MOIC (multiple on invested capital): formula, calculator and benchmarks
What is MOIC?
MOIC (multiple on invested capital) is what an investment has produced, in cash returned plus the current value of what is still held, divided by the capital invested. MOIC = (realized proceeds + unrealized value) ÷ invested capital. Invest $1M, get $3M back, and MOIC is 3.0x. It ignores how long that took.
Key facts
- 63% of VCs evaluate deals with cash-on-cash multiples, 42% with IRR and 22% with NPV, in a survey of 885 VCs. (Gompers et al., 2020)
- Private equity firms use MOIC to judge 94.8% of their deals and gross IRR for 92.7%, on average across 79 firms surveyed. (Gompers et al., 2016)
- Bain's standard buyout target is 2.5x over a five-year hold, which is about a 20% IRR (our arithmetic). (Bain, 2026)
- 48% of US venture financings that exited in 2013–2022 returned less than 1x. Only 7% returned 10x or more. (Correlation Ventures, 2023)
- LPs rank MOIC and DPI joint second after IRR: DPI is "critical" or "most critical" to 54% of LPs, "tied with MOIC". (McKinsey, 2026)
MOIC calculator
Try your own numbers. Quick mode needs three figures. Cash-flow mode takes dated flows and also returns the IRR. Founder mode shows what an exit does for one of your investors.
Running this for every position in a fund? CX Cash is being built to compute MOIC per company and TVPI, DPI and IRR per fund from your capital calls, distributions and marks.
How to calculate MOIC
MOIC = (realized proceeds + unrealized value) ÷ invested capital
In words: add the cash you've received to what your remaining stake is worth today, then divide by everything you put in.
- Realized proceeds: Cash actually received: exits, dividends and secondary sales.
- Unrealized value: The current fair value, or mark, of what is still held. It stays an estimate until someone pays it.
- Invested capital: All cash put into the position, follow-ons included. For a whole portfolio, it is the capital invested in deals, excluding fees.
Worked example
One seed investor's position over six years. The numbers are illustrative, and the results below are computed by the same tested code as the calculator.
| Date | Cash flow | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 15, 2020 | −$1,000,000 | Seed check |
| Jun 15, 2022 | −$500,000 | Pro-rata follow-on |
| Mar 15, 2025 | +$1,200,000 | Partial sale in a secondary |
| Mar 31, 2026 | $2,400,000 | Current mark on the remaining stake (not cash) |
$3,600,000 of value on $1,500,000 invested MOIC 2.4x 0.8x realized 67% still on paper IRR 18.6% over 6.2 years
Leave the follow-on out of the denominator and the same position reports 3.6x. That is the most common way MOIC gets flattered.
In a spreadsheet
- MOIC, with dates in A2:A5 and flows in B2:B5 (money in as negatives): =(B4+B5)/-(B2+B3)
- IRR of the same flows: =XIRR(B2:B5, A2:A5)
- IRR from a multiple in B1 held for B2 years (one check, one exit): =B1^(1/B2)-1
How founders and investors read MOIC
If you're the founder
- Your investor's MOIC on your company is their share of the exit divided by everything they put in, pro-rata included. Later rounds dilute it. In NextView's example, a $1M seed at a $10M post-money is diluted to 7%, so a $200M exit pays 14x, not 20x.
- One company usually has to return the whole fund. The exit that does it is fund size ÷ the investor's ownership at exit. Harlem Capital works out that a $750k check needs 53.3x to return a $40M fund.
- That is why a solid outcome can still disappoint your investor. Jason Lemkin of SaaStr puts it this way: "They may lose interest if you're ‘only’ going to be a 5x return (that's frustrating, but it's the math)" (SaaStr, Aug 2026).
Questions you'll be asked
- What's the credible path to an exit of fund size ÷ our ownership?
- How much more capital do you need before an exit?
- Who would buy you, and at what multiple of revenue?
- What happens to our stake in a down round?
