The most-recent net asset value, which is the fund's share price. Funds compute this value daily by dividing the total net assets by the total number of shares. NAV updates offer a way of tracking the value of an investment. Changes in NAV can reveal capital appreciation (increase) or depreciation (decrease). The NAV will fall any time a fund makes a distribution, regardless of the distribution amount. If your fund's NAV has dropped considerably, determine if a distribution payout was made, and check the fund's most recent total-return and NAV-change figures. Because NAVs fluctuate daily with the market, mutual funds rely upon total return and not just share-price change, to gauge fund performance.