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VC portfolio management software · Fund performance, explained

VC portfolio management software for the numbers your LPs judge you by

CX Cash computes TVPI, DPI, RVPI, MOIC and net IRR from your own capital calls, distributions and marks, refreshes them as founders report each month, and sets them out the way LPs read them, from the first call to the last distribution.

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Private beta. Free during the beta. We set up each account by hand, one at a time.

The average fund · net cash to LPs, % of commitments

The J-curve of the average fund Cumulative net cash to LPs as a share of commitments: year 0 +0%, year 1 −16%, year 2 −35%, year 3 −44%, year 4 −44%, year 5 −35%, year 6 −13%, year 7 +9%, year 8 +41%, year 9 +81%, year 10 +100%; +169% by liquidation. 0

Year 3 · low point

−44%

57% of commitments called, 13% back

Year 7

1.0x DPI

cash break-even: distributions pass calls

Year 10

+100%

LPs ahead by their whole commitment; DPI 2.06x

By liquidation

+169%

after the last exits

  1. 1Year 3 · low point: −44% 57% of commitments called, 13% back
  2. 2Year 7: 1.0x DPI cash break-even: distributions pass calls
  3. 3Year 10: +100% LPs ahead by their whole commitment; DPI 2.06x
  4. 4By liquidation: +169% after the last exits
The J-curve of the average fund. Cash LPs received minus cash they paid in, cumulative, as a share of commitments, for every fund one large US investor backed from 1981 to 2001 (three-quarters of them buyout funds; in that sample, "venture funds take about a year longer to break even"). Source: Ljungqvist and Richardson, NBER, 2003, Table 3. The net line and DPI are our arithmetic on the sample averages.

// 01 Years 0 to 4 · the dip

For its first 3 to 4 years, a fund's performance is mostly fees and paper

Hamilton Lane describes the pattern plainly: "This period of negative performance generally spans three to four years following the fund’s inception, as the fund’s manager charges fees and expenses while it acquires companies" (Hamilton Lane). In the average fund above, LPs had paid in 57% of their commitments by the end of year 3 and received 13% back. Cash broke even during year 7, when distributions overtook calls and DPI passed 1.0x.

Recent venture vintages are taking longer to climb out. Carta reported in March 2025 that "Half of all funds from the 2018 vintage have still not distributed any capital back to their LPs" (Carta). In August 2026 PitchBook's Kyle Stanford wrote that "Halfway through their standard 10-year fund term, 2021 vintage US VC funds are at the lowest DPI multiple of any vintage since at least 1997" (PitchBook), with an average DPI of 0.05x (PitchBook). The average fund above stood at 0.59x after 5 years, on a mostly buyout sample from another era.

LPs know the curve, so they read every figure against the fund's age. CalPERS publishes a net IRR for each of its commitments and flags every fund from 2021 or later as Not Meaningful, because such funds "are in the initial stages of their investment life cycle" (CalPERS). Software cannot shorten the curve. It can keep each figure correct at every point on it, and print the fund's age and called capital beside it, so a 1.1x in year 3 is never read like a 1.1x in year 9.

Year 0 The dip: years 0 to 4 Later
The average fund pays its LPs back during year 7
% of commitmentsYear 3Year 5Year 7Year 10
Called57%84%92%94%
Returned13%49%101%193%
Net to LPs−44%−35%+9%+100%
DPI0.23x0.59x1.09x2.06x

Source: Ljungqvist and Richardson (2003), Table 3, averages across the sample. Net to LPs and DPI are our arithmetic on those averages.

// 02 The field guide

5 numbers decide how LPs read a fund, and each answers a different question

TVPI, DPI and RVPI split the same value into cash and estimate. MOIC measures companies before fees; IRR adds the clock. Each entry below defines the figure, reads it on CalPERS's published commitments and shows how CX Cash computes it. The VC fund metrics guide covers how the family fits together.

