What is NAV?
NAV is a fund’s per-unit price, recalculated once every business day after markets close: the total value of everything the scheme holds (minus any liabilities and expenses), divided by the number of units outstanding. When you invest ₹10,000 in a fund with a ₹50 NAV, you get 200 units; if the NAV later rises to ₹60, those 200 units are worth ₹12,000.
NAV = (Total Assets − Total Liabilities) / Units Outstanding
NAV doesn’t tell you anything about valuation or quality - a ₹10 NAV fund and a ₹500 NAV fund can deliver identical percentage returns; one isn’t “cheaper” than the other. What matters is the percentage change in NAV over time (CAGR, rolling returns), not the NAV level itself.
Real NAV across 6 funds
| Fund | Latest NAV | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Parag Parikh Flexi Cap | ₹88.8355 | 2026-09-30 |
| DSP Value | ₹23.809 | 2026-09-30 |
| ICICI Prudential Value | ₹481.74 | 2026-09-30 |
| SBI Focused | ₹438.5337 | 2026-09-30 |
| Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver | ₹30.6601 | 2026-09-30 |
| SBI Multicap | ₹17.413 | 2026-09-30 |
How to use it in practice
NAV is the unit price you buy and sell at, so it sets the number of units you get for your money. Use it to track the value of your holding: units multiplied by NAV. Always compare returns, not NAVs, when choosing between funds. A fund with a NAV of ₹500 is not more expensive than one with a NAV of ₹20; what matters is how the NAV has grown, which is what CAGR measures.
Common mistakes
A low NAV does not mean a fund is cheap and a high NAV does not mean it is expensive; the NAV level only reflects the fund’s age and past growth. Different options of the same scheme, such as Growth and IDCW, also have different NAVs because of payouts. Remember too that the NAV is already net of the expense ratio.
Frequently asked questions
Does a lower NAV mean a cheaper fund?
No. NAV is simply the unit price. Returns depend on how the NAV changes, not on its level, so a fund with a NAV of ₹20 is not cheaper than one with a NAV of ₹500.
When is the NAV updated?
Once on each business day, after markets close. Funds that invest abroad or in some asset classes may publish with a short delay.
Why do IDCW and Growth NAVs differ?
Because IDCW payouts are deducted from the NAV, while the Growth option keeps all gains inside the fund.
Why NAV is never quite “live”
See Data Freshness for why a fund’s NAV always trails the present moment by at least one business day, and when that lag is normal.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU A common but wrong instinct is treating a low NAV as “cheap” and a high NAV as “expensive,” the way you might compare stock prices. For a mutual fund, NAV is just an accounting artifact of how many units have been issued - it carries no information about future returns. Two funds launched at the same ₹10 NAV but run for different lengths of time, or with different cumulative returns, will simply have different NAVs today for reasons that have nothing to do with which is the better investment now.
METHODOLOGY Latest declared NAV per AMFI’s daily disclosure, as of the dates shown per fund. Data: AMFI NAV disclosures via Punji. Not investment advice.