Curriculum (RTA Mutual Funds)

NISM-Series-II-B: Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents – Mutual Fund Certification Examination

Curriculum

I: Introduction to Securities

• Introduction to Equity and Debt

• Features of Equity Capital and Benefits to Equity Investors

• Features of Debt Capital and Benefits to Debt Investors

• Hybrid Structures

II: Characteristics of Equity Shares

• Investors in Equity Shares

• Rights of a Shareholder

• Risks in Equity Investing

• Equity Terminology

• Corporate Actions

• Preference Shares

• Rights Issue of Shares

• Preferential Issue

III: Characteristics of Debt Securities

• Features of a Debt Security

• Market Value of a Debt security

• Yield from Debt Instruments

• Types of Debt Securities

• Classification of Debt Market

• Credit Rating

• Money Market Instruments

IV: Characteristics of Other Securities

• Warrants 

• Convertible Debentures

• Depository Receipts

• Foreign Currency Convertible Bond (FCCB)

• Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Index Funds

• Investment Trusts  

V: SEBI – Role and Regulations

• Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and Role of SEBI

• SEBI Regulations specifically aimed at Investor Protection

• Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF)

• SEBI Regulations for Registrars and Transfer Agents

VI: Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents

• Introduction

• Investor Service Centre (ISC) and Official Point of Acceptance (OPA)

• Qualified Registrar and Transfer Agents (QRTAs)

• RTA and Depository Interface

• Industry Overview

• Financial Information Provider to Account Aggregator Network

VII: Registrar and Transfer Agents Regulations

• Guidelines under SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015

• SEBI (Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations 1993

• Enhanced Monitoring Guidelines for QRTAs

• Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience Framework for QRTAs

• Systems Audit Framework

• Ultimate Beneficial Owner

• RTA inter-operable Platform

VIII: Basics of Mutual Funds

• Introduction to Mutual Funds

• Advantages of Mutual Funds

• Open Ended and Close Ended Mutual Funds

• Assets under Management (AUM)

• Total Expense Ratio

• Net Assets

IX: Mutual Fund Structure and Constituents

• Sponsor

• Trustees

• Asset Management Company (AMC)

• Custodians

• Regulation of Mutual Funds

• Constituents and Service Providers

X: Mutual Fund Products

• Product Differentiation

• Types of Mutual Fund Plans

• Features of Mutual Fund Products

• Product Labelling

• Strategy-based Classification

• Product Creation Process

• Scheme related Documents

• Types of Mutual Funds

 XI: Operational Concepts of Mutual Funds

• New Fund Offer (NFO)

• On-going/ Continuous Offer

• Computation of Net Asset Value (NAV)

• Applicable NAV

• Time Stamping and Risk Control

• Cut Off Time

• Investing in Mutual Funds through Stock Exchanges

• Holding Units in Dematerialized Form

• Role of RTA in Tax Computation

• Reporting Requirements to Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

• Segregated Portfolios

 XII: Investors in Mutual Funds

• Individual Investors

• Institutional Investors

• Investor Information and Documentations

• Know Your Customer (KYC) Norms

• Power of Attorney

• Nomination

• FATCA and CRS Compliance

• Investor Charter

• Centralised Mechanism for Reporting the Demise of an Investor

XIII: Banking Operations in Mutual Funds

• Payment Mechanism

• Bank Accounts maintained by Mutual Funds

• Electronic Clearing Mechanisms

• Role of Registrars and Transfer Agents (RTAs) in Banking Operations

• Third Party Verification (TPV) and Payment to Valid Account

XIV: Financial Transactions

• Application Form Vs Transaction Slip

• Purchase Transactions

• Redemptions

• Account Statements for Investments

• Switch

• Systematic Transactions

• Turn-around-times for various Financial Transactions with Mutual Funds

• Role of RTA in Commission Payment

XV: Non-Financial Transactions

• Change in Name (Individual Investors)

• Change of Address

• Change of Bank Details

• Change in/ Updation of Other Details

• Minor becoming Major

• Registration of Power of Attorney (PoA)

• Registration of Nominee

• Pledge and Lien Marking

• Transmission of Units

• Change in Option

• Change in Corporate Name or Status

• Value Added services by RTAs

• Timelines pertaining to various services provided by RTAs

• MITRA – Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant