---
title: "NAV (net asset value)"
description: "Net asset value is a fund's assets minus its liabilities; divided by the shares in issue it gives the NAV per share, the price at which unlisted funds are bought and sold."
canonical: https://fundfactsapi.com/glossary/nav
published: 2026-09-04
updated: 2026-09-04
publisher: FundFacts API
---

# NAV (net asset value) (NAV, Net asset value per share, NAV per unit, Unit price)

> Net asset value is a fund's assets minus its liabilities; divided by the shares in issue it gives the NAV per share, the price at which unlisted funds are bought and sold.

## Definition

**Net asset value (NAV)** is the total market value of a fund's investments and cash, less its liabilities such as accrued fees and payables. Dividing by the number of shares in issue gives the **NAV per share**, calculated for each share class at the fund's valuation point, usually once per business day. For a traditional fund, the NAV per share is the dealing price: subscriptions and redemptions are executed at it (sometimes adjusted by [swing pricing](https://fundfactsapi.com/glossary/swing-pricing)). For an [ETF](https://fundfactsapi.com/glossary/etf), the NAV is the reference value that the exchange price fluctuates around.

## Why it matters

The NAV series is the raw material for every performance and risk statistic: calendar-year and cumulative returns, annualised returns, volatility, Sharpe ratio and drawdown are all computed from it, with distributions reinvested to give total return. Because each share class has its own NAV in its own currency, performance must always be attributed to the right ISIN.

## In the API

The API returns performance derived from the NAV rather than raw daily prices: an indexed series in `indexedPerformance.points`, calendar-year returns in `calendarReturns.fund`, and period returns in `cumulativePerformance`. Fund size is in `headlineMetrics.aum`. Example values:

```json
{
  "cumulativePerformance": { "1y": 11.2, "3y": 38.5, "5y": 71.9 },
  "indexedPerformance": {
    "points": [{ "date": "2021-08-31", "value": 100 }, { "date": "2026-07-31", "value": 171.9 }]
  }
}
```

## Common pitfalls

A fall in NAV on an ex-dividend date is a distribution, not a loss; use total-return figures for comparison. The NAV currency is the share class currency, which may differ from the fund's base currency. For ETFs, market price and NAV are different numbers and a premium or discount between them is normal, especially when the underlying market is closed.

## In the FundFacts API payload

- `indexedPerformance.points`
- `calendarReturns.fund`
- `cumulativePerformance`
- `headlineMetrics.aum`

## 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.