If you're the investor or LP
- Gross or net? Deal MOIC is gross. LPs see net TVPI, after fees and carry. Fred Wilson's 2008 fund model needed 4x on investments to give LPs 2.5x (AVC).
- How much is cash? Split realized from unrealized. Venture stakes sold in secondaries at 79% of NAV in H1 2026 (Jefferies), so a mark is a claim, not a price.
- How long did it take? A multiple has no clock. Pair it with IRR, as LPs do: in McKinsey's 2026 survey IRR still ranks first, with MOIC and DPI tied second (McKinsey).
Questions to ask a GP
- How much of this multiple is realized?
- Gross or net? Are follow-ons and fees in the denominator?
- Is the mark the last round or a fair-value model, and when was it set?
- Is performance shown with or without a subscription line?
- What is the DPI?
What is a good MOIC?
A good MOIC depends on what you're measuring: one VC deal, one buyout, or a whole fund. Each has a different bar. For single venture deals, the useful question is how often outcomes land in each range.
Show the numbers by band
| Band | Share of financings | Share of dollars | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost money (0–1x) | 48% | 37% | The investor got back less than they put in. |
| Money back (1–3x) | 27% | 43% | Capital returned with a gain, but rarely enough to carry a fund. |
| Strong outcome (3–10x) | 17% | 17% | A good single deal. Whether it moves a fund depends on the check size. |
| Fund-returner range (10x+) | 7% | 3% | Where one company can return a whole fund, depending on fund size and ownership. |
Benchmarks
| Segment | Measure | Typical | Top quartile | As of | Sample | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buyout deals | ||||||
| Target for a new deal | Gross MOIC | 2.5x over 5 years (about 20% IRR) | — | Feb 2026 | Illustrative model | Bain, 2026 |
| Deals with equity checks over $100M | MOIC (gross or net not stated) | 1.8x average, deals before 2012 | 2.7x, deals since 2012 | Mar 2025 | Fully and partially realized deals | Bain, 2025 |
| US VC funds (Carta) · Net TVPI and DPI by vintage: the fund-level counterparts of MOIC. Carta-administered US funds, most of them under $100M. | ||||||
| 2017 vintage | Net TVPI | 1.64x | 2.20x | Q1 2026 | 131 funds | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| 2018 vintage | Net TVPI | 1.40x | 2.14x | Q1 2026 | 191 funds | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| 2019 vintage | Net TVPI | 1.24x | 1.62x | Q1 2026 | 229 funds | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| 2020 vintage | Net TVPI | 1.12x | 1.54x | Q1 2026 | 253 funds | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| 2021 vintage | Net TVPI | 1.04x | 1.29x | Q1 2026 | 545 funds | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| 2022 vintage | Net TVPI | 1.08x | 1.33x | Q1 2026 | 526 funds | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| 2017 vintage | DPI (cash back) | 0.31x | 0.60x | Q1 2026 | 131 funds | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| 2018 vintage | DPI (cash back) | 0.15x | 0.42x | Q1 2026 | 191 funds | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| Emerging-manager funds (AngelList) · A different universe from Carta, so don't compare across the two blocks. AngelList doesn't say whether this TVPI is net or gross. | ||||||
| 2017 vintage | TVPI | 3.07x | 6.37x | 1 Jul 2026 | Not disclosed | AngelList, Jul 2026 |
| 2019 vintage | TVPI | 2.68x | 4.42x | 1 Jul 2026 | Not disclosed | AngelList, Jul 2026 |
| 2021 vintage | TVPI | 1.12x | 1.40x | 1 Jul 2026 | Not disclosed | AngelList, Jul 2026 |
The 3x you hear in VC is a fund-level bar. Carta's analysts write that "Among venture fund managers and their LPs, a TVPI of 3x is often seen as a threshold for exemplary performance" (Carta, Dec 2025). Few funds clear it: in the Carta data above, even top-quartile 2017 and 2018 funds sit near 2.2x.
