Real-Time Financial Data: How to Automate Mutual Fund NAV Tracking with Python

API-First Financial Data Architecture

While AMFI ( Association of Mutual Funds in India) provides the foundational NAV data, this guide focuses on the engineering required to build high-performance retrieval systems.

import requests

def get_latest_nav(scheme_code):
    url = f"https://api.mfapi.in/mf/{scheme_code}/latest"
    response = requests.get(url)
    data = response.json()
    
    latest_nav = data['data'][0]['nav']
    date = data['data'][0]['date']
    fund_name = data['meta']['scheme_name']
    
    return fund_name, latest_nav, date

# Example: Quant Small Cap Fund (Direct Plan)
name, nav, date = get_latest_nav("120847")
print(f"Fund: {name} | Current NAV: {nav} | Date: {date}")

Fund: quant ELSS Tax Saver Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan | Current NAV: 414.31430 | Date: 09-01-2026

# Input scheme list
input_schemes = [
{"schemeCode": 120251, "schemeName": "ICICI Prudential Equity & Debt Fund Direct Growth"},
{"schemeCode": 118955, "schemeName": "HDFC Flexi Cap Direct Plan Growth"},
{"schemeCode": 120334, "schemeName": "ICICI Prudential Multi Asset Fund Direct Growth"}
]

import requests
import json
from datetime import datetime

def fetch_latest_navs(scheme_list):
    """
    Retrieves the most recent NAV and corresponding date for a list of funds.
    """
    base_url = "https://api.mfapi.in/mf/"
    final_report = []

    print(f"{'SCHEME NAME':<65} | {'NAV':<10} | {'DATE':<12}")
    print("=" * 92)

    for scheme in scheme_list:
        code = scheme['schemeCode']
        name = scheme['schemeName']
        
        try:
            # Request data from MFAPI
            response = requests.get(f"{base_url}{code}/latest", timeout=10)
            response.raise_for_status()
            data = response.json()

            if "data" in data and len(data["data"]) > 0:
                # API data is usually in reverse chronological order.
                latest = data["data"][0]
                nav = latest["nav"]
                date = latest["date"]

                final_report.append({
                    "name": name,
                    "code": code,
                    "nav": nav,
                    "date": date
                })

                # Truncated name for table alignment
                short_name = (name[:62] + '..') if len(name) > 65 else name
                print(f"{short_name:<65} | {nav:<10} | {date:<12}")
            else:
                print(f"Data missing for: {name}")

        except Exception as e:
            print(f"Could not retrieve {code}: {e}")

    return final_report

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Input scheme list
    input_schemes = [
        {"schemeCode": 120251, "schemeName": "ICICI Prudential Equity & Debt Fund Direct Growth"},
        {"schemeCode": 118955, "schemeName": "HDFC Flexi Cap Direct Plan Growth"},
        {"schemeCode": 120334, "schemeName": "ICICI Prudential Multi Asset Fund Direct Growth"}
    ]

    print(f"Querying MFAPI for latest records...\n")
    results = fetch_latest_navs(input_schemes)

Querying MFAPI for latest records...

SCHEME NAME                                             | NAV        | DATE
=================================================================================
ICICI Prudential Equity & Debt Fund Direct Growth       | 453.09000  | 09-01-2026  
HDFC Flexi Cap Direct Plan Growth                       | 2264.30200 | 09-01-2026  
ICICI Prudential Multi Asset Fund Direct Growth         | 898.67790  | 09-01-2026  

Visualizing Mutual Fund Performance: Automating NAV Trend Graphs with Python

Keeping track of your investments is about more than just checking today’s price; it’s about understanding the trajectory of your portfolio. Using the free MFAPI service and Python’s powerful data visualization libraries, we can transform raw JSON data into a clear, actionable NAV performance graph. This script automates the process of fetching historical data and plotting a professional-grade trend line, allowing you to visualize market volatility and fund growth over time with a single command.

Key Features of the Script

• Real-Time API Integration: The script connects directly to the mfapi.in endpoint, ensuring you always have access to the most recent historical data without manual CSV downloads.
• Intelligent Data Parsing: It automatically converts API date strings into Python datetime objects, ensuring the X-axis of your graph is chronologically accurate.
• Dynamic Visuals with Matplotlib: Using the matplotlib library, the script generates a responsive window featuring grid lines, date rotation for readability, and data points markers to highlight daily fluctuations.
• Automated Sorting: Since the API returns data in reverse-chronological order (newest first), the code includes a sorting mechanism to ensure the trend line correctly flows from left to right.
• Lightweight & Portable: The logic is contained in a single function, making it easy to integrate into larger financial dashboards or automated reporting tools.

Note: Ensure you have pandas and matplotlib installed to run the visualization code provided.

import requests
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from datetime import datetime

def fetch_and_plot_nav(scheme_code):
    """
    Fetches historical NAV data for a given scheme code from mfapi.in
    and plots the variation over time.
    """
    api_url = f"https://api.mfapi.in/mf/{scheme_code}"
    
    print(f"Fetching data for Scheme Code: {scheme_code}...")
    
    try:
        response = requests.get(api_url, timeout=10)
        response.raise_for_status()
        data = response.json()
        
        if data.get("status") != "SUCCESS":
            print("Error: Could not find data for this scheme code.")
            return

        scheme_name = data['meta']['scheme_name']
        nav_data = data['data']
        
        # Extract dates and NAV values
        # We take the last 60 entries for a clear 2-month view
        subset = nav_data[:60]
        
        # Parse dates and convert NAVs to floats
        dates = [datetime.strptime(item['date'], '%d-%m-%Y') for item in subset]
        nav_values = [float(item['nav']) for item in subset]
        
        # Sort by date
        plot_data = sorted(zip(dates, nav_values))
        dates, nav_values = zip(*plot_data)
        
        # Plotting
        plt.figure(figsize=(10, 6))
        plt.plot(dates, nav_values, marker='o', linestyle='-', 
		color='b', markersize=4)
        
        plt.title(f"NAV Variation: {scheme_name}", fontsize=12)
        plt.xlabel("Date")
        plt.ylabel("Net Asset Value (NAV)")
        plt.grid(True, linestyle='--', alpha=0.7)
        plt.xticks(rotation=45)
        plt.tight_layout()
        
        print("Displaying graph...")
        plt.show()

    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        print(f"Network error: {e}")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"An unexpected error occurred: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    print("--- Mutual Fund NAV Tracker ---")
    user_code = input("Enter the Mutual Fund Scheme Code: ").strip()
    
    if user_code.isdigit():
        fetch_and_plot_nav(user_code)
    else:
        print("Please enter a valid numeric scheme code.")

Calculating Portfolio Valuation

Once the current Net Asset Value (NAV) is retrieved for each scheme, you can determine your total investment value by multiplying the NAV by the number of units held. This provides a real-time snapshot of your portfolio's worth:

Subhendu Mohapatra

Author

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