Two prices answer different questions
A fund share has an accounting reference and, when exchange-traded, a market price. Reported net asset value describes net assets allocated to each share on a particular reporting date. The traded price reflects the price available in the market. Those observations can be separated by months when the portfolio includes private businesses. An interval fund may have a reported NAV without a continuously traded exchange quote. The absence of a quote is not a zero-dollar share price.
A calculation you can reproduce
The premium or discount is (market price ÷ reported NAV − 1) × 100. In an illustrative example, a $22 market price against a $20 NAV gives a 10% premium. An $18 price against that same NAV gives a 10% discount. Keep the NAV in the denominator: dividing the $2 gap by the $22 market price answers a different question. NAV Monitor keeps official or reported NAV separate from its estimate so you can see which reference generated a percentage.
Always carry the dates with the numbers
Suppose the hypothetical $20 NAV describes March 31, while the $22 quote was observed in June. The calculation is arithmetically correct, but it is not a same-day appraisal of the portfolio. Check the holdings baseline, reported NAV date and company valuation dates before interpreting the gap. A source reviewed today can still describe an old financing round. Daily source checks do not move that financing date forward.
A discount is not a return forecast
A smaller market price does not establish that a fund is mispriced or that the gap will close. Fees, liquidity, financing arrangements, portfolio concentration and uncertainty about underlying values can matter. Our pages explain the reference used in the calculation; they do not identify a fair trading price. Use the fund page to compare the reporting date and source, then inspect the look-through view to understand which disclosed holdings contribute to the model.
Sources and further reading
Educational research, not personalized investment advice. Examples are hypothetical; fund-specific observations carry their own source dates.