Series V-A
Mutual Fund Distributors
50 questionsPass mark 50%Negative marking None
NISM Series V-A: Mutual Fund Distributors
The mutual fund distribution paper: how a fund is structured and regulated, how a scheme is valued and its returns measured, what a distributor may and may not do, and how a recommendation is matched to an investor's circumstances.
Questions1001 mark each
Duration120 min2 hours
Pass mark50%50 of 100 marks
Negative markingNonea blank and a wrong answer cost the same
NISM Series V-A Mutual Fund 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-V-A: Mutual Fund Distributors Certification Examination is 100 questions worth 100 marks in 120 minutes, and 50% is the pass mark. There is no negative marking on this paper, so a blank is never better than a guess. 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 V-A certification is for
The mutual fund distribution paper: how a fund is structured and regulated, how a scheme is valued and its returns measured, what a distributor may and may not do, and how a recommendation is matched to an investor's circumstances.
Who takes it
People distributing mutual funds, including the employees of a distributor.
Why it is on this site
The most widely taken NISM examination, and not a derivatives paper. It shares the securities-markets and regulatory groundwork that Series VIII assumes you already have.
Exam format at a glance
Questions1001 mark each
Total marks100100 × 1
Duration120 min2 hours
Pass mark50%50 of 100 marks
Negative markingNonea wrong answer costs nothing beyond the mark
Certificate validity3 yearsfrom the date of the examination
100 multiple-choice questions of 1 mark each in 120 minutes. 50% to pass and NO negative marking, which is why leaving an answer blank on this paper is never the better option.
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 50 marks are needed to pass. There is no negative marking on this paper. A wrong answer and a blank both score nothing, which means a blank is never the better of the two: an uncertain answer is free to give.
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.
How to study for Series V-A, in order
This paper rewards being able to explain a product rather than name one. Almost every wrong answer available on it is a real label attached to the wrong mechanism, so the order below runs from what a thing IS, to what it COSTS, to what it SUITS — because a cost you cannot place and a recommendation you cannot justify are the same mistake.
This sequence is LearnNifty's. NISM publishes the curriculum and test objectives for this exam, but no study order. Use this sequence alongside the official material.
- Structure first: what a unit actually isA scheme, the portfolio behind it, the unit that represents a share of that portfolio, the net asset value (NAV) of a fund unit, and who is responsible for what. Until a unit is a concrete thing, everything after it is vocabulary. The reliable check: a lower price means more units for the same amount. It does not, by itself, make the fund cheaper. If that sentence is obvious, this stage is done.
- Then exposure and riskWhat the money is actually invested in, and what can go wrong with it. Practise describing a scheme's risk without using its category name, because the category name is exactly what a distractor will offer you in place of the answer.
- Then the money that leaves: plans, options, expenses and exitsWhich costs are borne inside the scheme and are therefore already reflected in the NAV, which apply on the way out, and which are specific to the investor. The error that recurs here is arithmetical rather than conceptual: an annual rate deducted as though it were a one-off charge on each contribution.
- Then suitability, conduct and the rules around themSuitability questions on this paper are reasoning questions, not arithmetic. The strong answer to "last year's best performer must suit everybody" names what is missing — horizon, liquidity needs, objective, risk tolerance, and whether last year's conditions are expected to repeat — rather than picking a product off a return figure. And passing is not the same as holding every professional requirement that applies to distributing a fund. Those are checked separately.
What this paper's marking should change about how you answer
This paper deducts nothing for a wrong answer. A blank when time runs out gives away a possible mark. Spend the last minutes filling blanks before you re-read answers. Mark which answers were guesses before you check them, though — a total that includes lucky guesses will tell you that you are readier than you are.
Reviewing what you got wrong is a separate skill from answering, and it is the one that decides whether the next paper is better than this one. The practice set for this paper explains every wrong option rather than only marking it, and its result screen sorts your mistakes by the kind of mistake they were.
Syllabus units, and what each is worth
8 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 |
|---|---|
| Investment Landscape | 16 |
| Structure of Mutual Funds | 16 |
| Accounting, Valuation and Taxation | 19 |
| Mutual Fund Products | 22 |
| Investor Services | 19 |
| Risk, Return and Performance | 21 |
| Legal and Regulatory Environment | 19 |
| Scheme Selection | 18 |
Test yourself on this syllabus
It is marked with the pass mark and negative marking shown above.
150 Series V-A practice questions
Answer one at a time and see the reason straight away. Or sit a timed set marked like this paper: 50% to pass, with no deduction for a wrong answer.
Start practising →NISM Series V-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 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
- 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-V-A: Mutual Fund 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 V-A: common questions
How many questions are in the NISM Series V-A exam?
The NISM-Series-V-A: Mutual Fund 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 V-A?
50%, which on a 100-mark paper means 50 marks. Checked against NISM's own published page for this examination on 3 October 2026.
Is there negative marking in NISM Series V-A?
No. NISM applies no negative marking to this examination, which is why leaving an answer blank on this paper is never the better option: a guess can only help.
How long is the NISM Series V-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 V-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 V-A syllabus cover?
Our practice questions for this certification are sorted into 8 topics: Investment Landscape, Structure of Mutual Funds, Accounting, Valuation and Taxation, Mutual Fund Products, Investor Services, Risk, Return and Performance, Legal and Regulatory Environment, Scheme Selection. 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 V-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 V-A paper marked on the figures above
Series V-A questions written against the published syllabus and scored under this paper’s own rules — 50% to pass, with no deduction for a wrong answer. Practice mode explains every option as you go. Timed practice hides answers until you submit.
Open the Series V-A practice questions