Series XXI-A
Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors
50 questionsPass mark 60%Negative marking 10% / wrong answer
NISM Series XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors
The PMS distributors paper: investing basics, the securities markets, stocks, bonds and derivatives, pooled investment vehicles, what portfolio managers do and how they operate, the portfolio management process, measuring performance, tax, and the rules and ethics for distributors.
Questions1001 mark each
Duration120 min2 hours
Pass mark60%60 of 100 marks
Negative marking10%0.1 marks off per wrong answer
NISM Series XXI-A Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors
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-XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors Certification Examination is 100 questions worth 100 marks in 120 minutes, and 60% is the pass mark. A wrong answer costs 0.1 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 XXI-A certification is for
The PMS distributors paper: investing basics, the securities markets, stocks, bonds and derivatives, pooled investment vehicles, what portfolio managers do and how they operate, the portfolio management process, measuring performance, tax, and the rules and ethics for distributors.
Who takes it
People who distribute portfolio management services to clients, and their staff who deal with those clients.
Why it is on this site
The paper about recommending a managed portfolio. Its return and risk measures are the same ones the site's lessons and calculators work through.
Exam format at a glance
Questions1001 mark each
Total marks100100 × 1
Duration120 min2 hours
Pass mark60%60 of 100 marks
Negative marking10%0.1 marks off per wrong answer
Certificate validity3 yearsfrom the date of the examination
100 multiple-choice questions of 1 mark each in 120 minutes. 60% to pass. A wrong answer loses one tenth of a mark.
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 mark, so the paper is scored out of 100 and 60 marks are needed to pass. A wrong answer deducts 10% of the marks assigned to the question — 0.1 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 (120 minutes for 100 questions), scaled to the size of your set.
Syllabus units, and what each is worth
12 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.
| Unit | Practice questions |
|---|---|
| Investments | 11 |
| Introduction to Securities Markets | 7 |
| Investing in Stocks | 15 |
| Investing in Fixed Income Securities | 8 |
| Derivatives | 7 |
| Collective Investment Vehicles | 8 |
| Role of Portfolio Managers | 15 |
| Operational Aspects of Portfolio Managers | 20 |
| Portfolio Management Process | 22 |
| Performance Measurement and Evaluation of Portfolio Managers | 15 |
| Taxation | 7 |
| Regulatory, Governance and Ethical Aspects of Portfolio Managers | 15 |
Test yourself on this syllabus
It is marked with the pass mark and negative marking shown above.
150 Series XXI-A practice questions
Answer one at a time and see the reason straight away. Or sit a timed set marked like this paper: 0.1 marks off for a wrong answer, 60% to pass.
Start practising →NISM Series XXI-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 X-A — Investment Adviser (Level 1)
- Series IV — Interest Rate Derivatives
- Series VI — Depository Operations
- Series XVI — Commodity Derivatives
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-XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors 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 XXI-A: common questions
How many questions are in the NISM Series XXI-A exam?
The NISM-Series-XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors Certification Examination has 100 questions worth 100 marks in total, to be completed in 120 minutes (2 hours).
What is the passing score for NISM Series XXI-A?
60%, which on a 100-mark paper means 60 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 XXI-A?
Yes — 10% of the marks assigned to a question. Each question here carries 1 mark, so a wrong answer costs 0.1 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 XXI-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 XXI-A exam?
No. LearnNifty wrote all 150 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 XXI-A syllabus cover?
Our practice questions for this certification are sorted into 12 topics: Investments, Introduction to Securities Markets, Investing in Stocks, Investing in Fixed Income Securities, Derivatives, Collective Investment Vehicles, Role of Portfolio Managers, Operational Aspects of Portfolio Managers, Portfolio Management Process, Performance Measurement and Evaluation of Portfolio Managers, Taxation, Regulatory, Governance and Ethical Aspects of Portfolio Managers. 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 XXI-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 XXI-A paper marked on the figures above
Series XXI-A questions written against the published syllabus and scored under this paper’s own rules — 60% to pass, 0.1 marks off for a wrong answer. Practice mode explains every option as you go. Timed practice hides answers until you submit.
Open the Series XXI-A practice questions