NAV (Net Asset Value)

The per-share value of a fund's assets minus its liabilities, calculated at the end of each trading day for mutual funds and used as the price at which shares are bought and redeemed. For closed-end funds and some ETFs, the market price can trade at a premium or discount to NAV, creating opportunities for arbitrageurs. NAV is a straightforward concept, but it becomes complex when a fund holds illiquid or hard-to-price assets, as investors in several real estate funds discovered when redemptions were halted during market stress.