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NAV (Net Asset Value)

صافي قيمة الأصول (سعر الوحدة)

The true value of one fund unit: assets minus liabilities divided by units outstanding — the price you buy and redeem at in open-ended funds.

NAV is the "unit price" you actually transact at with a fund: take the value of everything the fund owns — stocks, sukuk, cash — subtract its liabilities such as accrued expenses, and divide by the number of units outstanding.

In open-ended funds (most retail funds), you subscribe and redeem at the NAV computed on the valuation days set in the fund's terms — daily or twice weekly, for example. There is no counterparty to haggle with; the fund itself issues and redeems units at this price.

The most common misunderstanding: a low unit price does not make a fund "cheap", nor a high one "expensive". A fund priced at SAR 10 per unit is not a better deal than one at SAR 100 — what matters is the percentage change in price, not its absolute level, which merely reflects the fund's history and unit count.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs and REITs) show two prices: the live market price and the published NAV, and the two can diverge — that gap is itself information investors read.

Formula

NAV per unit = (fund assets − liabilities) ÷ units outstanding

Numeric Example

A Saudi equity fund holds SAR 500 million of assets with SAR 20 million of liabilities and 40 million units outstanding: NAV = (500 − 20) ÷ 40 = SAR 12 per unit. If the fund's holdings rise 5% and nothing else changes, the unit price climbs to about SAR 12.63.

For educational and informational purposes only — not investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.