Compiled Oct 2, 2026. Next review: December 2026, after Carta's Q3 2026 release. Left out: Cambridge Associates (Its licence bars reuse without written permission, and its free reports give IRRs, not multiples); PitchBook benchmarks (Available to PitchBook clients only). Download these benchmarks as CSV.
MOIC in the wild: one multiple, very different funds
These are four real CalPERS private equity commitments, as CalPERS reported them as of 31 March 2026. CalPERS calls its multiple the Investment Multiple. The cash-back column is our arithmetic from CalPERS's own figures. (CalPERS, Mar 2026)
| Fund (vintage) | Cash in | Cash out | Cash out + remaining value | Net IRR | Multiple | Cash back (DPI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2SP I, L.P. (2024)† | $319.4M | $0 | $459.8M | 41.3% | 1.4x | 0.00x |
| 57 Stars Global Opportunities Fund 2 (CalPERS), LLC (2009) | $531.4M | $542.0M | $728.5M | 5.1% | 1.4x | 1.02x |
| Lightspeed Opportunity Fund II, LP (2022)† | $200.0M | $0 | $434.7M | 37.1% | 2.2x | 0.00x |
| Insight Venture Partners Growth-Buyout Coinvestment Fund (B), L.P. (2015) | $433.4M | $1.22B | $1.44B | 24.9% | 3.3x | 2.82x |
† CalPERS flags every fund with a vintage of 2021 or later as Not Meaningful.
Two funds both show 1.4x. One is two years old, all paper, with a 41.3% IRR. The other is seventeen years old, mostly cash, with a 5.1% IRR. The 2.2x fund has returned nothing yet, while the 3.3x fund has already paid back 2.8 times its money in cash.
CalPERS divides by cash in, fees included, so its multiple is an LP-level net multiple, closer to TVPI than to gross MOIC. It also flags every fund from 2021 or later as "Not Meaningful", because those funds "are in the initial stages of their investment life cycle". Its own guidance adds: "Interim IRRs by themselves are not the best indicators of current or future fund performance."
MOIC vs TVPI, DPI, RVPI and IRR
| Metric | Answers | Ignores | Use it when | It misleads when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOIC | Value produced per dollar invested, per deal or portfolio, gross | Time, fees, undrawn capital | Comparing or underwriting deals | Holds are long, or most of the value is paper |
| TVPI | The same for a whole fund, per dollar LPs paid in, net | Time | Tracking a fund's progress | The fund is young or its marks are stale |
| DPI | Cash returned per dollar paid in | Value still held | Judging a mature fund | Early on, when it sits near zero by design |
| RVPI | Paper value still held per dollar paid in | Cash already returned | Seeing how much is unrealized | Marks are generous |
| IRR | Annual rate of return, accounting for timing | The size of the gain | Comparing speed, or testing against a hurdle | Small quick wins, or subscription lines, which raised IRR-based performance by 6.1 points in one study |
| PME | Return against a public index | Absolute size | Asking whether illiquidity paid off | The index doesn't fit the strategy |
TVPI = DPI + RVPI. The GIPS standards require firms to present all three, plus the PIC multiple, for composites with committed capital.
What a multiple means in IRR
The IRR a multiple implies when it is one check in and one exit out, computed by the calculator's code. Bain's buyout target, 2.5x over a five-year hold, is the 20.1% cell.
| MOIC | 3 years | 5 years | 7 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5x | 14.5% | 8.4% | 6.0% | 4.1% |
| 2.0x | 26.0% | 14.9% | 10.4% | 7.2% |
| 2.5x | 35.7% | 20.1% | 14.0% | 9.6% |
| 3.0x | 44.2% | 24.6% | 17.0% | 11.6% |
| 5.0x | 71.0% | 38.0% | 25.8% | 17.5% |
| 10.0x | 115.4% | 58.5% | 38.9% | 25.9% |
Common mistakes: how MOIC gets flattered
- Leaving follow-ons out of the denominator. Count every dollar that went in. In the worked example above, dropping the follow-on turns 2.4x into 3.6x.
