October 2, 2026 · 7 min read
What Is TVPI (Total Value to Paid-In)? How It Works and Examples
One number for how a fund is doing: what it has paid back plus what it still holds, per dollar paid in. How to tell the two parts apart.
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What is TVPI? Total value to paid-in (TVPI) adds what a fund has paid out to investors to the value of everything it still holds. It then divides that total by the money investors have actually paid in. A TVPI of 1.8x means each dollar paid in is now worth $1.80. Part of that came back in cash. Part of it is still a valuation.
The split is what matters. TVPI is the sum of two parts. DPI (distributions to paid-in) is the cash already paid out. RVPI (residual value to paid-in) is the value still on paper. Two funds with the same TVPI can be in opposite positions. One has paid you back, while the other has not yet sold anything. For a fund holding private companies, the paper part waits for listings and sales.
0.37x
Median cash paid back per dollar by 2017 venture funds on Carta, under 40 cents nine years in
4.14x
The TVPI that marks the top 10% of the same funds, up from 3.31x two years earlier
0.04x
Median cash paid back per dollar by 2019 venture funds on Carta
What Is TVPI in Finance? The Formula and Its Two Halves
The industry uses the definitions in GIPS, the performance standards of the CFA Institute. There, TVPI is the “investment multiple”: total value divided by the capital paid in since the fund started. Total value is residual value plus distributions (GIPS 2020). Written out: TVPI = (cumulative distributions + residual value) ÷ paid-in capital. Both parts share one denominator, so TVPI = DPI + RVPI exactly.
- DPI
- Distributions to paid-in, the realization multiple. Cash, or shares, actually sent to investors, per dollar paid in.
- RVPI
- Residual value to paid-in, the unrealized multiple. The fund’s current net asset value (NAV), what its holdings are worth minus what it owes, per dollar paid in.
- TVPI
- The two together: everything returned plus everything still held, per dollar paid in.
- PIC
- Paid-in capital over committed capital. It shows how much of your commitment the fund has called so far.
The denominator is paid-in capital, the money actually sent to the fund. Committed money that has not been called stays out of it. A fund that has called 40% of commitments is measured on that 40%. That is why TVPI is read next to the PIC multiple, and why the pace of capital calls changes it.
What Is TVPI in Private Equity? Net, Fund-Level, Since Inception
In private equity, TVPI is the investor’s multiple. It is measured on the cash flows between the fund and its investors. So it comes after management fees, fund expenses and carry, the manager’s share of profit. ILPA, a trade body for fund investors, sets a standard performance template for funds starting on or after January 1, 2026. It puts net IRR, the yearly rate of return after fees, and net TVPI at the top of the fund-level table. It shows each twice: with and without the effect of the fund’s subscription credit line. That is a loan the fund can draw on before it calls investors’ money (ILPA, 2025).
That is the line between TVPI and MOIC. MOIC is reported deal by deal, between the fund and its investments, and is usually gross, meaning before fees. TVPI covers the whole fund, between the fund and you, and is net. A fund can hold several 3x deals and still report a TVPI well below that once losses elsewhere and the fees are counted.
In a single-deal SPV, a company set up to hold one investment, the two measures nearly meet. There is one position, one set of fees and one distribution waterfall. Your TVPI on an SPV is what you have been distributed plus your share of its NAV, over what you subscribed. Axevil reports these figures in the app as NAV and distributions.
A Fund’s TVPI over Its Life, and the J-Curve
Take a fund with $100M of commitments. It calls capital over five years, holds companies at fair value and sells them in years five to eleven. Here is how its multiples move.
Illustrative fund made up for this example. Figures are cumulative and net of fees. PIC multiple at year 11: $90M ÷ $100M = 0.90x
Year one shows the J-curve. TVPI is below 1.0x because fees and expenses are paid from the first capital called, while the companies are still held at roughly cost. It climbs as values rise. From year eight to year eleven it does not move at all. Yet those are the years the investor is actually paid, as RVPI turns into DPI. A TVPI that stays flat while DPI rises is a fund doing its job.
TVPI tells you what the fund is worth per dollar paid in. DPI tells you how much of that you have. Until the second catches up with the first, the difference is a valuation.
What Is TVPI in Venture Capital (VC)?
What is TVPI in VC specifically? The same ratio, with a longer paper phase. Venture funds hold private companies for years. They value them on funding rounds and on secondary trades, sales of existing shares between investors. They pay out only when those companies list or are sold. So for most of a fund’s life, VC TVPI is mostly RVPI.
Carta’s Q2 2026 data shows how far apart the two parts can sit. Take the 2017 vintage, the funds that started investing in 2017. The TVPI that marks their top 10% rose to 4.14x from 3.31x two years earlier. Over the same period, the IRR at that top-10% mark fell to 25.7% from 28.7%. Values were still growing, but the yearly rate of growth fell. The typical fund of the same vintage had a median DPI of 0.37x. For 2019 funds it was 0.04x (Carta, 2026). In Carta’s words, TVPI “is time neutral.”
For a reader of pre-IPO markets, this is the same fact seen from the fund side. Value created while companies stay private reaches investors only at a liquidity event, such as a listing or a sale. Why companies stay private longer is covered in what pre-IPO investing is.
What Is a Good TVPI?
