How to Prepare for NISM Series I
Chapter order, time needed, and where marks are actually lost on the Currency Derivatives paper.
Series I mixes two kinds of question. Some test whether you know a fact: which act applies, which body decides, what a term means. Others ask you to work something out: a cross rate, the fair price of a currency future, what an option strategy earns at a given exchange rate. Preparation has to cover both, and the second kind needs practice with a calculator or spreadsheet, not just reading.
The pass mark is 60 out of 100, and a wrong answer costs 0.25. NISM has not published a pass rate for Series I, so no one can tell you reliably how hard it is in numbers. What you can use is the weightage table, which tells you exactly where the marks are.
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Study order by weight
Chapters grouped by marks, from the workbook's syllabus outline.
Highest
Chapters
3 Currency Futures (20), 4 Currency Options (20)
Marks
40
High
Chapters
1 Currency Markets (10), 5 Strategies (10), 6 Trading Mechanism (10), 7 Clearing, Settlement and Risk Management (10)
Marks
40
Lighter
Chapters
2 Foreign Exchange Derivatives (5), 8 Regulatory Framework (5), 9 Accounting and Taxation (5), 10 Code of Conduct and Investor Protection (5)
Marks
20
| Priority | Chapters | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | 3 Currency Futures (20), 4 Currency Options (20) | 40 |
| High | 1 Currency Markets (10), 5 Strategies (10), 6 Trading Mechanism (10), 7 Clearing, Settlement and Risk Management (10) | 40 |
| Lighter | 2 Foreign Exchange Derivatives (5), 8 Regulatory Framework (5), 9 Accounting and Taxation (5), 10 Code of Conduct and Investor Protection (5) | 20 |
A study plan that follows the marks
The workbook's chapter order builds each idea on the last, so read it in order, but give time in proportion to marks:
- 1
Chapters 1 and 2: currency basics
Learn how currency pairs are quoted, how bid and ask work, and how to build a cross rate from two quotes. Then learn what derivatives do and how exchange-traded contracts differ from OTC ones. The arithmetic in chapter 1 is used again in every later numerical.
- 2
Chapter 3: currency futures
20 marks. Know the contract terms, the pay-off of a long and a short future, how futures differ from forwards, and how interest rate parity gives the futures price. Work the examples yourself until you can do them without looking.
- 3
Chapter 4: currency options
20 marks, and the densest chapter. Moneyness, option styles, the Greeks, implied volatility and pay-off diagrams. Draw each pay-off by hand once; it makes the strategies chapter much easier.
- 4
Chapter 5: strategies
Hedging for importers and exporters, speculation, arbitrage, spreads and option strategies. For each one, write down the market view, the position, and the best and worst outcome.
- 5
Chapters 6 and 7: trading, clearing and risk
20 marks together. Who is in the trading system, how orders are handled, how obligations are worked out and settled, how margins and position limits work, and what the Core Settlement Guarantee Fund is for.
- 6
Chapters 8 to 10, then revise
Regulation, accounting and taxation, and the code of conduct carry 15 marks between them. They are mostly facts, so short notes work well. Then spend the remaining time on timed practice and on the chapters your practice shows are weak.
Free account, this exam preselected.
An example four-week schedule
Week 1: chapters 1 to 3. Week 2: chapters 4 and 5. Week 3: chapters 6 to 10. Week 4: revision and at least two full 100-question timed papers, with time between them to fix the weak chapters the first one shows. Stretch it if numbers are new to you; compress it if you already work on a currency desk.
Where marks are lost
- check_circleMixing up the base and quote currency, which flips the answer to a cross-rate question
- check_circleGetting the direction of a hedge wrong: whether an importer or an exporter should buy or sell
- check_circleConfusing what each Greek measures, or how moneyness changes with the exchange rate
- check_circleReading the strategies chapter without drawing the pay-offs, then freezing on a pay-off question
- check_circleSkipping the 5-mark chapters, although together they carry 20 marks
- check_circleStudying from older notes that predate the March 2026 workbook's updates
- check_circleGuessing carelessly: at 0.25 per wrong answer, many wrong guesses add up quickly
How to know you are ready
Take a full paper under real conditions: 100 questions, 120 minutes, 0.25 off for each wrong answer. If you can score 60 with a margin and finish in time, book your slot. If you are close but not there, use the weightage table to decide where to spend the next few days: a weak chapter worth 20 marks is a better target than one worth 5.
Practise numericals the way you will meet them at the test centre, where the workstations have Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice. On exam day, read every option before choosing: a calculation question often lists the answer you get with one step done the wrong way round.
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