ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ)

[JohnCM]

Why would an ETF trade at a different price from its underlying assets?

ETF prices tend to closely reflect their fair value. That’s particularly the case for funds that track large-cap US stocks, which tend to be highly liquid and trade in the same time zone as the ETF.

That said, an ETF’s price and net asset value will frequently differ – that is, the exchange traded fund will trade above its NAV (at a premium) or below it (at a discount). Here are some common reasons for the ETF premium and discount:

When the ETF holds securities that do not trade at the same time as the fund itself, there will be timing differences between the values used to calculate NAV and the market price. This is very common with ETFs that hold non-US stocks, but also affects bond ETFs (because the most recent trade for certain bonds in the portfolios may not be near the market close).

A bond ETF values bonds at the bid, while the secondary market may value the ETF shares at the bid, the ask, or somewhere between. This is one reason small premiums are common for bond ETFs.

The market price is based on supply and demand. Sometimes there is more of one than the other, causing a premium or discount. This is usually temporary but during periods of market volatility, gaps between the prices at which buyers are willing to buy and the prices at which sellers want to sell can widen until a new price equilibrium is established.