What is NAV (Net Asset Value)?

NAV (Net Asset Value) is the price of one unit of a mutual fund. When you invest ₹10,000 in a fund with an NAV of ₹100, you get 100 units. Everything you buy, redeem or track in a fund flows through this one number, so it's worth understanding exactly what it is — and what it is not.

How NAV is calculated

NAV = (total value of all the fund's holdings − expenses & liabilities) ÷ number of units outstanding. If a scheme holds stocks and bonds worth ₹1,010 crore, owes ₹10 crore in expenses, and has 100 crore units issued, its NAV is ₹10. It's computed once every business day after markets close, using that day's closing prices of everything the fund owns.

When does NAV update?

Indian AMCs publish each day's NAV to AMFI by late evening (typically by ~11 PM). So a fund's price changes only once a day — unlike stocks that move every second. That's why Dhanik refreshes fund data once per day rather than constantly. It also means the NAV you transact at depends on cut-off times: put in a purchase before the cut-off (3 PM for most equity funds) and you get that day's NAV; after it, the next day's.

A low NAV is NOT "cheaper"

A fund with NAV ₹15 is not a better deal than one at ₹450. NAV just reflects how long the fund has existed and how much it has grown since launch at ₹10. What matters is the percentage return going forward, which is identical whether you hold many cheap units or few expensive ones. ₹10,000 in a ₹15-NAV fund buys 666.67 units; in a ₹450-NAV fund it buys 22.22 units — if both funds rise 12% next year, both holdings are worth exactly ₹11,200.

This myth sells a lot of NFOs — new funds launched at a "cheap" ₹10. The launch price is cosmetic; the portfolio behind it is what earns returns.

Why the same fund shows two NAVs

Each scheme publishes separate NAVs for its Direct and Regular plans (and for Growth vs IDCW options). The Direct plan's NAV is always a little higher and grows a little faster, because no distributor commission is deducted from it — same portfolio, lower drag.

How to actually use NAV

• Track percentage change, not the rupee level — a ₹500 NAV rising 1% beats a ₹20 NAV rising 0.5%.
• Use NAV history for returns: all CAGR, XIRR and rolling-return numbers are computed from it.
• Ignore NAV when choosing between funds — compare returns, risk and cost instead.

→ Browse live NAVs across every scheme in the MF Screener.