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A Candidate’s Guide for NISM Certification Courses
NISM Certification Complete Details : Team Ambitiousbaba are here with a Current Affairs Special Series. In this series, candidates will be introduced to NISM, which will not only improve their general awareness but also will ensure that the candidates do not lack in any current affairs topic. Today’s Current Affairs topic is “NISM ”
What is NISM?
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), India’s securities market regulator, founded the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) as a public trust. NISM aims to improve market quality through educational initiatives. It has six schools to effectively cater to its diverse target audience in the areas of intermediary certification, regulatory studies, securities education, financial literacy and investor education, securities information and research, and corporate governance.
About the NISM Certification Exam
The NISM’s School for Certification of Intermediaries (SCI) is preparing Certification Exams for working professionals in different divisions of the Indian securities markets. As required by SEBI (Certification of Associated Persons in the Securities Markets) Regulation, 2007, NISM is developing these examinations. These exams are currently conducted in over 150 cities across India by various Test Administrators appointed by NISM.
NISM offers almost 30 certification courses. You do not need to take all of these certifications, some limited certifications are required which are properly aligned in your field or domain. For these certifications, you have to give online exams. One good thing is that you can give this exam from anywhere at any time. That is, you can give this exam from your home as well.
Here is a list of NISM Certification exams conducted by the National Institute of Securities Market (NISM):
| NISM Exam | Test Duration | Maximum Marks | Pass Mark (%) | Negative Marks (%) | Fees (Rs) | Certificate Validity
(in years) |
| NISM Series I: Currency Derivatives Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series II A: Registrars and Transfer Agents (Corporate) Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 50 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series II B: Registrars and Transfer Agents (Mutual Fund) Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 50 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series-III-A: Securities Intermediaries Compliance (Non-Fund) Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series-III-B: Issuers Compliance Certification Examination+ | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1770/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series IV: Interest Rates Derivatives Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series V A: Mutual Fund Distributors Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 50 | – | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM-SeriesV-B: Mutual Fund Foundation Certification Examination | 2hrs | 50 | 50 | – | 1200/- | 3yrs |
| NISM-Series-V-C: Mutual Fund Distributors (Level 2) Certification Examination+ | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1770/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series VI: Depository Operations Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series VII: Securities Operations and Risk Management Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 50 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM-Series-VIII: Equity Derivatives Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series-IX: Merchant Banking Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM-Series-X-A: Investment Adviser (Level 1) Certification Examination | 3hrs | 150 | 60 | 25 | 3000/- | 3yrs |
| NISM-Series-X-B: Investment Adviser (Level 2) Certification Examination | 3hrs | 120 | 60 | 25 | 3000/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series-XII: Securities Markets Foundation Certification Examination+ | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | – | 1770/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series-XIII: Common Derivatives Certification Examination | 3hrs | 150 | 60 | 25 | 3000/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series-XIV: Internal Auditors for Stock Brokers Certification Examination+ | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1770/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series-XV: Research Analyst Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM-Series-XVI: Commodity Derivatives Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM-Series-XVII: Retirement Adviser Certification Examination | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | 3yrs |
| NISM-Series-XVIII: Financial Education Certification Examination+ | 2hrs | 50 | 50 | – | 1416/- | 3yrs |
| NISM Series XIX-A: Alternative Investment Funds (Category I and II) Distributors+ | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1770 | 3yrs |
| NISM Series XX- Taxation Insecurities Markets | 2hr | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1770 | 3yrs |
| NISM Series XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors+ | 2hr | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1770 | 3yrs |
| NISM Series XXI-B: Portfolio Managers | 3hr | 150 | 60 | 25 | 3540 | 3yrs |
| NISM Series XXII: Fixed Income Securities | 2hr | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1770 | 3yrs |
| IBBI- Valuation Examination in the Asset Class: Land and Building | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | – |
| IBBI- Valuation Examination in the Asset Class: Plant and Machinery | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | – |
| IBBI- Valuation Examination in the Asset Class: Securities or Financial Assets | 2hrs | 100 | 60 | 25 | 1500/- | – |
NISM Exam : Syllabus
NISM Test Administrators:
BSE Institute Limited, CSE, Metropolitan Stock Exchange, National Institute of Securities Market and National Stock Exchange are the Test Administrators.
NISM Certification Eligibility Criteria :
The first question that arises is that what should be our eligibility to get this certification of NISM. There is no further eligibility or any educational qualification required to get these certifications. If you are a 12th pass student or you are a graduate or you are doing any professional course then you can still do these certifications. There are no such restrictive details in the name of eligibility on the website to get the NISM certifications. This means that if you have an interest in finance, then you can definitely do this certification.
What is the price of these courses?
Before selecting any certification or course, we must think about 3 things its cost, its scope, and how much time it takes. We would like to tell you that the fees for most of the certifications are around Rs.1500 – Rs.1700. After this, your admission is done and then you can give the exam and get a certificate for yourself.
How much time does it takes?
