Net Asset Value (NAV)
An open-ended mutual fund’s per share market value. In mutual funds, the net asset value is synonymous with “bid price” and “redemption price”. In no load funds, the NAV is also the asked price. They are all one figure. In load funds, the asked price is quoted after the sales charge is added to the net asset value. Most funds compute the NAV after the close of the exchanges each day. It is calculated by taking the closing market value of all securities within the fund plus all other assets (i.e., cash), subtracting all liabilities, and then dividing the result (total net assets) by the total number of outstanding shares. The total number of outstanding shares usually varies daily because of redemptions and purchases.
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