There is no fixed number. A TVPI is good or bad only against funds of the same vintage year and strategy, measured at the same age. Every fund passes through the J-curve, so a five-year-old fund cannot be compared with a twelve-year-old one. Below 1.0x after the early years means investors have lost money on paper after fees.
- Same vintage, same strategyCompare against peers that started in the same year and invest the same way. Use a quartile ranking, which sorts funds into four equal groups. No single threshold applies.
- Read it with DPIA high TVPI with a low DPI is a promise. The older the fund, the more of its TVPI should be DPI.
- Read it with IRRTVPI says how much. IRR says how fast. A rising TVPI with a falling IRR means value is arriving late.
- Check net, and the credit lineUse net TVPI. Where both are given, use the figure without the subscription credit line.
TVPI Definitions and Reporting Standards, as of October 2026
As of October 2026. GIPS and ILPA are industry standards without the force of law. A fund’s own reporting definitions are in its documents.
Common Mistakes When Reading a TVPI
- Reading TVPI without DPIThe same 2.0x can be cash in hand or entirely valuations.
- Judging a young fundIn the first years, a TVPI below 1.0x usually reflects the J-curve. It says little about the final result.
- Comparing across vintagesA 2017 fund and a 2022 fund are at different points of their lives.
- Dividing by commitmentsThe denominator is paid-in. Uncalled capital is not in it.
- Treating TVPI as a deal multipleDeal-level results are MOIC, usually gross. TVPI is the whole fund, net.
- Ignoring timeTVPI is time-neutral. Read IRR for the speed.
The Terms This Page Uses
- TVPI
- Total value to paid-in: distributions plus residual value, over the capital investors have paid in.
- DPI
- Distributions to paid-in: cash or shares actually returned, per dollar paid in.
- RVPI
- Residual value to paid-in: the fund’s remaining net asset value, per dollar paid in.
- Paid-in capital
- What investors have actually contributed to date. It can be less than what they committed.
- Capital call
- A fund’s demand for part of a committed amount. Each one raises paid-in capital.
- Vintage year
- The year a fund starts investing. Funds are compared with others of the same vintage.
- J-curve
- The early dip of a fund’s returns below zero, as fees are paid before investments gain value.
- IRR
- Internal rate of return: the yearly rate implied by the timing and size of the cash flows.
- Subscription credit line
- A loan a fund draws on before it calls investors’ money. ILPA’s template shows net results with and without it.
- MOIC
- Multiple on invested capital: the deal-level multiple, usually gross of fees.
Questions About TVPI
DPI counts only what the fund has paid out. TVPI adds the value of what it still holds. The gap between them is RVPI, value that has not yet been turned into cash. In venture funds, most of TVPI is RVPI for most of a fund’s life.
When reported to investors, it should be. TVPI is measured on the cash flows between the fund and its investors, after management fees, expenses and carry. ILPA’s template reports it net, with and without the subscription credit line.
Fees and fund expenses are paid out of the first capital called, while the companies bought are held at roughly cost. Total value briefly sits below paid-in capital. This is the J-curve, and it usually reverses as investments gain value.
Yes. The residual-value part moves with valuations, so markdowns lower it. Distributions already made do not reverse. So a fund with high DPI is less exposed to a fall than one whose TVPI is mostly RVPI.
The same arithmetic works: what you have been distributed plus your share of the vehicle’s NAV, over what you paid in. With one company in the vehicle, it is close to the position’s net multiple.
Where the Figures on This Page Come From
Figures and definitions were last checked on October 1, 2026. The Carta figures describe venture funds on Carta’s platform as of the end of Q2 2026. They do not cover private equity as a whole. The fund example is illustrative.
- 01CFA Institute2020GIPS Standards for Asset Owners, glossary — TVPI, DPI, RVPI, PIC multiple, total value, distributions
- 02Institutional Limited Partners Association01.2025Performance Template Guidance, Granular Methodology — net IRR and net TVPI at fund level, with and without subscription facilities
- 03Carta09.23.2026VC Fund Performance: Q2 2026 — median DPI by vintage, top-decile TVPI and IRR for 2017–2018 vintages
This page explains how a market works. It is not investment advice, not a recommendation of any security, strategy or company, and not an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy anything. Private companies may never list or be acquired, positions in them can be illiquid for years, and the entire amount invested can be lost. Figures are accurate as of the dates shown and change. Requirements for investor status, and the tax treatment of a private holding, differ by jurisdiction — the jurisdiction is named wherever this page discusses either. Prepared by the AXEVIL Capital research team.
What closed on the private market in the past two weeks
The rounds that priced, the tender offers that opened and the listings that filed — with the structure of each deal and the date on every figure. Written by the team that reads the paperwork.
Where to go from here
Fund fees & metricsWhat Is MOIC (Multiple on Invested Capital)? How It Works and ExamplesMOIC divides what an investment is worth, cash returned plus current value, by the money put in. How to read it, before and after fees, and why it ignores time.
Private equity & fundsWhat Is a Capital Call? Definition, How It Works and ExamplesA capital call is a fund manager’s request for part of the money investors committed. How notices, deadlines and credit lines work, with an example.
Fund fees & metricsWhat Is a Distribution Waterfall? Definition, How It Works, ExamplesA distribution waterfall is the order in which a fund or SPV pays out money from a sale: capital back first, then a minimum return, then the manager’s share.