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

Curriculum

I: Introduction to Securities

  1. Introduction to Equity and Debt
  2. Features of Equity Capital and Benefits to Equity Investors
  3. Features of Debt Capital and Benefits to Debt Investors
  4. Hybrid Structures

II: Characteristics of Equity Shares

  1. Investors in Equity Shares
  2. Rights of a Shareholder
  3. Risks in Equity Investing
  4. Equity Terminology
  5. Corporate Actions
  6. Preference Shares
  7. Rights Issue of Shares
  8. Preferential Issue

III: Characteristics of Debt Securities

  1. Features of a Debt Security
  2. Market Value of a Debt security
  3. Yield from Debt Instruments
  4. Types of Debt Securities
  5. Classification of Debt Market
  6. Credit Rating
  7. Money Market Instruments

IV: Characteristics of Other Securities

  1. Warrants 
  2. Convertible Debentures
  3. Depository Receipts
  4. Foreign Currency Convertible Bond (FCCB)
  5. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Index Funds
  6. Investment Trusts  

V: SEBI – Role and Regulations

  1. Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and Role of SEBI
  2. SEBI Regulations specifically aimed at Investor Protection
  3. Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF)
  4. SEBI Regulations for Registrars and Transfer Agents

VI: Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents

  1. Introduction
  2. Investor Service Centre (ISC) and Official Point of Acceptance (OPA)
  3. Qualified Registrar and Transfer Agents (QRTAs)
  4. RTA and Depository Interface
  5. Industry Overview
  6. Financial Information Provider to Account Aggregator Network

VII: Registrar and Transfer Agents Regulations

  1. Guidelines under SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015
  2. SEBI (Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations 1993
  3. Enhanced Monitoring Guidelines for QRTAs
  4. Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience Framework for QRTAs
  5. Systems Audit Framework
  6. Ultimate Beneficial Owner
  7. RTA inter-operable Platform

VIII: Basics of Mutual Funds

  1. Introduction to Mutual Funds
  2. Advantages of Mutual Funds
  3. Open Ended and Close Ended Mutual Funds
  4. Assets under Management (AUM)
  5. Total Expense Ratio
  6. Net Assets

IX: Mutual Fund Structure and Constituents

  1. Sponsor
  2. Trustees
  3. Asset Management Company (AMC)
  4. Custodians
  5. Regulation of Mutual Funds
  6. Constituents and Service Providers

X: Mutual Fund Products

  1. Product Differentiation
  2. Types of Mutual Fund Plans
  3. Features of Mutual Fund Products
  4. Product Labelling
  5. Strategy-based Classification
  6. Product Creation Process
  7. Types of Mutual Funds

 XI: Operational Concepts of Mutual Funds

  1. New Fund Offer (NFO)
  2. On-going/ Continuous Offer
  3. Computation of Net Asset Value (NAV)
  4. Applicable NAV
  5. Time Stamping and Risk Control
  6. Cut Off Time
  7. Investing in Mutual Funds through Stock Exchanges
  8. Holding Units in Dematerialized Form
  9. Role of RTA in Tax Computation
  10. Reporting Requirements to Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
  11. Segregated Portfolios

 XII: Investors in Mutual Funds

  1. Individual Investors
  2. Institutional Investors
  3. Investor Information and Documentations
  4. Know Your Customer (KYC) Norms
  5. Power of Attorney
  6. Nomination
  7. FATCA and CRS Compliance
  8. Investor Charter
  9. Centralised Mechanism for Reporting the Demise of an Investor

XIII: Banking Operations in Mutual Funds

  1. Payment Mechanism
  2. Bank Accounts maintained by Mutual Funds
  3. Electronic Clearing Mechanisms
  4. Role of Registrars and Transfer Agents (RTAs) in Banking Operations
  5. Third Party Verification (TPV) and Payment to Valid Account

XIV: Financial Transactions

  1. Application Form Vs Transaction Slip
  2. Purchase Transactions
  3. Redemptions and IDCW (dividend) payouts
  4. Account Statements for Investments
  5. Switch
  6. Systematic Transactions
  7. Turn-around-times for various Financial Transactions with Mutual Funds
  8. Role of RTA in Commission Payment

XV: Non-Financial Transactions

  1. Change in Name (Individual Investors)
  2. Change of Address
  3. Change of Bank Details
  4. Change in/ Updation of Other Details
  5. Minor becoming Major
  6. Registration of Power of Attorney (PoA)
  7. Registration of Nominee
  8. Pledge and Lien Marking
  9. Transmission of Units
  10. Change in Option
  11. Change in Corporate Name or Status
  12. Value Added services by RTAs
  13. Timelines pertaining to various services provided by RTAs
  14. MITRA – Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant