One of the most persistent myths in Indian mutual fund investing is that a low NAV fund is "cheap" and a high NAV fund is "expensive". This thinking has cost investors serious money over the years.
What NAV actually is
Net Asset Value is simply the per-unit value of a fund's holdings. A new fund starts at ₹10 and grows as its underlying stocks appreciate. A 15-year-old fund that started at ₹10 and now trades at ₹500 has delivered 50x returns — it's not expensive, it's proven.
The return math is identical
If you invest ₹1 lakh in a fund at NAV ₹10 and it grows 10%, you end up with ₹1.1 lakh. If you invest ₹1 lakh in a fund at NAV ₹500 and it grows 10%, you also end up with ₹1.1 lakh. The NAV is just a price tag — your return depends on the percentage change, not the absolute starting number.
Why NFOs sometimes mislead
New Fund Offers launch at ₹10 NAV and many investors see this as a "ground floor" opportunity. It's not. A fund that has been running for years at ₹100 NAV has a track record you can evaluate; an NFO has none. The entry price means nothing.
What to actually compare
Compare expense ratios, historical returns versus benchmark, risk metrics, fund manager tenure, and category. Ignore the NAV entirely. Our explorer shows you everything except NAV-as-a-score, because that's not a thing.