5 CalPERS commitments, 2 to 17 years old: the youngest are all paper, the oldest mostly cash

DPI, cash back + RVPI, still held = TVPI

Commitment Cash back DPI + still held RVPI = TVPI Net IRR
2SP I, L.P. 2024 vintage · about 2 years · 53% of commitment paid in 0.00x + 1.44x = 1.44x 41.3% Not Meaningful
Lightspeed Opportunity Fund II, LP 2022 vintage · about 4 years · 100% of commitment paid in 0.00x + 2.17x = 2.17x 37.1% Not Meaningful
Insight Venture Partners X, L.P. 2018 vintage · about 8 years · 105% of commitment paid in 1.18x + 1.57x = 2.75x 20.3%
Insight Venture Partners Growth-Buyout Coinvestment Fund (B), L.P. 2015 vintage · about 11 years · 108% of commitment paid in 2.82x + 0.51x = 3.32x 24.9%
57 Stars Global Opportunities Fund 2 (CalPERS), LLC 2009 vintage · about 17 years · 106% of commitment paid in 1.02x + 0.35x = 1.37x 5.1%

Source: CalPERS, Private Equity Program Fund Performance Review, as of 31 March 2026. CalPERS's Cash In includes management fees, so these are LP-level net figures, and paid-in can exceed the commitment. Paid-in share, DPI and RVPI are our arithmetic from its Cash In, Cash Out and remaining value.

Try it

Read a CalPERS row in the calculator

The calculator holds the 2015 Insight fund: $433.4M paid in, $1.22B returned and $219.0M still held. Change the cash received and the split between realized and paper moves while the multiple stays put; CalPERS divides by cash in, fees included, so the MOIC shown here is the fund's net TVPI.

CalPERS publishes totals without dates, so the calculator assumes one check in mid-2015. Its one-check IRR comes out near 12%, against the 24.9% CalPERS computes from the real dated flows. The gap is the timing a multiple leaves out, and the reason the field guide needs IRR as well.

No. 1 · What is each dollar worth today?

TVPI Total value to paid-in capital

TVPI = (distributions + NAV) ÷ paid-in capital

Year 0 Most telling around the midpoint Later
What it says
What each dollar LPs have paid in is worth today: the cash already returned plus the fund's estimate of what it still holds. The GIPS standards call it the investment multiple, and TVPI = DPI + RVPI.
On a real fund
Insight Venture Partners X, a 2018 fund, shows CalPERS 2.75x after about 8 years: 1.18x in cash and 1.57x still held, so 57% of its value is still an estimate.
Where it misleads
When marks are stale or generous, because the RVPI inside it is an estimate. Even so, PitchBook's research finds TVPI "a better indicator at the fund’s midway point of where the vintage is headed" than DPI at year 5 (PitchBook, 2026).

In CX Cash

Net TVPI every quarter, split into cash and paper

  • Computed at each quarter-end from LP contributions, distributions and the LPs' share of NAV, with fees inside paid-in capital, as ILPA defines net TVPI.
  • Shown with and without the subscription line, as ILPA's definitions ask: "The Fund-Level Net TVPI should be calculated both with and without the impact of fund-level subscription facilities."
  • Every past quarter kept, so the fund's own J-curve sits beside the latest figure.

No. 2 · How much has come back in cash?

DPI Distributions to paid-in capital

DPI = cumulative distributions ÷ paid-in capital

Year 0 Decisive after cash break-even Later
What it says
The cash LPs have received for each dollar they paid in, and nothing else. The GIPS private equity guidance sets the line: "Once the DPI is greater than one, the fund has broken even" (GIPS, 2006).
On a real fund
The 2015 Insight Growth-Buyout Coinvestment Fund (B) has paid CalPERS $1.22B on $433.4M paid in, a DPI of 2.82x, with 15% of its value still held. Lightspeed Opportunity Fund II and 2SP I, about 4 and 2 years old, have paid nothing back yet, as the curve predicts.
Where it misleads
Early on, when it sits near zero by design and says little about the end. In the same research PitchBook found that "year 5 DPI isn’t a reliable predictor of future distributions" (PitchBook, 2026).