- Quoting gross as if it were net. Fees and carry sit between a deal multiple and what LPs receive. The SEC's Marketing Rule bars advisers from showing gross performance in an ad unless net performance is shown alongside it (17 CFR 275.206(4)-1).
- Trusting stale or generous marks. Unrealized value is an estimate. Researchers found that "some under-performing managers boost reported returns during times when fundraising takes place" (Brown, Gredil & Kaplan). The UK's FCA flagged the same incentive in its 2025 review of valuation practices (FCA).
- Forgetting time. A multiple has no clock. In the CalPERS table, the same 1.4x took two years for one fund and seventeen for another.
- Mixing denominators. Invested, paid-in and committed capital are different numbers. Paid-in capital includes fees, and recycling provisions widen the gap with invested capital (Ercan, Kaplan & Strebulaev). Howard Marks called a "multiple of cost" on invested capital "highly inappropriate" for judging funds, because it ignores capital that was never drawn (Oaktree memo, 2006).
- Counting engineered cash as performance. Distributions funded by NAV loans or continuation vehicles look like cash returned. ILPA warns that NAV facilities "can create perverse incentives for a GP" to "improve their headline performance figures" (ILPA, 2024). MSCI calls continuation-vehicle liquidity "controversial and, arguably, artificial" (MSCI, 2026).
Where MOIC came from and how it's regarded today
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 2026 | LPs rank MOIC and DPI joint second after IRR. | McKinsey, 2026 |
| Feb 2026 | The 2.5x five-year buyout target now needs 10–12% annual EBITDA growth, up from 5%. | Bain, 2026 |
| Jan 2025 | ILPA's Performance Template standardizes gross MOIC for a portfolio and net TVPI for a fund, each with and without subscription lines, for adoption from Q1 2026. | ILPA, Jan 2025 |
| Jun 2024 | The Fifth Circuit vacates the SEC rule that would have required gross and net MOIC in quarterly statements: "no part of it can stand". | Fifth Circuit, 2024 |
| Feb 2024 | An investor's T-shirt reading "DPI is the new IRR" makes the news, as payouts at major PE firms fall 49% in two years. | Bloomberg, 2024 |
| Aug 2023 | The SEC adopts its Private Fund Advisers rule, with gross and net MOIC, split into realized and unrealized. | SEC, 2023 |
| Jul 2023 | Bain: "For cash-strapped LPs, DPI (distributed to paid-in capital) is becoming the new IRR (internal rate of return)." | Bain, 2023 |
| 2020 | In a survey of 885 VCs, 63% say they use cash-on-cash multiples to evaluate deals. | Gompers et al., 2020 |
| 2016 | Private equity firms report using MOIC on 94.8% of their deals. | Gompers et al., 2016 |
| 2014 | Harris, Jenkinson and Kaplan: "multiples of invested capital should be preferred to IRRs as summary measures of private equity performance" (working-paper wording). | Harris et al., 2014 |
| 2005–06 | The GIPS private equity provisions take effect, requiring TVPI, DPI, RVPI and PIC multiples. | GIPS, 2005 |
| 2005 | Kaplan and Schoar publish the public market equivalent (PME), which Kaplan later describes as a "market-adjusted multiple". | Kaplan, 2024 |
| 1980–2001 | Venture Economics collects IRR, TVPI and DPI from GPs and LPs every quarter. | Kaplan & Schoar, 2005 |
How it's regarded today
- Standard, but never on its own. "The IRR and MOIC are the standard performance measures used by PE practitioners" (Harris, Jenkinson, Kaplan & Stucke, 2023).
