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MOIC Calculator

Split realized proceeds from remaining value, get gross and realized MOIC, and see the annual IRR your multiple implies at any hold length.

Educational returns math only. Not investment advice.

Position

Sponsor equity plus follow-on capital

Cash already distributed

Carrying value of what is still held

Used for the implied annual rate

Gross MOIC

2.40x

Implies about 19.1% a year over 5 years.

Realized MOIC

0.60x

Unrealized share

75%

Value still dependent on marks

Total value

240.0

Profit

140.0

MOIC required to hit a target IRR over 5 years

Target IRRRequired MOICGap to your MOIC
15%2.01x0.39x
20%2.49x-0.09x
25%3.05x-0.65x
30%3.71x-1.31x
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Worked example: the multiple a target IRR demands

Round numbers, five-year hold, and the multiple each IRR target requires.

Assumptions

Equity invested
100
Hold period
5 years
Realized proceeds
60
Remaining value
180
  1. 1

    Gross MOIC

    (60 + 180) / 100 = 2.4x

  2. 2

    Realized MOIC

    60 / 100 = 0.6x

  3. 3

    Implied IRR

    2.4 ^ (1/5) - 1 = 19%

  4. 4

    MOIC for a 25% target

    1.25 ^ 5 = 3.05x

A 2.4x mark reads well until you see that three quarters of it is unrealized and that a 25 percent target needs 3.0x. The multiple and the hold have to be quoted together.

Method

Multiple on invested capital divides total value by the capital put to work. Total value is realized cash already received plus the current carrying value of what is still held. Because MOIC ignores timing, it answers a different question from IRR: not how fast, but how much.

Enter invested capital, cash already distributed, and the remaining value of unexited positions. The calculator reports gross MOIC on total value, realized MOIC on cash actually returned, and the profit in absolute terms. Set a hold period and it converts the multiple into the annual compounding rate it implies, which is the fastest way to sanity-check whether a headline multiple is impressive for the time it took.

  1. 1. Enter invested capital

    Sponsor equity at close plus any follow-on capital.

  2. 2. Split realized and unrealized

    Cash already distributed against the current value of what is still held.

  3. 3. Set the hold period

    Used to convert the multiple into the annual rate it implies.

  4. 4. Compare against the target

    Check the multiple your IRR target requires over the same hold.

The gap between gross MOIC and realized MOIC is where diligence starts. A 2.4x gross MOIC made up mostly of unrealized carrying value is a mark, not a result, and marks are the sponsor's own estimate until an exit prices them. Ask what the remaining value is based on: a recent third-party transaction, a public comp set, or a discounted cash flow the manager built. On the invested capital side, be explicit about what is in the denominator. Deal-level MOIC usually counts sponsor equity at close plus any follow-on funding; fund-level MOIC counts paid-in capital including fees, which is why a fund's net multiple sits below the sum of its deal multiples. Two other habits are worth building. First, always pair the multiple with a hold period, because 2.0x in three years and 2.0x in seven are different businesses. Second, treat the target-MOIC view as an underwriting tool: if your fund needs a 25 percent IRR over five years, that is roughly 3.0x, and asking whether the operating plan can plausibly triple equity value is a more honest test than asking whether the IRR cell shows the right number.

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Educational returns math only. Not investment advice.