In CX Cash

Every distribution dated and traced to the exit that paid it

  • Each distribution recorded with its date, amount, the sale or exit that produced it, and whether it arrived as cash or stock.
  • Stock distributions valued at the distribution date and labelled, so DPI shows how much came back as shares.
  • The quarter the fund crossed 1.0x marked on its DPI history.

No. 3 · How much is still an estimate?

RVPI Residual value to paid-in capital

RVPI = NAV ÷ paid-in capital

Year 0 Peaks mid-life, then falls to zero Later
What it says
The part of TVPI that is still an estimate. GIPS describes its arc: "As a fund matures, the RVPI will increase to a peak and then decrease as the fund matures and eventually liquidates to a residual market value of zero."
On a real fund
Lightspeed Opportunity Fund II, a 2022 fund, is all RVPI: 2.17x of value and no cash yet. CalPERS flags it as Not Meaningful for its age, like every commitment from 2021 on.
Where it misleads
Whenever a mark is older than the company's news. The IPEV valuation guidelines are explicit: "The Price of a Recent Investment is not a default that precludes re-estimating Fair Value at each Measurement Date" (IPEV, 2022).

In CX Cash

NAV built company by company, with every mark dated

  • Each position's mark carries its date, its basis (latest round, later round, write-down, public price) and the person who set it.
  • Positions still held at a round more than 12 months old are flagged for review before the quarter closes.
  • RVPI recomputes the moment a mark changes, and the old mark stays in the history.

No. 4 · What has each company returned?

MOIC Multiple on invested capital

Gross MOIC = (realized + unrealized value) ÷ capital invested

Year 0 Any quarter, one company at a time Later
What it says
The multiple on one company, or on the whole portfolio, before fees and carry. ILPA calls the fund-level version gross MOIC because "only cash paid-in for the purposes of investment is captured in the denominator", which is why a portfolio's gross MOIC sits above the fund's net TVPI.
On a real fund
Position MOIC shows where a fund's value comes from. In the 5x-and-better funds Sapphire Partners backs, "the top company in each fund’s portfolio (some realized, some not) is held at an average of ~90x MOC (!), with the second best company at a ~25x" and the rest average 1x (data as of 30 September 2021; Sapphire Partners).
Where it misleads
When follow-ons are left out of the cost, or a gross multiple is quoted as if it were net. MOIC works through both, with its own calculator.

In CX Cash

Cost, value, ownership and MOIC for every position

  • Cost by round: the first check plus every follow-on, each with its date.
  • Current value, fully diluted ownership, realized proceeds, and gross MOIC and IRR from the position's own dated flows.
  • Sorted by value, so the companies carrying the fund sit at the top.

No. 5 · How fast did the money work?

IRR Internal rate of return

0 = Σ CFₜ ÷ (1 + IRR)^t, NAV as the last flow

Year 0 Settles after about 6 years Later
What it says
The annual rate that sets the present value of every dated call, distribution and the current NAV to zero. Net IRR is what LPs earn after fees and carry; gross IRR is what the portfolio earned before them.
On a real fund
2SP I and 57 Stars Global Opportunities Fund 2 both show 1.4x at CalPERS. The first is about 2 years old with a 41.3% net IRR, the second about 17 years old with 5.1%. CalPERS's own note: "Interim IRRs by themselves are not the best indicators of current or future fund performance."
Where it misleads
In the first years, and wherever a credit line delays capital calls. Cambridge Associates found that "most funds require about six years before they “settle” into their ultimate quartile rankings as measured by IRR" (Cambridge Associates), and one study found that subscription lines raise IRR-based performance by 6.1 percentage points (Albertus and Denes, 2019).