- Longer holds give it more weight. McKinsey: "Given MOIC is not weighed down by longer holding periods (unlike IRR), its growing importance indicates LP receptiveness to longer hold periods (assuming the distributions still flow)." In its 2025 survey, 21% of LPs ranked MOIC as critical, up from 15% three years earlier (McKinsey, 2025).
- Paper vs cash is the live argument. Average DPI for 2021-vintage VC funds is 0.05x, "the lowest five-year DPI multiple this century" (PitchBook, Aug 2026).
- It now sets GP pay in continuation vehicles. In Morgan Lewis's 2026 study, "79% of CVs include a tiered carry with 60% adopting both internal rate of return (IRR) and multiple on invested capital (MoIC) return thresholds" (Morgan Lewis). In PitchBook's example, "a 2x return might net the manager a 20% profit share, with a 3x return bringing it 30%" (PitchBook).
- Its known weakness. "The major drawbacks of MOIC are that it does not account for investment horizon or level of investment risk" (Brown, Lundblad & Volckmann, 2025).
- How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions? (Gompers et al., 2020). VCs pick deals on cash-on-cash multiples far more often than on NPV.
- What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do? (Gompers et al., 2016). Private equity firms judge deals on gross IRR and MOIC; very few use discounted cash flow.
- Private Equity Performance: What Do We Know? (Harris et al., 2014). Multiples explain fund performance better than IRRs and should be preferred as summary measures.
- Do Private Equity Funds Manipulate Reported Returns? (Brown et al., 2019). Some underperforming managers inflate reported returns while they raise their next fund.
- Performance Template Definitions: Granular Methodology (v1.1) (ILPA, 2025). The industry template that defines gross MOIC at the portfolio level and net TVPI at the fund level.
- Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) for Firms 2020 (GIPS 2020). The performance standard that lists TVPI, DPI, RVPI and PIC among the multiples firms must present.
What experts say about MOIC
“In private equity, there are two basic dimensions of performance: how fast money comes back (IRR) and how much money comes back (the multiple).”
“A venture portfolio is often marked at the last round, which is a number produced by a negotiation that may be eighteen months stale and is not equal to fair value in the first place.”
“First, VC's 17.1% one-year horizon IRR—among the highest of any private capital strategy tracked—reflects valuation momentum more than realized liquidity.”
“what the data tells us is that fund returners are more predictive of performance than unicorns.”
Where they disagree
Two finance professors read the same multiple differently. One says a multiple plus a holding period tells you almost everything; the other says no absolute multiple controls for the market.
“If I know the multiple of money achieved and the average holding period of the investments, I essentially have all the information I need.”
“Multiple of Invested Capital » Absolute (not relative) - does not control for the market.”
MOIC FAQ
What does MOIC stand for?
MOIC stands for multiple on invested capital. You'll also see multiple of invested capital, MoM (multiple of money) and cash-on-cash multiple. All describe the same ratio: the value received plus the value still held, divided by the capital invested. Real estate investors call it the equity multiple.
How do you calculate MOIC?
Add realized proceeds (cash received) to unrealized value (the current mark on what you still hold), then divide by invested capital, follow-ons included. Invest $1.5M, get $1.2M back and hold a stake marked at $2.4M, and MOIC is $3.6M ÷ $1.5M = 2.4x. In a spreadsheet: (cash back + current value) divided by total invested.
What is a good MOIC?
It depends on the level. A buyout deal typically targets 2.5x over five years, about a 20% IRR. Single venture deals are lopsided: 48% of US financings that exited in 2013–2022 returned under 1x, and 7% returned 10x or more. For a whole VC fund, a net TVPI of 3x is often treated as the bar for exemplary performance.
Is MOIC the same as TVPI?
Not quite. MOIC is usually gross and measured per deal or portfolio, divided by capital invested. TVPI is a fund-level, net multiple, divided by all the capital LPs paid in, fees included. For a whole fund the SEC called them "similar performance metrics", but TVPI comes out lower because fees and carry are taken out first.
Can MOIC be negative?
