NISM V-A Mock Test 2026 - 100 Questions to Master Before Your Exam

Nothing exposes your weak chapters faster than a full-length mock test. If you have finished the NISM Series V-A workbook and watched the chapter explainers, a 100-question mock under exam conditions is the single best predictor of how you will actually perform. This guide walks through the concepts and recurring traps from a complete V-A practice test so you know exactly what to lock in before test day.

At a glance: NISM Series V-A has 100 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours, a 60% pass mark, 0.25 negative marking per wrong answer, and a ₹1,500 + GST fee. It is the gateway certification to apply for your AMFI Registration Number (ARN).

Why a full mock beats endless re-reading

Reading the workbook builds recognition. A timed 100-question mock builds recall under pressure — and recall is what the exam tests. A good mock does three things:

• Surfaces the chapters where you think you are solid but are not
• Trains your negative-marking instincts (when to guess, when to skip)
• Gets you comfortable with the calculation questions that trip up first-timers

If you have not yet built your foundation, start with our first-attempt study plan for NISM V-A before attempting a full mock.

The taxation and holding-period traps

This is where the most marks quietly leak away. The rules for classifying gains differ by fund type, and candidates constantly mix them up.

• Equity mutual funds: redeemed within 12 months = short-term capital gain/loss; after 12 months = long-term.
• Debt mutual funds: the older threshold you will see referenced is 36 months for short-term classification — always verify against the current syllabus, because debt taxation changed materially after 23 July 2024.
• Set-off rules: a short-term capital loss can be set off against both short-term and long-term capital gains. A long-term capital loss can only be set off against long-term capital gains.

Exam tip: Post-Finance (No. 2) Act 2024, equity STCG is taxed at 20% and equity LTCG at 12.5% above a ₹1.25 lakh exemption per financial year, with indexation removed for non-equity assets. Do not study capital gains from outdated PDFs. Our LTCG/STCG guide for NISM aspirants breaks down every change.

Also remember: Section 80C ELSS deduction is capped at ₹1.5 lakh per financial year, and STT of 0.05% is not levied by the government on investors in the way a tricky “true/false” option might suggest — read those statements twice.

Structure, roles and regulation questions

A large block of V-A tests the legal and operational framework. These are pure memorisation marks — do not lose them.

• A mutual fund is constituted as a trust; the unit holders are the beneficiaries.
• The sponsor is treated as the promoter of the AMC, must have a sound financial track record of at least 3 years, and must contribute at least 40% of the AMC’s net worth.
• The custodian safe-keeps the securities. The Registrar & Transfer Agent (RTA) maintains records and processes purchases/redemptions — this function must be independent of the AMC.
• SEBI regulates mutual funds, the capital market and stock exchanges. RBI regulates banks and NBFCs. Where banks sponsor mutual funds, they are supervised by both SEBI and RBI.
• SEBI does not approve or disapprove a scheme’s offer document — it only issues observations.
• Government securities are issued through the RBI, and depositories that hold securities in demat form are NSDL and CDSL.

Key fact: A distributor’s ARN (AMFI Registration Number) gets cancelled on a proven second violation. A first violation typically draws a warning.

The calculation questions you must drill

Every V-A mock has a cluster of arithmetic questions. The maths is easy; the ambiguity is the challenge. Practise these until they are automatic:

1. NAV = (Total Assets − Total Liabilities) ÷ Number of outstanding units. Example: ₹700 crore market value, ₹50 lakh liabilities, 28 crore units → ≈ ₹24.98 per unit.
2. Inflation-adjusted future value: A = P × (1 + r)ⁿ. ₹10,000 at 8% inflation over 5 years → ≈ ₹14,693.
3. Bonus units: a 1:2 bonus on 500 units allots 250 free units (one free unit for every two held).
4. Expense ratio limits: index funds are capped at 1% of daily net assets; the first slab for equity-oriented schemes is up to 2.25%.

Our 25 latest V-A questions explained covers more worked examples in this style.

Scheme selection, risk and product concepts

The exam rewards clear thinking about why an investment behaves the way it does:

• Past performance is not a valid basis for selecting a scheme — match the scheme’s objective to the investor’s goal instead.
• Beta measures risk; an index fund’s beta is always 1.
• Diversification reduces company-specific (unsystematic) risk, never market-level (systematic) risk.
• Bond prices and interest rates move inversely — rates up, prices down.
• Risk hierarchy (low to high): large-cap → multi-cap → mid-cap → small-cap.
• An equity fund must invest at least 65% in equity; a fund is “growth” style with high capital appreciation but low/no dividend.
• Open-ended schemes allow purchase and redemption at any time; interval funds combine open- and closed-ended features.
• Entry loads have been banned in India; only exit loads (scheme-specific) may apply.
• The Riskometer gives investors a quick, standardised sense of a scheme’s risk level.

Negative marking: attempt or skip?

With 0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer, the maths favours the informed guess:

• Correct answer: +1
• Wrong answer: −0.25
• Skipped: 0

If you can eliminate even one of four options, a guess among the remaining three has positive expected value. So never blindly skip a question where you can rule out at least one option — but do skip a true blank where you have zero basis to choose.

Turn this mock into a study plan

A mock is only as useful as the review that follows it. After each attempt:

1. Tally your score chapter by chapter, not just overall
2. Re-read the workbook section behind every wrong answer
3. Re-attempt the same question type two days later to confirm retention

If you are still deciding whether this certification is right for your goals, our guide on which NISM exam to take maps the full path from V-A onwards.

Practise smarter with the NISM Exam Prep app

Reading about mock tests is no substitute for taking them. The NISM Exam Prep app has 13,000+ practice questions across all 31 NISM exams, including full-length 100-question V-A mocks with accurate 0.25 negative marking and chapter-wise performance breakdowns. Start with the free V-A quiz right now.

You will also find the 20 finance calculators — NAV, SIP, XIRR, lumpsum and inflation-adjusted future value — to master the arithmetic questions, plus 8 quick reference guides with SEBI-compliant taxation cards updated for FY 2025-26. Drill the concepts, take the mocks, review your mistakes, and walk into your V-A exam knowing exactly what to expect.