In CX Cash

Net and gross IRR from the dated ledger, with and without the line

  • Net IRR computed on the actual dates of every LP contribution and distribution, with the LPs' share of quarter-end NAV as the final flow (the XIRR convention).
  • Gross IRR on investment flows only, before fees, expenses and carry.
  • Both shown with and without the subscription line, the breakout ILPA's Performance Template asks for, so a young fund's IRR is read for what it is.

5 numbers, 1 ledger. Your fund's TVPI, DPI, RVPI, MOIC and IRR, computed the same way every quarter from the files you already keep.

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// 03 Every quarter · the inputs

Every point on the J-curve is a ledger entry, so every metric inherits the ledger's mistakes

The 5 figures draw on 4 inputs: capital calls, distributions, marks and the fees inside the calls. A call booked a month late moves IRR; one stale mark moves RVPI, TVPI and MOIC at once. CX Cash keeps the inputs in one ledger and computes every figure from it, so a correction made once reaches all of them.

Capital called that year Distributed that year Cumulative net to LPs
-40%+50%+100% 0 12345678910 20% called 40% back

Year of the fund's life

The same average fund, year by year. Capital called each year (below the line) and distributed each year (above), with the cumulative net line from the chart at the top of the page. Source: Ljungqvist and Richardson (2003), Table 3; annual figures are our arithmetic.
  1. 01

    The capital-call and distribution ledger

    Every call and distribution with its date, amount and purpose (investment, management fee, fund expense), allocated to each LP. Committed, called and uncalled capital sit beside the multiples. Statements from your fund administrator or a spreadsheet export are the starting point.

  2. 02

    Marks that flow through

    Enter a new valuation once and it reaches the position's value and MOIC, then the fund's RVPI, TVPI and IRR. Earlier marks stay with their dates, so any past quarter can be reproduced exactly as it was reported.

  3. 03

    Position-level detail

    Each company's cost by round, current value, fully diluted ownership and realized proceeds: the records behind the MOIC entry above.

  4. 04

    Vintage and called-capital context

    Vintage, years since first close and the share of commitments called sit next to every figure, so a young fund is read as a young fund.

Speed matters to the people reading. CalPERS notes that "The General Partners have 120 days to provide Limited Partners with financial data, so there is generally a 2-quarter delay in performance reporting" (CalPERS). A fund that computes from its own ledger has the quarter's figures as soon as the last mark is in.

Which input moves which figure
InputTVPIDPIRVPIGross MOICIRR
Capital called for investmentsDenominatorDenominatorDenominatorDenominatorDated outflow
Capital called for fees and expensesDenominatorDenominatorDenominatorLeft outNet IRR only
DistributionsNumeratorNumeratorNo effectNumeratorDated inflow
Marks (NAV)NumeratorNo effectNumeratorNumeratorFinal flow
Subscription lineWith and withoutNo effectNo effectWith and withoutMoves call dates

Source: ILPA Performance Template Definitions, granular methodology (2025), and the method table below.

// 04 Every month · the founders

A mark is only as fresh as the founder's last update, so the update should take minutes to send

Jason Lemkin's rule of thumb at SaaStr: "If you haven't gotten your investor updates out by the 10th of the month, VCs assume it's not good" (SaaStr). The NVCA's October 2025 model investors' rights agreement adds a clause letting a major investor ask for the company's information "by uploading the information to a portfolio management platform" (NVCA). CX Cash serves both sides of that clause.

For the founder

One update, written once, sent to every backer

A monthly investor update opens pre-filled with revenue, net burn, cash and runway from the company's books, connected read-only through QuickBooks Online or Xero. The founder adds highlights, lowlights and asks, then sends it to every investor at once. KPI requests from any fund are answered from the same numbers, with no login needed, and founders pay nothing. The investor update template sets out the 10 lines worth sending.

For the fund

Every company on one screen, in the same shape

The same KPIs arrive structured, one row per company: ARR, growth, net burn, cash, runway and headcount, in the definitions you chose. Companies with under 12 months of runway are flagged, and so is any company that has not reported by the 10th. A down month opens a prompt to review that company's mark. Portfolio monitoring for VCs covers which KPIs to ask for at each stage.

