How to price an ETF consisting stocks from different regions?

Question

just out of curiosity, I would like to know how ETFs that consist stocks from various stock exchanges are priced. For example, if there exists an ETF that contain Apple (U.S.), Tencent (HK), and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (UK), how is the ETF being priced if listed in NYSE? NAV might not reflect true value of the ETF since the asset changes price in different time + also due to FX rates. May I know how the ETF can be priced in this case?

Real life example that is the closest to my question would be asking about the pricing method of VT (Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF). Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

An ETF is always worth at the aggregate level of its holdings, even if that means using intra-period prices from multiple markets in multiple currencies.

The "price" of an ETF is not "assigned" by its issuer but by the investors that are buying and selling it. So if savvy investors see that a specific FX rate is increasing during the day (I'm talking about very large changes, not normal changes that are probably immaterial), they may buy up ETFs that are more heavily weighted toward that currency, raising its price. So - in theory at least - the market should keep the ETF in line with the value of its assets, with arbatrageurs helping to keep that relationship intact.