This website including the ‘[EduFund]’ platform is owned, operated and maintained by Helena Edtech Private Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of India. The platform and the services thereunder are provided on an "as is" basis. Use of the service and the platform is at your own risk. Company makes no warranty that the use of the service and the platform will be continuous, uninterrupted, bug-free, error-free, virus-free, free of defects, free of technical problems, nor that it will meet all of your needs. To the extent permitted by applicable law, Company expressly disclaims all other warranties, conditions, results, guarantees, or representations with respect to the service and the platform, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, merchantable or satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement of third party rights, or arising from the course of performance, course of dealing, or usage of trade.
Investment in securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing. The valuation of securities may increase or decrease depending on the factors affecting the securities market.
EduFund and the EduFund App are the brand and product of Helena Edtech Private Limited
“An affiliate of the Company, i.e. Samyama Advisors Private Limited, is registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as an investment adviser under the SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013 bearing the registration number [INA000015321]. Samyama Advisors Private Limited may provide investment advice to the clients through the Company's platform.”
Registered Address: 30, Omkar House, Near Swastik Char Rasta, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad Gujarat, India – 380009
Transaction Platform Partner : BSE Star MF (with Member code-51573). CIN No: U67100GJ2020PTC112589. RIA Number: INA000015321 GST No: 24AAFCH2122L1ZU
Please scan QR code to download the EduFund app
Understanding premium and discount
“ETF trading at a premium?” or “What’s the deal with ETF B selling at a loss?” Y. These are some questions you are likely to hear whenever advisors talk about ETFs. You can understand this better if you understand the different costs of ETF transactions.
ETFs have multiple “prices,” as perplexing as they may appear. There’s the actual value, determined by the net asset value (NAV) after each day and the intraday NAV (iNAV) in the midst.
The NAV of bond ETFs is set by the bid prices of the portfolio’s underlying bonds. The NAV of an equity ETF is given by the most recent trading prices of the underlying stocks. The NAV is calculated based on the previous trading day’s closing.
However, since ETFs are actively traded on a stock exchange, they have a current market price which may differ from their actual value. This market price will determine the premiums and discounts.
The ETF’s latest traded price determines the market price of both equities and bond ETFs. For a stock ETF, that price will often fall within the bid-ask spread of the underlying basket of securities, but bond ETFs would more likely trade at a premium because the NAV is set at the lesser bid price.
If the price of an ETF is higher than its determined NAV, it trades at a “premium.” In contrast, if the ETF’s price is below its NAV, it trades at a “discount.”
ETF prices and NAV are often closed in relatively calm markets. When stock markets become choppy, however, ETFs respond swiftly to shifts in market sentiment, whereas NAV may take longer to adjust, leading to premiums and discounts.
Let’s look at it illustratively,
The market price of an equity ETF will often fluctuate within the basket’s bid-ask spread. When the ETF’s supply and demand are roughly balanced, trading takes place on the secondary market.
The ETF’s market price may be momentarily pushed outside the limitations of the fundamental basket when there are more buyers and sellers in the market. Traders might profit from the gap between the ETF’s market rate and the prices of the underlying securities if the ETF trades at a significant premium or discount.
When this occurs, the market maker can go to the primary market to deal with the ETF sponsor, issuing new ETF units when prices increase and redeeming ETF units when supply is low.
The primary market aids in re-aligning the ETF market price with the NAV. However, because the expenses are determined by the creation/redemption process, the ETF would often trade at a higher premium or discount to mirror those costs until the two-way order flow in the ETF recovers.
Since the ETF and its fundamental securities are two separate liquidity pools that are only loosely connected, this can happen at any time during the trading day.
Suppose bullish investors start bidding up an ETF more aggressively than its underlying securities. In that case, the ETF’s price may climb faster than the underlying securities’ price and, as a result, trade at a premium.
Similarly, if bearish investors sell an ETF aggressively, it may trade at a discount to its underlying stocks. Alternatively, premiums or discounts may develop if the ETF and its constituent stocks trade on exchanges in separate time zones.
Pricing transparency is offered through ETFs, which allow you to acquire the intraday price of any asset type. The problem is that the trade costs are explicit unlike mutual funds, they are not reduced to a single number by the end of the trading day.
It’s critical to keep trading expenses in mind, especially in less liquid markets, and to resist following the herd, which can lead to acquiring at a markup and selling at a discount.
Despite their “designed for speed” nature, ETFs are still the best choice for long-term exposure to specific asset classes.
Consult an expert advisor to get the right plan for you