No. MOIC can't go below 0x, which means the investment was written off entirely. Any MOIC under 1.0x means the investor got back less than they put in: 0.5x means half the money is gone. IRR is different and can turn negative.
How do you convert MOIC to IRR?
For one check in and one exit out, IRR = MOIC^(1 / years) − 1. A 2.5x over five years is about 20.1%, and the same 2.5x over ten years is about 9.6%. With several dated cash flows, run XIRR on the flows instead, as the calculator's cash-flow mode does.
What is the difference between gross and net MOIC?
Gross MOIC is measured before management fees, fund expenses and carried interest. Net MOIC is what's left for LPs after them. The gap is wide: Fred Wilson's 2008 model needed 4x gross on investments to deliver 2.5x net to limited partners. Always ask which one you're being shown.
Does MOIC include debt?
MOIC counts the equity invested, not the debt used alongside it. A deal financed partly with debt can therefore show a higher MOIC on the same exit value, because less equity went in. That extra multiple comes with extra risk, which MOIC doesn't measure.
Related metrics and guides
Sources
Every link was opened and checked. Archived copies guard against links that move or disappear.
Academic
- How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?. Gompers, Gornall, Kaplan & Strebulaev, Journal of Financial Economics, 2020. Journal version paywalled; free NBER working paper linked. Archived copy
- What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do?. Gompers, Kaplan & Mukharlyamov, Journal of Financial Economics, 2016. Journal version paywalled; free NBER working paper linked. Archived copy
- Private Equity Performance: Returns, Persistence, and Capital Flows. Kaplan & Schoar, Journal of Finance, 2005. Free NBER working paper linked. Archived copy
- Private Equity Performance: What Do We Know?. Harris, Jenkinson & Kaplan, Journal of Finance, 2014. Journal version paywalled; quote is from the free 2012 NBER working paper.
- Has Persistence Persisted in Private Equity? Evidence from Buyout and Venture Capital Funds. Harris, Jenkinson, Kaplan & Stucke, Journal of Corporate Finance, 2023. Free NBER working paper linked. Archived copy
- Do Private Equity Funds Manipulate Reported Returns?. Brown, Gredil & Kaplan, Journal of Financial Economics, 2019. Free NBER working paper linked. Archived copy
- Interim Valuations, Predictability, and Outcomes in Private Equity. Ercan, Kaplan & Strebulaev, NBER Working Paper 33637, Apr 2025. Working paper.
- Risk-Adjusted Performance of Private Funds: What Do We Know?. Brown, Lundblad & Volckmann, UNC Institute for Private Capital, Mar 2025. Working paper. Archived copy
- Distorting Private Equity Performance: The Rise of Fund Debt. Albertus & Denes, Kenan Institute, Jun 2019. Working paper. Archived copy
- Private Equity: Past, Present and Future (slides). Steven N. Kaplan, hosted by EDHEC, Jan 2024. Archived copy
- Yale. How an IRR Became a Legend.. Ludovic Phalippou (Substack), 9 Jan 2026. Newsletter.
- Patience, Illiquidity, and the Power Law: Why VC Is Nothing Like the Stock Market. Ilya Strebulaev (Substack), 11 Sep 2026. Newsletter.
Primary data
- Private Equity Program (PEP) Fund Performance Review. CalPERS, As of 31 Mar 2026. Archived copy
- VC Fund Performance: Q1 2026. Carta (Peter Walker, Kevin Dowd), 4 Jun 2026. Vendor data from Carta-administered funds. Archived copy
- VC Fund Performance: Q3 2025. Carta, 16 Dec 2025. Vendor data. Archived copy
- Fund Benchmarks: A Mid-Year 2026 Refresh. AngelList (Abe Othman), 4 Sep 2026. Vendor data; full report gated. Archived copy
- Venture Capital — We're Still Not Normal. Correlation Ventures (David Coats), 13 Jul 2023. Archived copy
- Global Secondary Market Review, July 2026. Jefferies, Jul 2026. An adviser on secondary deals.
