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A 12-chapter learning guide, a diagnostic quiz, practice worksheets, a full 100-question timed mock exam with genuine 10% negative marking, a visual guide, a searchable glossary, and flashcards — weighted exactly to the official syllabus.
If you're not sure why XXI-A matters or what a PMS distributor actually does, read these three short answers first.
NISM — the National Institute of Securities Markets, set up by SEBI — certifies people working across securities markets. Series XXI-A is the knowledge benchmark for anyone distributing Portfolio Management Services (PMS): understanding what portfolio managers do, how they charge fees, how their performance is measured, and the regulations governing them.
PMS serves a wealthier, more sophisticated client base than mutual funds — the minimum investment is Rs. 50 lakh per client. Distributors (often from wealth management, private banking, or independent advisory backgrounds) need this certification to legitimately distribute PMS and explain its mechanics — discretionary vs. non-discretionary models, High Water Mark fee structures, exit loads — accurately to clients.
Read who typically takes this exam and what a PMS distribution career looks like →
100 questions, 100 marks, 2 hours, 60% to pass — straightforward MCQ format, no caselets. But unlike NISM-Series-V-A, XXI-A carries 10% negative marking on every wrong answer, so guessing carelessly has a real cost.
Each piece below builds on the last — use them in this order the first time through.
A plain-language walkthrough of all 12 syllabus chapters, in order, with exam weightage — the actual teaching material, not just a test.
A short quiz weighted by how much each chapter is worth on the real exam, with instant feedback and hints.
Four worksheets grouping the 12 chapters: a concept recap, a key-numbers/formula table, practice questions, and a full answer key.
100 questions, 100 marks, a genuine 2-hour countdown, real 10% negative marking, question navigator with flagging, and a pass/fail result (60 to pass) broken down by chapter.
These three aren't a sequence — dip into whichever one matches what you're stuck on, any time during your prep.
Diagrams for the topics people mix up under pressure: discretionary vs. non-discretionary PMS, the High Water Mark mechanism, and the exit load schedule.
Open the visual guideTerms, formulas and key regulatory numbers in one searchable page — Sharpe/Treynor ratios, Duration, exit loads, and more.
Open the glossaryCards across several decks for pure active recall — definitions, formulas, regulations, and key numbers.
Open the flashcardsThe mock exam's question count per chapter mirrors this table exactly. The chapter guide walks through every one of these 12 rows in plain language.
| Ch. | Topic | Weightage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Investments | 7 |
| 2 | Introduction to Securities Markets | 5 |
| 3 | Investing in Stocks | 10 |
| 4 | Investing in Fixed Income Securities | 5 |
| 5 | Derivatives | 5 |
| 6 | Collective Investment Vehicles | 5 |
| 7 | Role of Portfolio Managers | 10 |
| 8 | Operational Aspects of Portfolio Managers | 13 |
| 9 | Portfolio Management Process | 15 |
| 10 | Performance Measurement and Evaluation | 10 |
| 11 | Taxation | 5 |
| 12 | Regulatory, Governance and Ethical Aspects | 10 |
Every question, explanation and chapter summary in this kit was written from scratch, based on the official NISM-Series-XXI-A workbook (September 2025 version) and the exam format NISM publishes. It is not an official NISM product, and it is not a leaked or licensed copy of NISM's own question bank.