Investing NISM V-B

NISM Series V-B: Mutual Fund Foundation

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated 19 May 2026. Reading time ~5 min.

NISM Series V-B: Mutual Fund Foundation is the foundation-level certification offered by the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) for entry-level professionals in the Indian mutual fund industry. Unlike Series V-A (which is the qualifying gate for ARN distribution), V-B is not tied to a regulatory licence and serves primarily as an industry-knowledge credential.

For mutual-fund-industry career entrants (AMC operations staff, RTA staff, fund accounting trainees, compliance trainees, customer support), V-B is the recommended baseline credential. Some AMCs require V-B for internal sales staff who do not directly hold ARN.

Examination format

Duration: 90 minutes.
Number of questions: 100 (multiple-choice; 1 mark each).
Pass mark: 50% (50 out of 100).
Negative marking: 0.25 marks per incorrect answer.
Languages: English, Hindi.
Mode: Online proctored at NISM-empanelled centres.

Syllabus emphasis

V-B’s syllabus overlaps with V-A but with operational emphasis:

Stronger operational focus

NAV computation detail.
Applicable NAV / cut-off rule operational mechanics.
Folio number and consolidation.
Mutual fund SOA , CAS , CAMS statement , KFinKart statement .
KYC operations: eKYC , CKYC .
Transaction processing pipelines.

Lighter distribution focus

V-B does not emphasise selling skills, distributor compensation, or relationship management to the same degree as V-A.

Career applications

Common roles for V-B certificate holders

AMC operations / fund accounting.
RTA staff (CAMS, KFin) for customer service.
Banking RM / wealth-relationship staff who handle mutual fund queries.
Compliance support staff.
Customer support / call-centre roles.

V-B + ARN combination

A common career path: V-B for operational entry, then later V-A for ARN licensing if the role evolves into distribution.

Comparison with V-A and V-C

Dimension	V-A	V-B	V-C
Target	Distributors	Foundation / operations	Senior distributors
Required for ARN	Yes	No	Optional
Pass mark	50%	50%	60%
Difficulty	Standard	Standard	Higher
Syllabus depth	Distribution-focused	Operations-focused	Advanced/holistic

External references

References

NISM Series V-B curriculum.
AMFI guidelines on industry certification.

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WebNotes Editorial Team

The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

Last reviewed: 19 May 2026
Conflicts of interest: WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.