---
title: "Why does the first request for a fund take so long?"
description: "A fund never loaded before is read live from the fund house's documents, which takes 15 seconds to a few minutes. Later calls are instant, even past 24 hours. Timeouts, batches and pre-warming."
canonical: https://fundfactsapi.com/answers/why-does-the-first-request-for-a-fund-take-so-long
published: 2026-09-12
updated: 2026-10-25
publisher: FundFacts API
---

# Why does the first request for a fund take so long?

**Short answer:** Because the data is read from the fund house at that moment. A cold ISIN (never loaded, or not in the last 7 days) triggers a read of the product page, factsheet PDF, KID and holdings / NAV files, which takes 15 seconds to about 3 minutes. The server allows 300 seconds; set that timeout and do not send a second request for the same ISIN while the first runs. Every later call returns from the store in well under a second with cached: true; past 24 hours it is flagged stale: true and refreshed in the background.

## What happens on a cold load

1. The issuer adapter resolves the ISIN to the fund house's product page.
2. The page, the monthly factsheet, the KID and (where published) the holdings and NAV files are fetched and parsed.
3. Figures are normalised into the `data` shape, the profile is derived, series are computed.
4. The payload is stored and returned; it is due for a refresh 24 hours later.

PDF parsing and per-issuer sites set the pace. Two callers asking for the same cold ISIN at once share one load.

## Design rules

- **Timeout 300 s** on `GET /funds/{isin}` and `POST /funds`. Show "loading fund data, first load can take a couple of minutes" in a UI.
- **Never retry in flight.** A second request for the same ISIN waits on the same load and, once it completes, is counted too.
- **Batch and let pending work for you.** `POST /funds` with `wait: true` returns what fits the time budget and marks the rest `pending`; they finish in the background and the next call finds them warm.
- **Pre-warm in a job, not a request handler.** Seed your universe overnight, a few ISINs in parallel at most, and your users only ever hit warm payloads.
- **Cache locally until `expiresAt`.** Then even the warm call is saved.

## The demo endpoint never loads

`GET /demo/funds/{isin}` only returns funds already in the store (`404 not_cached` otherwise), which is why it is instant and keyless.

## FAQ

### Is a slow call counted more than once?

No: one request per fund found, regardless of whether it took 50 milliseconds from the store or two minutes from the fund house.

### Does the 24-hour store expire per fund?

Yes, per ISIN: expiresAt is generatedAt + 24 h. After it the payload is still served at once with stale: true while it refreshes; after 7 days it is read again before answering.

## About FundFacts API

FundFacts turns any fund or ETF ISIN into one dated factsheet (fees and KID costs, the 1–7 risk indicator, holdings, sector and country exposure, returns) read from the fund house's own documents: as a client-ready PDF under your firm's name for advisers and wealth managers, as JSON through its API for developers, or inside ChatGPT and Claude through its MCP server.

FundFacts works inside ChatGPT and Claude as a connector (a remote MCP server): ask about any fund or ETF by ISIN, ticker or name and the assistant answers from FundFacts' dated figures, fees, risk, holdings, exposure and returns, with fund cards, side-by-side comparisons, holdings overlap and portfolio look-through.

- Free API key, no card: https://fundfactsapi.com/signup
- Documentation: https://fundfactsapi.com/docs (OpenAPI: https://fundfactsapi.com/openapi.json)
- MCP server: https://fundfactsapi.com/api/mcp (set-up for every client: https://fundfactsapi.com/mcp-server)
- Pricing: https://fundfactsapi.com/pricing
- Site index for AI assistants: https://fundfactsapi.com/llms.txt
- Informational data, not investment advice.