Open-end and closed-end funds in Bangladesh, and why we track one kind
Closed-end funds trade on the exchange and often at a discount to what they hold. Open-end funds transact at NAV. The difference changes what a return figure even means.
These figures update themselves. Every number below is recalculated from NAV history each day, so this page is current as of 27 August 2026 rather than the day it was written.
Bangladesh has both kinds of mutual fund, and they behave differently enough that comparing their returns without noting which is which produces nonsense.
The mechanical difference
An open-end fund creates and cancels units on demand. You buy from the fund manager and sell back to them, and the price is based on the fund's NAV on the day you transact. The number of units in issue changes as people come and go.
A closed-end fund issued a fixed number of units once and listed them on the exchange. To buy, you buy from another investor at whatever price the market sets that day. The fund's NAV still exists, but it is not what you pay.
Why the closed-end price drifts from NAV
Because the market price is set by supply and demand between investors, not by the value of the portfolio.
In practice, closed-end fund units in many markets trade below the value of what they hold. When that happens an investor faces two different returns at once: what the portfolio did, and what the discount did. A portfolio can perform respectably while the unit price goes nowhere because the discount widened.
That gap is precisely why a single return figure is hard to interpret for a closed-end fund. Whose return is it, the portfolio's or the unit holder's? They can point in opposite directions.
Why this site tracks open-end funds
All 34 funds here are open-end, and that is a deliberate scope decision rather than an accident of data availability.
For an open-end fund, NAV-based total return is a genuine answer to the question people ask. You transacted at something close to NAV going in and you will transact at something close to NAV going out, so a return calculated on NAV describes what actually happened to you.
Applying the same calculation to a closed-end fund would produce a number that no investor experienced, because they bought at a market price that was not NAV. Publishing both in one table under one heading would be the kind of comparison that looks rigorous and misleads.
What to check before buying either
For an open-end fund, the questions are the fund's mandate, what it holds, how long its record runs, and what it charges.
For a closed-end fund, add one more: what is the current gap between the market price and the published NAV, and why. A wide discount is sometimes an opportunity and sometimes a market judgment about the manager. Neither reading is automatic, and the fund's own disclosures are where to start.
Figures on this site run through 27 August 2026 and cover open-end funds only.
Common questions
Are all the funds on this site open-end?
Yes, all 34 of them. Closed-end listed funds are outside the current scope.
Why does a closed-end fund trade below its NAV?
Because its price is set by trading between investors rather than by the portfolio's value. The size of that gap moves with demand for the units.
Can I buy an open-end fund on the stock exchange?
No. Open-end units are bought from and sold back to the fund manager, at a price based on NAV, rather than traded between investors.
Which type is better?
They are different instruments rather than better or worse. The practical difference is that an open-end investor transacts near NAV, while a closed-end investor transacts at a market price that may sit above or below it.