Series X-A
Investment Adviser (Level 1)
50 questionsPass mark 60%Negative marking 25% / wrong answer
NISM Series X-A: Investment Adviser (Level 1)
The investment adviser paper: financial planning and the time value of money, a client's financial position and debt, the Indian markets and their products, mutual funds, portfolio managers and alternative funds, portfolio theory, construction and performance, and the rules, ethics and grievance process that govern giving investment advice.
Questions1351 or 2 marks each
Duration180 min3 hours
Pass mark60%90 of 150 marks
Negative marking25%0.25 or 0.5 marks off per wrong answer
NISM Series X-A Investment Adviser (Level 1)
Exam rules read on NISM's site on 3 October 2026. Check the current rules on NISM's site (opens in a new tab)
The NISM-Series-X-A: Investment Adviser (Level 1) Certification Examination is 135 questions worth 150 marks in 180 minutes, and 60% is the pass mark. A wrong answer costs 0.25 or 0.5 marks and a blank costs nothing, so the two are not the same choice. The certificate is valid 3 years from the date of the examination. Every figure here was read from NISM's own published pages on 3 October 2026.
What the Series X-A certification is for
The investment adviser paper: financial planning and the time value of money, a client's financial position and debt, the Indian markets and their products, mutual funds, portfolio managers and alternative funds, portfolio theory, construction and performance, and the rules, ethics and grievance process that govern giving investment advice.
Who takes it
Individual investment advisers, principal officers of advisory firms, and people who give investment advice for them. It is the first of the two levels an adviser must pass.
Why it is on this site
The paper about matching an investment to a person. Its calculations - compounding, a goal's future cost, returns and risk - are the same ones the site's calculators and lessons work through.
Exam format at a glance
Questions1351 or 2 marks each
Total marks150120 × 1 + 15 × 2
Duration180 min3 hours
Pass mark60%90 of 150 marks
Negative marking25%0.25 or 0.5 marks off per wrong answer
Certificate validity3 yearsfrom the date of the examination
135 questions in 180 minutes, worth 150 marks: 90 single questions and 9 case studies of 5 questions each. Three of the case studies carry 2 marks a question. 60% to pass. A wrong answer loses 25% of that question's marks.
The examination fee is deliberately not printed here. NISM publishes it per certification and revises it from time to time, and a fee is the one figure on a page like this that somebody acts on with money — read the current one on nism.ac.in.
How the marking works — and what the quiz here does with it
Each question carries 1 or 2 marks, so the paper is scored out of 150 and 90 marks are needed to pass. A wrong answer deducts 25% of the marks assigned to the question — 0.25 or 0.5 marks here. A question left unanswered scores nothing and deducts nothing, so a wrong answer and a blank are not equivalent, and deciding between them is part of what the paper tests.
The practice quiz here uses these same figures. Timed practice applies this pass mark and this deduction. Its clock runs at this paper's pace (180 minutes for 135 questions), scaled to the size of your set.
Syllabus units, and what each is worth
20 practice topics, in the order our questions are written. Each row links to the topic's full questions and answers. Each answer explains why the other options are wrong. No unit weightage was found in the official exam material, so this table has no marks column.
Test yourself on this syllabus
It is marked with the pass mark and negative marking shown above.
285 Series X-A practice questions
Answer one at a time and see the reason straight away. Or sit a timed set marked like this paper: 0.25 or 0.5 marks off for a wrong answer, 60% to pass.
Start practising →NISM Series X-A mock tests
Three fixed papers of 50 questions each, timed at this exam's pace, with its pass mark and negative marking. When you submit, you see your score and why each answer is right.
Take a mock test →Every series' practice set
The other certifications we hold questions for, each scored on its own published pass mark and marking rule — which are not the same as this paper's.
Browse every series →Which NISM exam applies to you
Which series fits your work, with the lessons and tools for each one.
Open the certification hub →The other certifications on this site
- Series VIII — Equity Derivatives
- Series V-A — Mutual Fund Distributors
- Series XV — Research Analyst
- Series VII — Securities Operations and Risk Management
- Series I — Currency Derivatives
- Series IV — Interest Rate Derivatives
- Series VI — Depository Operations
- Series XVI — Commodity Derivatives
- Series XXI-A — Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors
Sources & review date. The question count, total marks, duration, pass mark, negative marking and certificate validity above come from NISM's own pages for the NISM-Series-X-A: Investment Adviser (Level 1) Certification Examination, last read on 3 October 2026. Marks per question, marks needed to pass and marks lost per wrong answer are worked out from those figures. We found no published marks for each unit of this exam, so none are shown here. Other weightage tables are estimates. The unit headings follow the order of these practice questions. Compare them with NISM's published unit list.
NISM Series X-A: common questions
How many questions are in the NISM Series X-A exam?
The NISM-Series-X-A: Investment Adviser (Level 1) Certification Examination has 135 questions worth 150 marks in total, to be completed in 180 minutes (3 hours).
What is the passing score for NISM Series X-A?
60%, which on a 150-mark paper means 90 marks, calculated after negative marking has been applied to wrong answers. Checked against NISM's own published page for this examination on 3 October 2026.
Is there negative marking in NISM Series X-A?
Yes — 25% of the marks assigned to a question. Each question here carries 1 or 2 marks, so a wrong answer costs 0.25 or 0.5 marks. A question left unanswered neither earns nor deducts anything, so a wrong answer and a blank are not the same thing.
How long is the NISM Series X-A certificate valid?
3 years from the date of the examination. NISM also runs a Continuing Professional Education programme for its certifications. Confirm the current revalidation route on nism.ac.in before your certificate expires.
Are the practice questions on this page from the NISM Series X-A exam?
No. LearnNifty wrote all 285 of them from NISM's public syllabus for this certification. NISM does not publish its question bank. The questions help you practise the syllabus. They cannot predict the paper.
What does the NISM Series X-A syllabus cover?
Our practice questions for this certification are sorted into 20 topics: Introduction to Personal Financial Planning, Time Value of Money, Evaluating the Financial Position of Clients, Debt Management and Loans, Introduction to the Indian Financial Markets, Securities Market Segments, Introduction to Investment, Investing in Stocks, Investing in Fixed Income Securities, Understanding Derivatives, Mutual Funds, Portfolio Manager, Overview of Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), Introduction to Modern Portfolio Theory, Portfolio Construction Process, Portfolio Performance Measurement and Evaluation, Operational Aspects of Investment Management, Key Regulations, Ethical Issues, Grievance Redress Mechanism. That is the structure the practice set follows. NISM publishes its own curriculum and test objectives for the examination on nism.ac.in, and the workbook current for your sitting is the only examinable material.
Where does LearnNifty get these NISM Series X-A exam figures from?
The question count, time, pass mark, negative marking and certificate validity come from NISM's own exam pages, last read on 3 October 2026. The quiz here marks with the same figures. NISM changes them from time to time, so confirm them on nism.ac.in before you register.
Sit a Series X-A paper marked on the figures above
Series X-A questions written against the published syllabus and scored under this paper’s own rules — 60% to pass, 0.25 or 0.5 marks off for a wrong answer. Practice mode explains every option as you go. Timed practice hides answers until you submit.
Open the Series X-A practice questions