Series V-A
Mutual Fund Distributors
50 questionsPass mark 50%Negative marking None
NISM Series V-A practice questions
150 questions. Each answer is explained.
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Practise one unit at a time
Exam format
| Questions | 100 · 1 mark each |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 min · 2 hours |
| Pass mark | 50% · 50 of 100 marks |
| Negative marking | None · a wrong answer costs nothing beyond the mark |
| Certificate validity | 3 years · from the date of the examination |
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)
What these answers assume, and when it was last checked
Each question uses the rules listed below. We last checked them on 5 September 2026. A Budget or SEBI circular can change a rate, lot size or expiry day. If a rule changes before your exam, treat the linked questions as out of date and check NISM's current workbook.
- NSE uses Tuesday expiry and BSE uses Thursday expiry. This applies from 1 September 2025.
- The January 2026 index lot sizes are NIFTY 65, BANKNIFTY 30, FINNIFTY 60, MIDCPNIFTY 120 and NIFTYNXT50 25.
- The October 2024 SEBI framework sets a minimum index contract value of Rs 15–20 lakh. Each exchange may list one weekly benchmark index.
- Option buyers pay the premium upfront from 1 February 2025. A short index option has an extra 2% Extreme Loss Margin on expiry day from 20 November 2024.
- Equity short-term capital gains are taxed at 20%. Long-term gains are taxed at 12.5% above Rs 1.25 lakh. Both rates apply from 23 July 2024.
- F&O income is non-speculative business income in ITR-3. NSE equity derivatives trade from 9:15 a.m. to 3:40 p.m.
- The final ten-minute session began on 3 August 2026. It aligns with the cash market Closing Auction Session.
- Most Securities Transaction Tax questions test the base and who pays. On an option sale, it is the premium and the seller pays. On a futures sale, it is the traded value and the seller pays.
- On exercise, Securities Transaction Tax uses intrinsic value: settlement price minus strike price. The buyer pays it.
- Two questions test the current rate. From 1 April 2026, option sales carry 0.15% on the premium and futures sales carry 0.05% on traded price. The earlier rates were 0.10% and 0.02% from 1 October 2024.
- This section uses the T+1 rolling settlement cycle. Obligations are fixed on T+1. A short delivery goes to buy-in auction on T+1 and settles on T+2.
- The trade-for-trade surveillance segment uses direct close-out. Funds pay in by 10:30 a.m. and pay out on or after 1:30 p.m. on settlement day.
- Securities pay in to the settlement pool by 10:30 a.m. They pay out directly to the client’s demat account by 3:30 p.m.
- The 3:30 p.m. deadline replaced 1:30 p.m. under SEBI’s 10 October 2024 circular. Direct client credit was required by SEBI’s 5 June 2024 circular.
- The optional T+0 cycle trades until 1:30 p.m. Obligations are fixed by 2:30 p.m. on the trade day. An early pay-in shortage is closed out directly.
- Cash-market Value at Risk margin is six times exponentially weighted moving-average volatility. It has a 9% floor for Group I, a 21.5% floor for Group II, and a fixed 50% or 75% level for Group III.
- Extreme Loss Margin is 3.5% for a share and 2% for a broad-market-index exchange traded fund. Mark-to-market margin is collected before the next day’s trading. The trade-for-trade segment has 100% upfront margin.
- Close-out uses the higher of the highest price from trade day to auction day and 20% above the auction day’s official close.
- A funds shortage costs 0.07% a day. The trading facility is withdrawn at a shortage of Rs 5 lakh or more.
- SCORES allows 21 calendar days, then two 15-day review levels. Online Dispute Resolution moves from conciliation to arbitration after the market participant and SCORES steps.
- At NSE, the Investor Protection Fund limit is Rs 35 lakh per investor for each defaulting or expelled member. This applies to claims arising after 13 August 2024.
- A Basic Services Demat Account has no annual maintenance charge up to Rs 4 lakh of holdings. It costs up to Rs 100 above that, until the Rs 10 lakh eligibility ceiling. These slabs apply from 1 September 2024.
- The rupee pairs are USD-INR, EUR-INR, GBP-INR and JPY-INR. The cross-currency pairs are EUR-USD, GBP-USD and USD-JPY.
- Each contract covers 1,000 units of the foreign currency, except JPY-INR. JPY-INR covers 100,000 yen and is quoted in rupees per 100 yen.
- The tick is 0.25 paise, or Rs 0.0025. It equals Rs 2.50 a contract.
- Rupee pairs trade from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A monthly contract stops trading at 12:30 p.m. two working days before the expiry month’s last business day.
