Educational material from 
What you will learn
- Check identity, currency and timestamp before comparing prices.
- Calculate spread and a simplified purchase followed by sale.
- State what remains unknown when current fund value is missing.
Prepare two quote cards for 35 minutes
Use five minutes for concepts, ten for the first card, ten for an additional information card and ten for shared review. Students need a calculator and a note box for source, currency and timestamp. All figures describe the same invented ETF in SEK; no real orders are placed.
Card one gives NAV, net asset value per unit, as SEK 100 at yesterday’s close. Today’s bid is SEK 101 and ask SEK 102. Bid here means buyers’ quoted price; ask means the price a buyer would encounter from sellers. The card lacks today’s NAV. Ask students to circle the two different timestamps before dividing.
If the table does not fit, scroll it sideways.
| Field | Value | Timestamp |
|---|---|---|
| NAV per unit | SEK 100 | Yesterday’s close |
| Bid | SEK 101 | Today, observation T |
| Ask | SEK 102 | Today, observation T |
Student worksheet: what does the first card support?
Calculate the difference between ask and bid. Also compare ask with yesterday’s NAV and write exactly which observation you use. Assess the claim that the ETF trades at a two-percent premium against its current fund value. Does the card contain the figure needed for that particular claim?
The spread at T is 102 − 101 = SEK 1 per unit. Ask is two percent above yesterday’s NAV because (102 − 100) / 100 × 100 = 2. That does not show the premium against today’s NAV. An old comparison value does not become current merely because the calculation is correct.
Card two: add NAV from the same timestamp
The teacher now reveals NAV of SEK 102.50 for the same observation T. Keep bid at 101 and ask at 102. Calculate ask’s difference from this NAV in SEK and percent. Use 102.50 as denominator rather than the old value 100. Discuss why the answer changes from a positive comparison to a negative one.
Ask is SEK 0.50 below simultaneous NAV: −0.50 / 102.50 × 100 ≈ −0.49%. This observation therefore shows a discount at ask. Bid is approximately 1.46% below NAV. The card contains two market prices; state which one you are comparing.
If the table does not fit, scroll it sideways.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| NAV per unit | SEK 102.50 |
| Bid | SEK 101 |
| Ask | SEK 102 |
Teacher prompts: test spread without promising a fill
As a separate calculation assumption, five units can be bought at SEK 102 and sold immediately at SEK 101, with unchanged prices and zero fees. The purchase costs SEK 510 and the sale returns SEK 505. The result is −SEK 5, approximately −0.98% of the purchase cost. This model fixes available quantity; it does not promise actual trade execution.
Assess whether students state currency, timestamp and denominator and leave current NAV unknown when missing. Ask each pair for one accurate claim from card one and another from card two. Continue with the share-spread lesson, but distinguish share price from fund value. This activity does not provide ETF trading or NAV data in Investiq.
Try it yourself
A new card shows yesterday’s NAV of SEK 60 and today’s bid of 58 and ask of 59. What can you calculate? If NAV 58.50 is later provided for the same timestamp as the quotes, what is ask’s premium?
Show the solution and explanation
Spread is SEK 1. Ask is approximately 1.67% below yesterday’s NAV; the current premium is initially unknown. With simultaneous NAV 58.50, the premium is approximately 0.85%.
(59 − 60) / 60 × 100 ≈ −1.67 compares with yesterday. (59 − 58.50) / 58.50 × 100 ≈ 0.85 uses the newly provided simultaneous NAV.
Check your understanding
Is a correct division enough for a current premium?
No. The compared unit, currency and timestamp must also match.
What does the quote-card spread describe?
The difference between the observed ask and bid; it does not guarantee a given quantity can trade at both prices.
Practise with virtual money
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Sources and examples
The sources support the factual explanations. Calculations and exercises were created for this lesson. Amounts and price changes are invented unless stated otherwise.
This material is educational and does not recommend securities to buy. A simulated result does not guarantee a future result.
