NISM Series XXI-B Syllabus: Portfolio Managers
All 21 chapters of the Portfolio Managers workbook, and what each one covers.
NISM Series XXI-B is the Portfolio Managers Certification Examination, the exam SEBI requires of a portfolio manager's principal officer and of employees with fund management decision-making authority. Its curriculum has 21 chapters, numbered I to XXI on NISM's curriculum page. The first six are investment foundations, chapters VII to XI are the PMS business, tax and the rulebook, and chapters XII to XXI are portfolio theory and practice.
NISM does not publish a weightage for any XXI-B chapter. A site that shows a percentage per chapter has made it up. This page follows the chapter list and sub-topics NISM does publish.
All 21 chapters at a glance
Chapter titles as NISM's curriculum names them.
| Chapter | What it covers |
|---|---|
| I. Investment Landscape | Investment versus speculation, objectives, required rate of return, types and channels of investment |
| II. Introduction to Securities Markets | Primary and secondary markets, market participants |
| III. Investing in Stocks | Equity as an asset, diversification, equity risks, research and stock selection, technical analysis, corporate governance |
| IV. Investing in Fixed Income Securities | Bond characteristics, bond safety, bond valuation, price volatility |
| V. Derivatives | Derivative products and market structure, commodity and currency futures and options, use of derivatives by portfolio managers |
| VI. Mutual Fund | Concept, legal structure, product types, key SEBI regulation, fact sheet, NAV, total expense ratio, performance measures |
| VII. Role of Portfolio Managers | Types of PMS, organisational structure, registration, responsibilities, administration of the investor's portfolio |
| VIII. Operational Aspects of Portfolio Managers | Who can invest, disclosures, client onboarding, liability on default, grievance redressal, costs and fees |
| IX. Portfolio Management Process | Asset allocation, correlation across asset classes, strategic versus tactical allocation, rebalancing |
| X. Taxation | Taxation of investors and income streams, Section 9A of the Income Tax Act |
| XI. Regulatory, Governance and Ethical Aspects of Portfolio Managers | PMLA 2002, SEBI insider trading regulations 2015, SEBI PFUTP regulations 2003, SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations 2020, best practices, Investor Charter |
| XII. Introduction to Indices | Uses of indices, index methodologies, stock, bond and composite indices |
| XIII. Concept of Informational Efficiency | Efficient markets and random walk, tests of the efficient market hypothesis, market anomalies |
| XIV. Behavioral Finance | Behavioural versus standard finance, categories of biases, fusion investing, market anomalies |
| XV. Introduction to Modern Portfolio Theory | MPT assumptions, risk attitudes, expected return and variance of a portfolio, efficient frontier, portfolio optimisation |
| XVI. Introduction to Capital Market Theory | Capital market line, market portfolio, CAPM, security market line, multi-factor models |
| XVII. Risk | Definition, risk management process, kinds of risk, measuring and managing risk |
| XVIII. Equity Portfolio Management Strategies | Passive and active management, smart beta, factor and momentum portfolios, core and satellite, protective puts |
| XIX. Fixed Income Portfolio Management Strategies | Passive and active bond strategies, global fixed income, bond portfolios with derivatives |
| XX. Performance Measurement and Evaluation of Portfolio Managers | Return and risk measures, risk-adjusted return, benchmarking, attribution, GIPS, valuation of securities |
| XXI. Portfolio Rebalancing | Need and costs of rebalancing, periodicity, buy and hold, constant mix, CPPI |
Chapters I to VI: the investment foundation
These six chapters cover the instruments a portfolio manager puts into a client's account: stocks, bonds, derivatives and mutual fund units. Chapters III and IV are where the work starts: picking a stock on a valuation measure and saying which bond's price moves more with rates.
Chapter V ends with the use of derivatives by portfolio managers: what a PMS may do with client money.
Chapters VII to XI: the PMS business, tax and rules
Chapter VII separates the types of PMS (discretionary, non-discretionary and advisory) and lists a portfolio manager's responsibilities. Chapter VIII follows a client from disclosure document to grievance, including fees and reporting to SEBI. Chapter IX is the planning method: asset allocation, strategic versus tactical calls and rebalancing.
Chapter X covers how PMS investors are taxed on each income stream and Section 9A of the Income Tax Act, the safe harbour for offshore funds managed from India. Chapter XI is the rulebook: PMLA, insider trading, unfair trade practice rules, the SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations 2020 and the Investor Charter. SEBI has notified new Portfolio Managers Regulations, 2026, in force from April 1, 2027, so check which version your workbook follows.
Free account, this exam preselected.
Chapters XII to XXI: portfolio theory and management
Chapters XII to XIV explain how indices are built, whether prices reflect all information, and the biases that work against investors. Chapters XV and XVI are the maths: expected return and variance of a two-security portfolio, the efficient frontier, the capital market line and CAPM. Chapter XVII defines and measures risk.
Chapters XVIII and XIX are strategy: passive versus active, smart beta, factor and momentum portfolios, and how derivatives protect a portfolio. Chapter XX is how a manager is judged: risk-adjusted ratios, attribution and GIPS. Chapter XXI closes with rebalancing rules: buy and hold, constant mix and CPPI.
How XXI-B tests the syllabus
The paper has 90 single MCQs of 1 mark and 6 case-based questions, each with 5 questions of 2 marks, for 150 marks. A wrong answer loses 25% of the marks assigned to the question: 0.25 on a 1-mark MCQ and 0.5 on a 2-mark case question. Chapters XV, XVI and XX produce the calculations: portfolio variance, CAPM expected return, Sharpe and Treynor ratios. Chapters VII, VIII and XI produce the cases: a client's situation followed by five questions on what the manager must disclose, charge or report. The usual trap is answering a PMS case from mutual fund rules, which differ on minimum investment, fees and ownership of securities.
FAQs
How many chapters are there in NISM Series XXI-B?expand_more
21, from Investment Landscape (chapter I) to Portfolio Rebalancing (chapter XXI), as listed on NISM's curriculum page.
What is the chapter-wise weightage for NISM XXI-B?expand_more
NISM does not publish one. Any percentage per chapter you see for XXI-B is not from NISM. Plan around the chapters that are new to you.
What is the difference between the NISM 21A and 21B syllabus?expand_more
XXI-A is the PMS Distributors exam with 12 chapters that stop at the portfolio management process, performance, tax and regulation. XXI-B is the Portfolio Managers exam for principal officers and employees of PMS firms. Its 21 chapters add indices, market efficiency, behavioural finance, modern portfolio theory, CAPM, risk, equity and fixed income strategies and rebalancing.
Does the XXI-B syllabus include numericals?expand_more
Yes. Chapters IV, XV, XVI and XX list them: bond valuation, portfolio expected return and variance, CAPM, and risk-adjusted measures such as Sharpe and Treynor.
Which NISM certification is for portfolio management?expand_more
Series XXI-B is the exam for people who manage portfolios at a SEBI-registered PMS firm. Series XXI-A is for those who distribute PMS products.
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