A wave of new SIF launches has made ₹10 NAV screenshots a recurring sales pitch. The number looks inexpensive next to an older fund at ₹10.80 or ₹11.20, but NAV is only the per-unit value of a pooled portfolio. It is not a valuation multiple and it does not make an NFO cheaper.
If two funds hold the same underlying portfolio in the same proportions, splitting one portfolio into more units can produce a lower NAV without changing what the investor owns. A ₹10 NFO can therefore be more expensive at the security level than an older ₹12 fund whose portfolio holds better-valued assets.
NAV is useful for measuring performance through time. Compare a fund's current Direct-Growth NAV with its own starting NAV, adjust for the exact dates, and then compare that return with the fund's benchmark and category peers. Do not compare two raw NAV numbers as if they were stock prices.
Plan choice also matters. Direct and Regular plans hold the same portfolio, but the Regular plan carries distribution costs, so its NAV and long-term return will gradually differ. Growth and IDCW options can also show different NAV paths after distributions.
For new launches such as Prism and Summit, the first meaningful signal is not whether allotment happened near ₹10. It is what happens after deployment: daily or interval NAV behaviour, net exposure, drawdown, costs and benchmark alpha. Track the series; ignore the optical discount.