How to Check Day to Day Change in NAV?

Posted by Shaheen Shaikh on October 31st, 2018

The NAV of the mutual fund is an important factor for investors monitoring the growth of the fund regularly. This article explores the NAV and how to calculate it.

The ever-evolving mutual fund universe can be a confusing space for the novice investor. You will be faced with a lot of jargon initially, but while most of these become clearer over time, one term you must immediately get on board with is the ‘NAV’.

The NAV is the mutual fund’s market value on her unit of the fund that you hold in the portfolio. It is one of the factors studied when you consider the fund’s growth trajectory.

What is NAV, and why investors must study it often …

• The NAV (Net Asset Value) of the mutual fund is a sum total of the various securities that the portfolio or mutual fund holds. These securities also include cash. From this total sum, you must deduct the liabilities, and then divide the remainder with the total number of units that you hold in the MF. The resulting figure is the latest NAV of the mutual funds that you own.
• It takes some time to figure out the above calculation, but you can easily compute the mutual fund NAV with practice.
• The NAV is actually the ‘book value’ of the mutual fund. It changes from one business day to another. Before taking an overview of the mutual fund NAV, the fund manager studies the latest MF NAV to know its current market standing.
• NAVs are not the same as share prices, however. Most novice investors are often confused on this front. The MF NAV is the book value of the fund, while the share price is the book value plus the latest market price. It is booked on the stock exchange and is shaped by future projections about company growth.
• Thus, when you buy the fund, you do so at the latest NAV on mutual funds on the fund.

Checking the NAV on the mutual fund

Fortunately, you do not have to do cumbersome calculations every time you wish to check the MF NAV. Simply log on to the fund house’s website or smartphone app, and find out the NAV listed there.

But you must do so after 3 pm on every business day, when the latest NAVs are declared. Knowing the latest mutual fund NAVs at the right time in the business day is important when you wish to buy or sell the fund units.

When checking the NAV on the fund, input the details of the scheme on the website (close/open ended, etc.) date of issuance and closure, etc. Based on this information, the fund house generates the latest MF NAV for your perusal.