- Final settlement is in cash at the FBIL reference rate on expiry day. FBIL, Financial Benchmarks India, has published this rate in place of the Reserve Bank since 2018. Premium-style European options are quoted in rupees. The buyer pays the premium in cash on T+1.
- Daily settlement is on T+1 and final settlement is on T+2.
- NSE Clearing circular 026/2020 sets SPAN margin plus Extreme Loss Margin. The futures margin is 0.50% for USD-INR, 0.15% for EUR-INR, 0.25% for GBP-INR and 0.35% for JPY-INR. A short option has 0.75%. These figures apply from 1 June 2020.
- A USD-INR client may hold 6% of total open interest or USD 20 million, whichever is higher. A trading member may hold 15% or USD 100 million.
- A resident user has one USD 100 million equivalent limit across all rupee pairs and exchanges. No document is needed below that limit, but a valid underlying contracted exposure must still exist. This clarification applies from 3 May 2024.
- The currency segment has no Securities Transaction Tax.
The exam figures (questions, time, pass mark, negative marking and certificate validity) come from NISM's own pages, read on 3 October 2026. Timed practice uses the same figures. Study with the official workbook as well.
The written-out answers on this page are hidden while your timed set runs.
5 sample questions with answers
The other 145 are on the unit pages above, written out the same way.
Q1An investor selects a fund solely because most colleagues have bought it. He has not examined its portfolio, risk or fit with his goal. Which behavioural bias is most directly illustrated?
Option A. Anchoring on an earlier purchase price.
Why it is wrong: No initial price or other numerical anchor is influencing the choice in the stated facts.
Option B. Herding by following the group’s investment choice. — Correct answer
Option C. Confirmation bias when filtering research reports.
Why it is wrong: The stem does not describe accepting favourable research while rejecting contrary evidence.
Option D. Recency bias when overemphasising the latest return.
Why it is wrong: The stem does not say that the latest return is driving the choice. It says the colleagues’ purchases are.
Answer: B. The investor is copying the group’s decision without evaluating the fund for his own needs. The deciding fact is that other people have bought the fund. The stem does not identify an earlier reference price, selective use of research or disproportionate reliance on recent performance. Following the group is therefore the most direct explanation among the four alternatives. The scenario does not prove that the chosen fund will perform badly. Remember: Identify the actual decision trigger before assigning a behavioural-bias label.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Calling every poorly researched investment decision recency bias.
VA-097easyapplication
Q2A proposed portfolio trade appears attractive but may breach a scheme restriction. Which response best separates the AMC’s investment and compliance responsibilities?
Option A. Let expected outperformance override the restriction if the fund manager documents it.
Why it is wrong: A favourable return expectation does not itself create permission to disregard a binding scheme restriction.
Option B. Apply the restriction through compliance controls before allowing the trade to proceed. — Correct answer
Option C. Treat compliance approval as a substitute for the fund manager’s investment assessment.
Why it is wrong: Passing a compliance check does not establish the investment merits of a trade or replace the fund manager’s assessment.
Option D. Execute the trade first and review its compliance only at the next periodic report.
Why it is wrong: A later report is not a substitute for applying the stated restriction before a trade is allowed.
Answer: B. The restriction must be checked before execution. Compliance clearance and the investment decision remain distinct checks. First establish what restriction applies and whether the proposed transaction would breach it. The compliance function or approved compliance controls must address that question before the trade is treated as permissible. The investment team can then consider an allowed trade on its investment merits. Recording a breach after execution is not a substitute for checking beforehand. Remember: Check whether an investment is permitted separately from whether it appears profitable.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Confusing a favourable return forecast with permission to disregard the scheme mandate.
VA-078mediumapplication
Q3A fund of funds has 60% of its assets in Fund P, 30% in Fund Q and 10% in cash. P has 80% equity exposure and Q has 40%, each measured on its own assets. With no leverage or other equity exposure, what is the FoF’s look-through equity exposure?
Option A. 90%
Why it is wrong: 90% is the allocation to underlying funds, not their combined equity exposure. Both underlying funds also contain non-equity assets.
Option B. 66.67%
Why it is wrong: 66.67% divides the 60% equity exposure by the 90% invested in funds. The question asks for exposure as a share of all FoF assets, including cash.
Option C. 48%
Why it is wrong: This reverses the FoF’s weights in P and Q: 30% × 80% + 60% × 40% = 48%. The stem gives 60% in P and 30% in Q.
