{"id":17601,"date":"2026-08-04T05:17:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T05:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jupiter.money\/blog\/what-is-nav-in-mutual-funds-meaning-calculation-and-myths-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T05:19:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T05:19:59","slug":"what-is-nav-in-mutual-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jupiter.money\/blog\/what-is-nav-in-mutual-funds\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is NAV in Mutual Funds? Meaning, Calculation, and Myths (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Short answer:<\/strong> NAV (Net Asset Value) is the per-unit price of a mutual fund. It is calculated as the fund’s total assets minus its liabilities, divided by the number of units, and it is worked out once a day after markets close. A common myth is that a low NAV means a fund is “cheaper” or better value. It does not. What matters is the percentage by which the NAV grows, not its absolute number.<\/p>\n

NAV is one of the most misunderstood terms in investing. Here is what it really means.<\/p>\n

What is NAV?<\/h2>\n

NAV stands for Net Asset Value.<\/strong> It is the per-unit price of a mutual fund<\/strong>, the value of one unit on a given day. When you invest, your money buys units at the current NAV; when you redeem, your units are sold at the NAV of that day.<\/p>\n

Think of it as the price tag on a single unit of the fund, which changes daily as the value of the fund’s investments moves.<\/p>\n

\"what<\/figure>\n

How is NAV calculated?<\/h2>\n

The formula is straightforward:<\/p>\n

NAV = (Total assets minus liabilities) divided by the number of outstanding units<\/strong><\/p>\n

In plain terms, the fund house adds up the market value of everything the fund holds (stocks, bonds, and so on), subtracts its expenses and liabilities, and divides by the total number of units held by all investors. For example, if a fund’s net assets are 27,30,000 and it has 15,000 units, its NAV is 182 per unit.<\/p>\n

This is done once a day, after the market closes<\/strong>, because the fund can only be valued accurately once the day’s closing prices are known. That is why, unlike a stock price, a fund’s NAV does not move second by second through the day.<\/p>\n

Why does NAV change every day?<\/h2>\n

Your fund holds assets whose prices move daily. When those holdings rise in value, the NAV rises; when they fall, the NAV falls. So the daily change in NAV reflects how the fund’s underlying investments performed that day. Watching your NAV grow over months and years is watching your investment grow.<\/p>\n

The big myth: a low NAV is not “cheaper”<\/h2>\n

This is the single most important thing to understand, and where many beginners go wrong. A fund with a lower NAV is not<\/strong> cheaper or a better deal than one with a higher NAV.<\/p>\n

Here is why. Suppose you invest 10,000:<\/p>\n