor, Jensen's alpha, tracking error, standard deviation against beta, what makes a credible benchmark. Do each calculation ten times with different numbers until you no longer think about it. Worked guide.
Days 4–5: Investment Theory and Building Blocks. Asset allocation and diversification, equity strategies (growth, value, active, passive), fixed income management and duration — the price sensitivity of a bond to a change in yield — and how a fund uses derivatives.
Days 6–7: Investor Services. The heaviest unit in the bank. NFO mechanics and the five-day no-transaction period, open-end, closed-end and ETF transactions, cut-off times, units bought and redeemed with and without loads, SWP arithmetic, nomination, pledge and transmission.
Week 2 — the technical units that make V-C a different exam
Days 8–10: Valuation and Accounting. How traded and non-traded equity is valued; unlisted equity at zero without a balance sheet inside nine months; debt on yields; option-embedded bonds at the higher of value-to-maturity and value-to-put; NAV accounting, corporate actions, unit transactions.
Days 11–12: Legal and Regulatory Environment and Competitive Landscape. REITs (80% in completed property, 90% payout), InvITs (two types), PMS from Rs 50 lakh, AIFs from Rs 1 crore in three categories, international funds and ADR/GDR rules, investment restrictions, changes in scheme structure. Unit guide.
Days 13–14: Fund Categories, Taxation, Ethics. FoFs, infrastructure debt and real estate funds; scheme- and investor-level tax, IDCW at slab rate, set-off of losses, STT; the AMFI code and mis-selling.
Week 3 — the case-study unit, then papers
Day 15: Case Studies. The workbook's own worked cases: evaluating schemes, currency effects on international funds, margin of safety, capital gains on redemption.
Days 16–21: timed papers. Sit 75-question papers under the clock. Review every wrong 2-mark answer until you can redo it in your head. Track your split: theory marks against calculation marks. If the calculations are below 30 of 50, go back to Week 1 for a day.
Exam-day rules
- Do the 1-mark questions fast and bank the time for the 2-mark ones.
- Work every 2-mark question. A wrong one costs 0.5; a worked one is usually right.
- Guess only after eliminating an option — the negative marking is 25%.
- Watch the distractors. A risk-free rate in a simple-return question, a dollar return where the rupee return is asked.
Quick recap
- Week 1: formulas — scheme evaluation, investment theory, investor services.
- Week 2: valuation and accounting, regulation, the competitive landscape, tax, ethics.
- Week 3: case studies, then timed 75-question papers.
- Pass mark: 60 of 100 — and the 2-mark questions are half of it.