- Private Capital in Focus: Trends to Watch for 2026. MSCI, 14 Jan 2026. Archived copy
Standard
- ILPA Releases Updated Reporting Template and New Performance Template for Industry Adoption. ILPA, 22 Jan 2025. Archived copy
- Performance Template Definitions: Granular Methodology (v1.1). ILPA, Jan 2025.
- Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) for Firms 2020. CFA Institute, Effective 1 Jan 2020. Archived copy
- Interpretive Guidance for Private Equity. CFA Institute (GIPS), Effective 1 Jan 2005. Archived copy
- 2024 NAV-Based Facilities Guidance for Limited Partners and General Partners. ILPA, Jul 2024. Archived copy
Regulation
- Private Fund Advisers; Documentation of Registered Investment Adviser Compliance Reviews. SEC (Federal Register), 14 Sep 2023. Vacated in June 2024. Archived copy
- National Association of Private Fund Managers v. SEC (No. 23-60471). US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 5 Jun 2024. Archived copy
- 17 CFR 275.206(4)-1: Investment adviser marketing. SEC (eCFR), Adopted Dec 2020. Archived copy
- Private market valuation practices. UK Financial Conduct Authority, 5 Mar 2025. Archived copy
Consultancy
- Global Private Equity Report 2026: Welcome to a New Era. Bain & Company, 22 Feb 2026. Archived copy
- PE-Backed Carve-Outs Used to Be Reliable Winners (Global Private Equity Report 2025). Bain & Company, DealEdge data, 3 Mar 2025. Archived copy
- Stuck in Place: Private Equity Midyear Report 2023. Bain & Company, 17 Jul 2023. Archived copy
- Global Private Markets Report 2026. McKinsey & Company, Jun 2026. Archived copy
- Global Private Markets Report 2025: Braced for Shifting Weather. McKinsey & Company, May 2025.
Practitioner
- Cracking the Venture Code: Power Laws & Fund Returners. Balentic (podcast transcript with David Clark of VenCap), 17 Sep 2025. Archived copy
- The Simple Math Behind a 3x Venture Fund: Why Your Best Investment Needs to Return the Whole Thing. Jason Lemkin (SaaStr), 8 Aug 2026.
- Venture Fund Economics: Gross and Net Returns. Fred Wilson (AVC), 3 Aug 2008.
- You Can't Eat IRR. Howard Marks (Oaktree memo), 12 Jul 2006.
- Can Your Start-up 'Return The Fund?'. Harlem Capital, 19 May 2020.
- How Hard Is It to Generate a 10X Return on an Investment?. NextView Ventures (Rob Go), 2017; updated 2024. Archived copy
News
- Venture capital's current recovery is all IRR, no DPI. PitchBook (Kyle Stanford), 4 Aug 2026. Archived copy
- Sponsors pushed for a bigger slice of continuation fund profits in H1. PitchBook (Rod James), Aug 2026. Archived copy
- PE's biggest skeptic pokes holes in "useless" IRR. PitchBook (interview by Jessica Hamlin), 22 Jun 2026. Archived copy
- Continuation Vehicle Terms Remain Stable After Record Year for Global Secondaries Transactions. Morgan Lewis, 5 May 2026. Law-firm study of its own deals. Archived copy
- Private Equity Payouts at Major Firms Plummet 49% in Two Years. Bloomberg News, 21 Feb 2024. Paywalled. Archived copy
Changes to this page
- · Major · Page published. Benchmarks as of Q1 2026, compiled 2 October 2026.
Cite this page
Dominique Bouillet, "MOIC (multiple on invested capital): formula, calculator and benchmarks", CX Cash, updated Oct 6, 2026, https://cxcash.com/metrics/moic
CX Cash builds software for founders and investors. This page is education, not investment advice. Third-party figures link to their source, and our own arithmetic and illustrative examples are labelled as such.