Every ETF has two prices: the secondary market price traded between investors on HOSE, and the Net Asset Value (NAV) representing the true market value of the underlying stock basket.
1. Official NAV vs. Intraday iNAV / VWAP
- Official End-of-Day NAV: Calculated after the 14:45 ATC close by summing the closing value of all portfolio equities plus cash, subtracting accrued expenses, and dividing by total outstanding ETF units.
- Intraday iNAV & Session VWAP: Real-time reference metrics updated throughout the 09:00–14:45 trading session to reflect live price movements in underlying constituents.
2. Premium and Discount Formula
Premium / Discount (%) = ((Market Price − iNAV) / iNAV) × 100%
- Trading at a Premium (> 0%): Buying pressure pushes the ETF market price above the value of its underlying stocks. Common in FOL-capped funds like FUEVFVND during heavy foreign institutional inflows.
- Trading at a Discount (< 0%): The ETF trades cheaper than its underlying stock basket, offering an immediate margin of safety for long-term buyers.
3. How Authorized Participants (APs) Arbitrage the Spread
When an ETF trades at a meaningful premium (e.g., +0.8%), institutional APs (such as SSI, HSC, Vietcap, Mirae Asset) buy the underlying basket of stocks on HOSE, create new ETF units at NAV, and sell those ETF units on the exchange—pocketing the spread and driving the ETF price back down toward iNAV.