DPI, TVPI, and RVPI Calculator

Worked example: a fund six years in

One set of round numbers and every multiple it produces.

A 1.80x TVPI at year six looks healthy, but more than half of it is still unrealized. The next question is what the 420 of NAV is marked against.

Method

Fund performance multiples all share the same denominator: paid-in capital. DPI is distributions divided by paid-in capital and measures cash actually returned. RVPI is remaining value divided by paid-in capital and measures what is still held. TVPI is the sum of the two and measures total value created per dollar called.

Enter total commitments, capital called to date, cumulative distributions, net asset value, and the fund's age. The calculator reports DPI, RVPI, TVPI, the percentage of commitments called, unfunded commitments, and the annual compounding rate the TVPI implies over the fund's life so far. That last figure is a rough proxy, not a net IRR, because it ignores the timing of individual calls and distributions.

1. 1. Enter commitments and paid-in capital

   Commitments are pledged; paid-in is what has actually been called.

2. 2. Add cumulative distributions

   Cash returned to LPs to date. This is the DPI numerator.

3. 3. Add net asset value

   The carrying value of unrealized positions. This is the RVPI numerator.

4. 4. Read TVPI as the sum

   TVPI equals DPI plus RVPI. Judge the mix, not just the total.

Read these three multiples as a story about fund maturity rather than as three independent scores. Early in life a fund shows low DPI and most of its value in RVPI, and the well-known J-curve reflects that: fees are drawn before value is proven, so TVPI can sit below 1.0x for the first few years without indicating a problem. As the fund matures, value should migrate from RVPI into DPI. A fund seven or eight years in with a high TVPI and a DPI still near 0.5x is telling you the marks have not been converted into cash, and that is the question worth asking. The distinction matters because RVPI depends on valuation policy while DPI does not. Distributions are bank transfers; NAV is an estimate, usually built from comparable multiples or a discounted cash flow, and reviewed by an auditor rather than set by a market. Two further points come up in LP conversations. First, subscription lines of credit delay capital calls, which flatters IRR while leaving TVPI unchanged, so a manager with a strong IRR and an ordinary TVPI may simply be financing timing. Second, called percentage and unfunded commitments drive an LP's own liquidity planning, since an LP has to hold capital available for calls that have not arrived yet. Use these multiples to frame the diligence questions, then look at deal-level detail to understand where the value actually came from.

Related

• Management Fee Calculator
• MOIC Calculator
• Carry Waterfall Visualizer
• IRR Calculator
• PE glossary