Founders send one update; you see every company in the same shape, the same week.

Request access Get the due-diligence checklist

// 05 Every quarter · the LPs

The LP report is a view of the ledger, so it takes one click and nothing is re-keyed

ILPA released a new Performance Template in January 2025: "The new ILPA Performance Template is the first of its kind in the industry and aims to standardize performance methodology", to be implemented "beginning Q1 of 2026" (ILPA). It asks for IRRs and TVPI/MOIC, gross and net, each with and without the impact of fund-level subscription facilities. CX Cash computes every one of those from the ledger already, so the report is a layout to check.

  • Fund performance table: gross and net IRR, net TVPI, DPI, RVPI and gross MOIC, each with and without the subscription line.
  • Cash-flow table: every contribution and distribution, for the quarter and since inception.
  • Schedule of investments: cost, value, ownership and MOIC per company, with each mark's date and basis.
  • Tear sheets: one page per company, built from the KPIs its founder reported.
  • Exports: PDF for LPs, and Excel for anyone who wants to check the arithmetic.

Reserves

Reserves: where the next dollar of follow-on goes

Most of the early-stage managers Sapphire Partners backs hold back about as much for follow-ons as they put into first checks: "the majority cluster around a 1:1 initial/reserves ratio" (Sapphire Partners, 2022). CX Cash sets a reserve for each company against its likely next rounds, totals the reserves against uncalled capital after future fees, and shows what each planned follow-on leaves for the rest of the portfolio. Does the reserve planning VC funds use pay off for LPs? weighs the evidence.

From the last capital call to the LP report without re-keying a number.

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Method

Each figure has one formula, written down and applied the same way every quarter

How CX Cash computes each figure
FigureHow CX Cash computes itNotes
Net TVPI (distributions to LPs + LPs' share of NAV) ÷ capital contributed by LPs Fees and expenses sit in the denominator. Shown with and without the subscription line.
DPI cumulative distributions to LPs ÷ capital contributed by LPs Break-even at 1.0x. Stock distributions valued at the distribution date.
RVPI LPs' share of NAV ÷ capital contributed by LPs TVPI = DPI + RVPI, checked every quarter.
Gross MOIC (realized proceeds + unrealized value) ÷ capital invested in companies Fees and expenses left out of the denominator, as in ILPA's granular method.
Net IRR r such that Σ CFₜ ÷ (1 + r)^((dₜ − d₀) ÷ 365) = 0 over LP cash flows, NAV last Actual dates of every flow (the XIRR convention). Shown with and without the subscription line.
Gross IRR the same rate on investment flows and NAV before fees, expenses and carry For each position and for the portfolio.

Source: definitions follow ILPA's Performance Template Definitions (granular methodology, 2025) and the GIPS standards. The VC fund metrics guide explains how they fit together.

Who it is built for, and when to look elsewhere

Built for

  • ✓Venture managers running 1 to 4 funds whose fund model lives in a spreadsheet today.
  • ✓Partners who report to LPs every quarter and want each figure traceable to a dated cash flow.
  • ✓Portfolios of venture-backed companies that report ARR, burn and runway monthly.
  • ✓Funds that plan follow-ons against what is left in the fund.

Not the right fit if

  • ✕You need fund administration: capital account statements, the fund's books, tax forms and an LP portal stay with your administrator. CX Cash reads its statements and does not replace it.
  • ✕Your companies are mostly buyouts monitored on EBITDA, debt and covenants. CX Cash is built around venture KPIs.
  • ✕You need a valuation opinion. CX Cash records each mark and its basis; it does not produce a 409A or a fair-value report.
  • ✕You want quartile rankings against licensed benchmark datasets. CX Cash computes your fund's own figures.

Free template

Financial Due-Diligence Checklist + Portfolio KPI Tracker

A financial due-diligence request list in six sections (PDF) and a portfolio KPI tracker with one row per company: ARR, growth, net burn, cash, runway and NRR.

