NISM Series X-B study plan

Map the full advisory process from onboarding to periodic review, listing each client-facing step and the document it produces

Draft a 12-question risk-profiling questionnaire that separates risk tolerance, risk capacity and risk appetite, and justify each question

Identify the suitability obligations that apply at the point of recommendation, including the records an adviser must keep for each advice instance

Explain the difference between a risk profile, an asset allocation and a product recommendation, with one concrete client example for each

Build three sample client profiles (young accumulator, mid-career family, pre-retirement) with goals, horizons, liabilities and constraints

Convert each profile into a target asset allocation and justify the equity-debt split using horizon and drawdown tolerance

Compute a client's emergency fund requirement and integrate it into the plan before allocating investable surplus

Write suitability justifications for three products, one for each profile, in the format an adviser would retain on file

Draft a goal-based financial plan for one sample client covering retirement, child education and insurance needs, with inflation-adjusted future values

Calculate the monthly savings required to reach each goal and test sensitivity to a 2% change in assumed return

Size a life and health insurance requirement using income replacement and expense-based methods, and compare the two results

Assemble a rebalancing policy that states trigger thresholds, review frequency and tax considerations

Classify the main product families an adviser may recommend (equity, debt, mutual funds, ETFs, insurance-linked and small savings) by risk, liquidity, tax treatment and typical client fit

Explain how mutual fund scheme categories differ in portfolio construction and where each belongs in an allocation

Compute and interpret total return, CAGR, XIRR and rolling returns for a set of cash flows you construct yourself

Distinguish absolute return from benchmark-relative return, and identify when each is the fair measure of performance

Calculate risk-adjusted performance metrics including Sharpe ratio, standard deviation and maximum drawdown from a supplied return series you construct

Explain how expense ratios, exit loads and advisory fees erode net returns, and quantify the drag over a 10-year horizon

Build a model portfolio for one client profile and document the selection rationale for each holding

Identify the behavioural biases most likely to derail each sample client's plan and state the advisory response to each

Outline the registration framework for investment advisers, including eligibility, capital and certification requirements, and the obligations that follow registration

Summarise the conduct requirements covering client onboarding, risk profiling, record keeping and disclosure of conflicts of interest

Explain the rules on fees, remuneration and the distinction between advisory and distribution activities

Describe the complaint-handling and grievance-redress route available to a client, and the adviser's record-keeping duties

Analyse five short ethical scenarios involving commissions, unsuitable recommendations, referral incentives, confidentiality and conflict disclosure, and state the correct action with reasoning

Draft a conflict-of-interest disclosure statement in plain language a client could understand

Review your week 1 risk questionnaire against the regulatory suitability expectations and revise any gaps

Explain what constitutes a breach of fiduciary duty versus a procedural lapse, with one example of each

Consolidate all prior deliverables into a single revision pack organised by the four domains

Complete two timed full-length practice sets and score above 70% on each, logging every incorrect answer with the reason

Re-derive from memory the key formulas: CAGR, XIRR, Sharpe ratio, future value with inflation and insurance gap

Recite the core regulatory obligations and prohibited practices without notes, then verify against your own summary