Why doesn't Google show current price for VTSAX?

[HPstache]

Am I the only one with the problem?  Maybe this is a dumb question, and I am missing something obvious?  When I type in "VTSAX" into Google, it pulls up the little graph widget that I can choose 5-day through "Max", but it will only show me the last closing value of this stock... in this case the closing for Friday.  There is not a "1 Day" view that shows what that fund is doing at that moment.  Whereas if I type in "VTI" or "TSLA" it lets me see exactly what that fund is at to the minute.  Why?

[solon]

I'm not completely sure I understand the question. But do you know that funds don't fluctuate throughout the day? A mutual fund has one Net Asset Value (NAV) calculated daily after closing. Any purchase orders placed that day will get the NAV calculated after closing that day.

[HPstache]

I'm not completely sure I understand the question. But do you know that funds don't fluctuate throughout the day? A mutual fund has one Net Asset Value (NAV) calculated daily after closing. Any purchase orders placed that day will get the NAV calculated after closing that day.

That would be the obvious thing that I did not know, thank you.  I figured that it would vary throughout the day like a single stock or market index tracker.

[solon]

What you want is the ETF. An ETF is a mutual fund that trades on an exchange, so you can get price changes throughout the day.

[Davnasty]

Also note that for VTSAX transactions made before 4:00PM ET you'll get that day's NAV and any purchases 4:00PM or later will receive the next day's NAV.

[EvenSteven]

What you want is the ETF. An ETF is a mutual fund that trades on an exchange, so you can get price changes throughout the day.

Yep. If you track VTI, you will get the correct percent changes for VTSAX during the day.

[EliteZags]

does anyone else cherrypick down market days to buy VTSAX, and avoid buying on positive days?

no way to tell if it makes any amount of difference long term, but maybe psychologically makes you feel like you're gaming the system

[Buffaloski Boris]

does anyone else cherrypick down market days to buy VTSAX, and avoid buying on positive days?

no way to tell if it makes any amount of difference long term, but maybe psychologically makes you feel like you're gaming the system

It’s basically BTFD. You never know that the market is going to do in the short term. You could end up buying in at a 1% dip after several days of sequential 2% gains.

[vand]

Another small but important difference between Funds and ETFs is that there is no Bid/Sell spread on funds. The quoted price is the price whether you are buying or selling, and it is set once per day.

[thesis]

Well, I learned something new today. That makes so much more sense now, because I've noticed that when I check VTSAX on Google, too. It also explains the slight delay when I buy mutual fund shares, which I usually purchase in the evening. Dang.