If you are a complete beginner and have no knowledge of finance So it takes you about 3 weeks to 4 weeks to do any one of its certifications. If you already have knowledge of finance and you have already read a lot about finance So it may take you 2 weeks or it may take 1 and a half week.
What is the scope of these courses?
If you are a working professional who is working in a finance field and you want a promotion or switch. If you have to work in any one agency or work with a distributor of mutual funds or run your own agency of distribution or if you have to work with a stock exchange-based company which is a stockbroking firm, then these certifications will definitely help you. Because the candidates who have these certifications are given more priority.
These certifications can help you to know your interest in the field of finance. These certifications can tell you whether finance is for you or not. Suppose that some students are confused about whether they should or should not do CFA. Because when you pay the curriculum fees of CFA, then you have to invest an amount around 80000 and this is a big amount.
If you want to know your interest in the field of finance before investing in it, then you should do 1 or 2 certifications of NISM. With this, you will know your interest whether you like finance, whether you enjoy studying finance or not. And after evaluating the marks you have, you can start any of your further financial degrees.
Revalidation of certificate through Continuing Professional Education (CPE) :
When the validity of a certificate held by an associated person expires, the certificate will be revalidated if the associated person successfully completes the NISM-approved Continuing Professional Education programme within the 12-month period preceding the certificate’s expiration date. Before the expiration of an existing certificate, it can be revalidated by passing the necessary NISM certification examination. The CPE providers listed below offer Continuing Professional Education programmes in over 100 locations across India.
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Providers :
American Academy of Financial Management, NSDL Technology, Trust and Research, SYKES & RAY EDUPRO Group, CDSL, MONEY BEE Institute Pvt. Ltd, National Institute of Securities Market and National Stock Exchange are the CPE Providers.
Your time is in your hands, if you think that you had some time, then such certifications should definitely be done. You should keep yourself up-skilled so that wherever you go, you should have some additional qualifications, some certifications. Because these things do matter when you sit in the interview.
If you will have an interviewer in front of you and you are applying for a job in the field of finance and you say that I have certification and he asked you some questions and you were able to answer them successfully, so it creates a very positive impression and your chances of getting the job increase a lot.
List of the NISM Certification Online Mock Tests with 100% Success Rate
| Sr. No |
NISM Exam | Online Mock Test Link |
| 1 | NISM Series I: Currency Derivatives Certification Examination | Click here |
| 2 | NISM Series II A: Registrars and Transfer Agents (Corporate) Certification Examination | Soon |
| 3 | NISM Series II B: Registrars and Transfer Agents (Mutual Fund) Certification Examination | Click here |
| 4 | NISM Series-III-A: Securities Intermediaries Compliance (Non-Fund) Certification Examination | Click Here |
| 5 | NISM Series-III-B: Issuers Compliance Certification Examination+ | Soon |
| 6 | NISM Series IV: Interest Rates Derivatives Certification Examination | Click Here |
| 7 | NISM Series V A: Mutual Fund Distributors Certification Examination | Click Here |
| 8 | NISM-SeriesV-B: Mutual Fund Foundation Certification Examination | Click Here |
| 9 | NISM-Series-V-C: Mutual Fund Distributors (Level 2) Certification Examination+ | Click Here |
| 10 | NISM Series VI: Depository Operations Certification Examination | Click Here |
| 11 | NISM Series VII: Securities Operations and Risk Management Certification Examination | Click Here |
| 12 | NISM-Series-VIII: Equity Derivatives Certification Examination | Click Here |
| 13 | NISM Series-IX: Merchant Banking Certification Examination | Click Here |
| 14 | NISM-Series-X-A: Investment Adviser (Level 1) Certification Examination | Click Here |
| 15 | NISM-Series-X-B: Investment Adviser (Level 2) Certification Examination | Click Here |
| 16 | NISM-Series-XI: Equity Sales Certification Examination+ | Soon |
| 17 | NISM Series-XII: Securities Markets Foundation Certification Examination+ | Click here |
| 18 | NISM Series-XIII: Common Derivatives Certification Examination | Soon |
| 19 | NISM Series-XIV: Internal Auditors for Stock Brokers Certification Examination+ | Soon |
| 20 | NISM Series-XV: Research Analyst Certification Examination | Soon |
| 21 | NISM-Series-XVI: Commodity Derivatives Certification Examination | Soon |
| 22 | NISM-Series-XVII: Retirement Adviser Certification Examination | Click here |
| 23 | NISM-Series-XVIII: Financial Education Certification Examination+ | Soon |
| 24 | NISM Series XIX-A: Alternative Investment Funds (Category I and II) Distributors+ | Soon |
| 25 | NISM Series XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors+ | Soon |
| 26 | IBBI- Valuation Examination in the Asset Class: Land and Building | Soon |
| 27 | IBBI- Valuation Examination in the Asset Class: Plant and Machinery | Soon |
| 28 | IBBI- Valuation Examination in the Asset Class: nSecurities or Financial Assets | Soon |
