Resources / Glossary / TVPI

TVPI.

Aka. Total value to paid-in · Total value multiple · Investment multiple
All terms

What is TVPI?

TVPI — total value to paid-in — is the ratio of a fund's total value, both distributed and still held, to the capital its limited partners have paid in. It is the most complete single-number measure of a fund's return multiple: everything the fund has produced, realized and unrealized, per dollar invested.

By construction, TVPI is the sum of its two components: DPI (the cash already distributed) plus RVPI (the marked value of what is still held), each measured against paid-in capital. A TVPI of 1.8x means the fund has generated total value equal to 1.8 times the capital drawn — but it does not say how much of that is cash versus paper.

TVPI is the headline multiple most managers lead with. It captures the full picture but, because it includes unrealized marks, it is only as reliable as those valuations.

How TVPI decomposes

The value of TVPI is that it splits cleanly:

  1. DPI — distributions to paid-in: realized cash returned ÷ paid-in capital. The banked, certain portion.
  2. RVPI — residual value to paid-in: unrealized marked value ÷ paid-in capital. The estimated, on-paper portion.
  3. TVPI = DPI + RVPI. The total multiple.

Reading the decomposition matters more than the headline. Early in a fund's life, TVPI is almost entirely RVPI — value that has not been tested by a sale. As the fund matures, value shifts into DPI. A mature fund with a high TVPI but a low DPI is flashing a warning: most of its claimed return is still unrealized and may not survive to cash.

TVPI versus IRR

TVPI and IRR are the two pillars of fund reporting, and they answer different questions. TVPI measures how much total value a fund has generated per dollar in. IRR measures the annualized rate at which it did so, accounting for the timing of cash flows.

TVPI ignores time entirely — a 2.0x in four years and a 2.0x in ten years report the same multiple. IRR captures the time dimension but is sensitive to timing effects, including subscription-line financing that can flatter it. The two are read together precisely because each one's weakness is the other's strength, and TVPI is in turn read alongside its DPI/RVPI split to see how much is real cash.

Frequently asked.

5 questions
01 What's the difference between TVPI and DPI?

DPI counts only realized cash distributed to LPs. TVPI adds the unrealized marked value of remaining holdings on top, so TVPI = DPI + RVPI.

If TVPI is much higher than DPI, most of the fund's value is still on paper. As a fund matures and exits, the two converge as RVPI converts into DPI.

02 What's the difference between TVPI and MOIC?

They measure the same idea — total value over invested capital — but at different levels. MOIC usually refers to a single deal or a gross basis, while TVPI is the fund-level multiple measured against paid-in capital, typically reported net to LPs. In practice the terms are often used loosely; the key is to confirm whether a figure is gross or net and deal-level or fund-level.

03 What is a good TVPI?

It depends on strategy and fund age. A buyout fund often targets a net TVPI in the 2.0x range over its life, while venture aims higher on a more concentrated set of winners. A young fund's TVPI is mostly unrealized and should be read cautiously. The most meaningful comparison is against peer funds of the same vintage year and against the fund's own DPI.

04 Why look at TVPI and IRR together?

Because TVPI ignores time and IRR depends on it. A high TVPI earned slowly can pair with a modest IRR; a high IRR can sit on a modest TVPI for a quick flip. Looking at both — plus the DPI/RVPI split inside the TVPI — gives the full read on how much was made, how fast, and how much is actually cash.

05 How do firms keep TVPI reliable?

Because TVPI includes unrealized marks, it is only as good as the valuations behind RVPI and the cash-flow record behind DPI. Keeping it reliable means tying both components to the underlying deal, valuation, and distribution records rather than maintaining a detached reporting spreadsheet.

When the multiple is linked to live position data, TVPI can be decomposed into its realized and unrealized parts and traced back to source at any moment.

Related terms

Mfund economics

Management fee

The recurring fee — conventionally about 2% a year — that funds the GP's operating costs, paid regardless of whether the fund's <em>investments</em> succeed.

Open
Dfund economics

Deal-by-deal carry

A structure where the GP earns carried interest on each profitable exit, rather than waiting until the whole fund returns capital. The <em>American waterfall</em>.

Open
Mfund economics

MOIC

Multiple on Invested Capital — total value returned and held divided by capital invested. It answers <em>how many times your money came back</em>, ignoring time.

Open
Cfund economics

Catch-up

The waterfall tier where, after the preferred return, the GP takes a heavy share of profit until it has <em>caught up</em> to its full carry percentage.

Open
Wfund economics

Whole-fund carry

A structure where the GP earns no carry until LPs recover <em>all</em> drawn capital plus the preferred return across the whole fund. The European waterfall.

Open
Dfund economics

DPI

Distributions to Paid-In — cash actually returned to LPs divided by capital they paid in. The <em>realized</em> multiple, owing nothing to marks.

Open
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