Option D. 60% — Correct answer
Answer: D. The two weighted equity contributions are 48% and 12%, totalling 60%. Fund P contributes 60% × 80% = 48% of the FoF’s assets as equity exposure. Fund Q contributes 30% × 40% = 12%. The FoF’s own 10% cash contributes no equity exposure. Total equity exposure = 48% + 12% = 60% of total FoF assets. This is an economic exposure calculation. It does not determine the scheme’s legal category or its tax classification. Remember: Look through every layer of fund ownership and keep the denominator as total FoF assets.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Treating all money invested in underlying funds as equity or excluding the FoF’s cash from the denominator.
VA-082hardnumerical
Q4Three SIP instalments of ₹3,000 each are fully invested at NAVs of ₹10, ₹12 and ₹15. With no charges or redemptions, what is the average acquisition cost per unit?
Option A. ₹12.33
Why it is wrong: This is the rounded simple average of the three NAVs. Equal rupee instalments buy unequal unit quantities, so that is not the acquisition cost per unit.
Option B. ₹12.00 — Correct answer
Option C. ₹10.00
Why it is wrong: This uses only the first purchase NAV and ignores the units bought at the other two prices.
Option D. ₹15.00
Why it is wrong: This uses the final purchase NAV rather than dividing the combined acquisition cost by the combined units.
Answer: B. The instalments buy 300, 250 and 200 units, or 750 units in total. Total cost ₹9,000 divided by 750 units is ₹12. The first instalment buys ₹3,000 / ₹10 = 300 units. The next two buy ₹3,000 / ₹12 = 250 units and ₹3,000 / ₹15 = 200 units. Total money invested is ₹9,000 and total units are 300 + 250 + 200 = 750. Average acquisition cost per unit = ₹9,000 / 750 = ₹12.00. This calculation describes the cost of the acquired units. It does not establish that SIP investing guarantees a profit or that any future NAV will exceed that cost. Remember: For a SIP’s average unit cost, total the actual units before dividing total investment by them.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Averaging NAVs without recognising that equal money buys more units at lower prices.
VA-072mediumnumerical
Q5A distributor says a scheme is suitable for every investor because its SID has been filed with SEBI. Which response best addresses that claim?
Option A. SEBI’s acceptance of the filing establishes that the scheme suits every investor category.
Why it is wrong: Filing a document is not a regulator’s determination that the scheme is suitable for every investor.
Option B. The filing transfers the investor-specific suitability assessment from the distributor to SEBI.
Why it is wrong: The filing does not move an investor-specific suitability decision to SEBI.
Option C. SEBI’s absence of comments is an investment recommendation for the scheme’s stated audience.
Why it is wrong: Regulatory review or an absence of comments must not be presented as an investment recommendation.
Option D. Filing the SID does not mean SEBI recommends the investment or certifies its suitability. — Correct answer
Answer: D. The prescribed caveat distinguishes the regulatory document process from approval or recommendation of the investment. The claim moves from a regulatory process to a conclusion about every investor. That conclusion does not follow. The prescribed SID wording distinguishes filing from approval or recommendation by SEBI. An investor must still consider the scheme’s characteristics and the investor’s own needs. Neither expected performance nor individual suitability is established by filing alone. Remember: Regulation is not a recommendation to buy a particular scheme.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Using “filed with SEBI” as a shortcut for “appropriate for everyone”.
VA-089easyapplication
NISM Series V-A practice: common questions
Are these the real NISM Series V-A exam questions?
No. LearnNifty wrote every question from NISM's public syllabus. NISM does not publish its question bank, so nobody can offer you the real paper. Use these questions to check that an idea has gone in. Use the official NISM workbook to see what is examined.
How many practice questions are there for NISM Series V-A?
150 at the moment, across 8 practice topics, with one page per unit. It is a practice set, not a copy of the paper: the real NISM-Series-V-A: Mutual Fund Distributors Certification Examination has 100 questions.
Where are all the questions and answers?
On the 8 practice topics listed above. There are 5 in full. Each unit's page has the rest, with all four options, the correct answer and why each other option is wrong.
Does negative marking apply to NISM Series V-A?
No. NISM applies no negative marking to Series V-A. A wrong answer costs nothing beyond the mark you did not earn, so a blank is never better than an attempt. Timed practice here uses the same rule.
How do I book the NISM Series V-A exam?
You register and pay on NISM's own website, nism.ac.in. The steps and the fee change from time to time, so read them there on the day you book.
Are these practice questions kept up to date?
Each question is written against the rules printed on this page, last checked on 5 September 2026. A Budget or a SEBI circular can change a rate, a lot size or an expiry day. If one of those rules changes before your exam, treat the questions that use it as out of date. Then check NISM's current workbook.
See the exam these questions follow
The Mutual Fund Distributors exam page shows the question count, the time, the pass mark and the marking rule.
Open the NISM Series V-A exam page