The preview is the file itself: live formulas and worked sample numbers, yours to keep whether or not you use CX Cash.

Free download. We'll email you the link, and tell you the moment CX Cash launches.

Private beta · Free during the beta

Request access to CX Cash

Leave your work email and you join the queue. We set up each account by hand, one at a time. We email you when your setup slot opens. Free during the beta.

  • Done-for-you setup. We connect your systems and build your first view with you on a 45-minute call. You do not map accounts or build a model.
  • First results in 2 business days. Your first forecast, budget view or metrics pack is ready within 2 business days of the setup call.
  • Spreadsheets welcome. Anything without a connection comes in from an Excel or CSV export, and your existing model can be the starting point.

Your place in the queue, and one email when your slot opens.

Security and your data

  • Read-only access

    CX Cash reads balances and transactions. It cannot move money, pay bills or post entries to your books.

  • Encrypted

    Data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest.

  • Revocable at any time

    Disconnect any source from CX Cash or from the connected service, whenever you choose.

  • Your data leaves with you

    Export forecasts, budgets and metrics to Excel or CSV at any time. We never sell your data.

Questions

Is CX Cash available now? +

CX Cash is in private beta. Request access on this page and you join the queue. We set up each account by hand, one at a time, and email you when your setup slot opens.

What does CX Cash cost? +

CX Cash is free during the beta. Founders who report to their investors through it pay nothing.

What is VC portfolio management software? +

Software that keeps a venture fund's record of its investments and computes what they are worth: the capital-call and distribution ledger, each company's cost, value and ownership, the KPIs founders report, and the fund metrics LPs judge it by (TVPI, DPI, RVPI, MOIC and IRR). It should also produce the LP report from those same records.

Which fund metrics does CX Cash compute? +

Net TVPI, DPI, RVPI, net and gross IRR, and gross MOIC for each fund, and cost, value, ownership, MOIC and IRR for each position. IRRs and multiples are shown with and without the subscription line, the breakout ILPA's 2025 Performance Template asks for.

What is the difference between TVPI, DPI and RVPI? +

All three divide by the capital LPs have paid in. DPI counts only cash returned, RVPI only the value of what the fund still holds, and TVPI is their sum. Early in a fund's life TVPI is mostly RVPI; at the end, once everything is sold, it is all DPI.

Why is a young fund's IRR called not meaningful? +

In its first 3 to 4 years a fund pays fees while it buys companies, so returns start negative, and a few early markups can then produce a very high IRR on little money. CalPERS flags every fund from 2021 or later as Not Meaningful for this reason, and Cambridge Associates found that funds take about 6 years to settle into their final IRR quartile.

Does CX Cash follow the ILPA templates? +

The LP report sets out performance the way ILPA's Performance Template does, with gross and net IRR and TVPI/MOIC, each with and without fund-level subscription facilities. Capital account and fee reporting under the ILPA Reporting Template stays with your fund administrator.

How do portfolio companies report, and do founders need an account? +

No account is needed. Each month founders receive a short request for the KPIs you chose and answer it from a link, or connect QuickBooks Online or Xero read-only so the numbers come from their books. Founders who write their monthly update in CX Cash send it to every investor at once, free.

Is this fund administration software? +

No. CX Cash computes and reports performance for the partnership. Fund accounting, capital account statements, tax forms and LP portals stay with your administrator, whose statements CX Cash imports.

Does it handle more than one fund? +

Yes. Each fund keeps its own ledger and metrics, and a company held by two funds shows each fund's position separately.

Go deeper on For Investors & Boards

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Sources

Figures without a cited source are our arithmetic on the cited data: the J-curve's net line, DPI and annual flows from Ljungqvist and Richardson's Table 3, and the paid-in share, DPI and RVPI of the CalPERS commitments from CalPERS's own Cash In, Cash Out and remaining value. Fund ages are approximate, from CalPERS's vintage years. Screens described in the media captions use a sample fund.