For most schemes, everything except liquid and overnight funds the cut-off time is 2:30 PM on a working day, and the NAV you get is based on fund realisation. Apply before 2:30 PM and your funds are received by the fund house the same day, you get that day’s NAV. If your funds are received after 2:30 PM, you get the next working day’s NAV instead.

For example, if you invest ₹10,000 in an equity fund on Wednesday and your payment is realised before 2:30 PM, you get Wednesday’s NAV. If it’s realised after 2:30 PM, you get Thursday’s NAV instead.

Liquid and overnight funds follow a different rule, with an earlier cut-off of 1:15 PM. If your funds are received before 1:15 PM, you get the previous day’s NAV. If received after 1:15 PM, you get the NAV of the day immediately preceding the next working day.

Here’s where it gets interesting on a Friday. If your liquid fund purchase is realised on Friday before 1:15 PM, you get Thursday’s NAV. But if it’s realised after 1:15 PM on Friday, the next working day is Monday so you get the NAV of the day immediately preceding Monday, which is Sunday. That’s because liquid and overnight funds calculate NAV every calendar day, including weekends.