The NISM Series V-B Mutual Fund Foundation certification is the entry ticket for the new cadre of mutual fund distributors — the postal agents, retired officials and retired bankers whom SEBI allowed into distribution in 2012 to take simple mutual fund products to towns the industry had not reached. It is shorter and easier than V-A, and it comes with a narrower licence.
This guide covers who the exam is for, the 50-question pattern, the 10-chapter syllabus, what a new cadre distributor may and may not sell, and a two-week study plan.
Who is the new cadre of distributors?
Under SEBI's circular of September 2012, the following may be empanelled as mutual fund distributors under the new cadre:
- Postal agents
- Retired government and semi-government officials of class III and above, with at least 10 years of service
- Retired bank officers with at least 10 years of service
- Other similar persons — bank correspondents, for example — as notified by AMFI or an AMC
If you fall into one of these groups, V-B is your exam. If you do not, or if you want to sell the full range of schemes, you need NISM Series V-A instead.
What can a new cadre distributor sell?
Only simple and performing schemes:
- Liquid and money market schemes
- Index schemes
- Diversified equity schemes
- Retirement benefit schemes with tax benefits
- Fixed Maturity Plans (FMPs)
And "performing" has a precise meaning: the scheme must have returned equal to or better than its benchmark in each of the last three years. Two out of three is not enough. Sectoral funds, thematic funds, small-cap funds and credit-risk funds are all outside the list, however well they have done.
Expect this to be tested. It is the one chapter unique to V-B and it is the reason the certification exists.
NISM Series V-B exam pattern
| Particular | Detail |
|---|---|
| Number of questions | 50 |
| Marks per question | 1 |
| Total marks | 50 |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Passing score | 50% (25 out of 50) |
| Negative marking | None |
| Certificate validity | 3 years |
Two hours for 50 questions is generous — more than twice the time per question that V-A allows. Use it. Read every option; the exam likes "all of the above" and "state true or false" formats where a hasty reading costs a mark.
There is no negative marking, so never leave a question blank.
NISM Series V-B syllabus: 10 chapters and their weights
The March 2026 workbook publishes the weightage of each chapter. Investor Services alone is a fifth of the paper.
| Chapter | Weight |
|---|---|
| Investment Landscape | 6% |
| Concept and Role of a Mutual Fund | 12% |
| Legal Structure of Mutual Funds in India | 8% |
| Mutual Fund Products for the New Cadre of Distributors | 6% |
| Scheme Related Information | 12% |
| Fund Distribution and Channel Management Practices | 10% |
| Performance of Mutual Funds | 12% |
| Taxation | 6% |
| Investor Services | 20% |
| Legal and Regulatory Environment | 8% |
Four chapters — Investor Services, Concept and Role, Scheme Related Information and Performance — make up 56% of the marks. Get those four right and you have passed before you open the rest.
What the questions look like
V-B questions are operational rather than mathematical. The calculations that do appear are the basic ones: units bought for a given amount at a given NAV, absolute return, and CAGR over two or three years. The rest is knowing the rules:
- Cut-off times and which NAV applies to a purchase or redemption
- What goes in the SID, the SAI and the KIM
- How a SIP, SWP and STP each work
- The three-year lock-in on ELSS, applied to each instalment
- The holding period that makes an equity fund gain long-term (more than 12 months)
- Nomination, transmission and the Consolidated Account Statement
A two-week study plan
Days 1–4 — the big four. Investor Services, Concept and Role, Scheme Related Information, Performance. Work every calculation by hand.
Days 5–8 — the rules. Legal structure, distribution and channel management, the regulatory environment, and the new-cadre products chapter. This is memorisation; use flashcards or memory hooks, not re-reading.
Days 9–10 — taxation and the landscape. Two small chapters with predictable questions.
Days 11–14 — timed papers only. Sit 50-question papers under the clock, review every wrong answer, and re-sit the chapters that let you down.
Practise free on ScoreSetu: 360+ NISM V-B questions filed by chapter, each with a detailed explanation and a memory hook, plus timed mock papers in the real 50-question format scored to the 50% pass mark.
Quick recap
- Pattern: 50 questions, 1 mark each, 2 hours.
- Pass mark: 50%. No negative marking.
- Who: the new cadre — postal agents, retired officials, retired bankers.
- What you may sell: liquid, index, diversified equity, retirement and FMP schemes that have matched or beaten their benchmark in each of the last three years.
- Where the marks are: Investor Services (20%), then Concept and Role, Scheme Information and Performance (12% each).
Start with the free V-B practice questions, then take a timed mock to see how close to 25 marks you already are.