About NISM-Series-XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors Certification Examination

Background

National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) performs two functions delegated to it under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Certification of Associated Persons in the Securities Markets) SEBI (CAPSM) Regulations, 2007. They are:

1. Offering mandatory Certification Examinations for Associated Persons in the Securities Market Intermediaries
2. Offering Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs for Associated Persons in the Securities Market Intermediaries

SEBI vide its notification number SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2021/48– dated September 07, 2021 has mandated that the associated persons engaged by a Portfolio Manager as a distributor of the Portfolio Management Services, shall obtain certification from the National Institute of Securities Markets by passing the NISM-Series-XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors Certification Examination.

In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-regulation (1) of Regulation (9) of the SEBI (Certification of Associated Persons in the Securities Markets) Regulations 2007, NISM now specifies the CPE¹ Program for ‘NISM-Series-XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors Certification Examination’, for revalidation of the certificate.

Accordingly, such persons holding the certificate of NISM-Series-XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors Certification Examinationwhose validity is NOT expired, can revalidate his/her Certificate, for a period of three years from its date of expiry, by successfully completing NISM-Series-XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors CPE Program as specified by NISM during 12 months preceding the date of expiry of the Certificate.

Also, Associated Person belonging to the Principal² or the Grandfather² Category can obtain a Certificate for the first time by successfully completing NISM-Series-XXI-A: Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors CPE Program as specified by NISM.

After verifying that the candidate has successfully completed the relevant CPE Program, NISM shall issue a new Certificate for a period of three years from the date of the Program, or revalidate an existing certificate for a period of three years from its date of expiry.

Design and Delivery of the Classroom CPE Program

 a) This Programs shall be delivered in a class-room format.
 b) NISM has Accredited CPE Providers for the delivery of these programs..
 c) These programs are of one-day duration (approximately six hours)..
 d) A test shall be conducted at the end of the program..
 e) The content and duration of these programs shall be specified from time to time.

Design and Delivery of the eCPE Program

 1) These programs shall be delivered in online mode.
 2) These programs are of approximately three to five hours’ duration.
 3) A test shall be conducted at the end of the program.
 4) Pre-requisite for eCPE:
  a) Candidates should have a laptop (or, a desktop enabled with webcam and microphone) with at least 4GB of RAM with i5 processor (or equivalent). The laptop/desktop shall have stable internet access with minimum speed of 4 Mbps. You can access the course from the latest version of Google Chrome. Please note that Microsoft Edge, Firefox Mozilla, or Internet Explorer are not supported. Mobile data is not supported to access the eCPE sessions. Please be aware that  OFFICE NETWORKS MAY BLOCK  certain course content and therefore, you may not be able to access or complete the course from your office network.
  b) Candidate’s engagement with the course content will be monitored by NISM using the candidate’s webcam and/or microphone feed. These audio-visuals and other candidate information so obtained will be stored by NISM on its server and/or a third-party hosting service provider and/or its supplier/s.
   c) The proctoring information in the form of audio-visuals may form a part of the candidate evaluation process followed by NISM before issuance of any certificate. NISM may reject issuance of certificate / cancel an issued certificate and/or take appropriate action based on the proctoring information.
 5) The content and duration of these programs shall be specified from time to time.

Validity of the Certificate

The Validity of the Certificate obtained by attending a Continuing Professional Education Program is for a period of three years.

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Note:

¹ CPE here means either a classroom CPE program or an eCPE program delivered in online mode.

² For details of ‘Principal’ and ‘Grandfathered’ categories, please refer to the “Eligibility Criteria” section.