TVPI (total value to paid-in capital): formula, calculator and VC benchmarks
What is TVPI?
TVPI (total value to paid-in capital) is the cash a fund has returned plus the value of what it still holds, divided by the capital its investors have paid in: TVPI = (distributions + NAV) ÷ paid-in capital. A 1.6x TVPI means $1.60 of value per $1 contributed, but only the DPI part is cash.
Key facts
- The GIPS standards list TVPI, the "investment multiple", among the figures a firm must present for any pooled fund with committed capital, alongside DPI, RVPI and the PIC multiple. (GIPS, 2020)
- The median 2017-vintage US VC fund on Carta has a 1.64x net TVPI, of which 0.31x has been paid out in cash; the top quartile starts at 2.20x (Q1 2026). (Carta, Q1 2026)
- Carta describes 3x as "commonly viewed as the threshold for true success among mature VC funds". (Carta, Q1 2026)
- At a fund's midpoint, TVPI is "a better indicator" of where a vintage is headed than year-5 DPI, according to PitchBook research. (PitchBook, Aug 2026)
- In ILPA's example, delaying capital calls with a credit line lifts IRR from 6.62% to 7.98% while TVPI falls from 1.45x to 1.35x. (ILPA, 2017)
TVPI calculator
Enter what LPs have paid in, what the fund has paid back and what its remaining holdings are worth. The calculator splits TVPI into its cash part (DPI) and its paper part (RVPI), and places the result against 2017-vintage US VC funds, the most mature vintage in Carta's data.
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How to calculate TVPI
TVPI = (Distributions + NAV) ÷ Paid-in capital = DPI + RVPI
In words: add what the fund has paid back to what its remaining holdings are worth, and divide by everything investors have paid in.
- Distributions: Cash (or stock) the fund has paid out to its LPs since inception.
- NAV: Net asset value: the current estimated value of what the fund still holds, as marked by the manager.
- Paid-in capital: Everything LPs have contributed so far, management fees included. Not the commitment, which may not all be called yet.
Worked example
An illustrative $50M fund in its seventh year. LPs have paid in 90% of their commitments, fees included; the fund has sold some stakes and holds the rest at its latest marks. The results below are computed by the calculator's tested code.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Paid-in capital (90% of $50M called) | $45,000,000 |
| Distributions to LPs so far | $18,000,000 |
| Net asset value of the remaining holdings | $54,000,000 |
TVPI: 1.60x DPI: 0.40xRVPI: 1.20xShare of value already in cash: 25.0%
TVPI = (18,000,000 + 54,000,000) ÷ 45,000,000 = 1.60x = DPI 0.40x + RVPI 1.20x
Three quarters of this 1.60x is still a mark. If the remaining holdings are written down by a quarter before they are sold, TVPI falls to 1.30x; the 0.40x of DPI is the only part that can't move.
In a spreadsheet
- TVPI, with distributions in B2, NAV in B3 and paid-in capital in B4: =(B2+B3)/B4
- DPI, the cash part: =B2/B4
- RVPI, the paper part: =B3/B4
- Share of the TVPI already returned in cash: =B2/(B2+B3)
How founders and investors read TVPI
If you're the founder
- Your company sits inside your investors' TVPI, usually at the price of your last round. A higher-priced round lifts their TVPI on paper; a down round cuts it. Neither changes their DPI.
- Their LPs keep asking how much of a TVPI is cash. In the 2019 and 2020 vintages, Carta found median DPIs "still barely over zero" (Carta, Q1 2026). That is why some investors welcome selling part of a stake in a later round.
- SAFEs complicate marks. Until a priced round, many VCs hold a SAFE at cost; some now also report a "SAFE Adjusted TVPI" that values it at the cap (Hunter Walk, 2026).
Questions you'll be asked
- When do you expect your next priced round, and at what valuation?
- What could force a markdown before then?
- Would you support early investors selling part of their stake in the next round?
- How much runway do you have if the next round takes longer than planned?
If you're the investor or LP
- Split it. TVPI = DPI + RVPI, so ask how much of the headline is cash already returned and how much is still a valuation.
- Net or gross, and with or without the subscription line? ILPA's template asks for net TVPI both ways (ILPA).
- Compare like with like. The median 2017-vintage fund is 1.64x on Carta but 3.07x on AngelList: different universes, so benchmark a fund only against the dataset and vintage it belongs to.
Questions to ask a GP
- Is this TVPI net of fees, expenses and carry?
- How much of it is DPI, and how much is RVPI?
- How is each private holding valued, and when was it last marked?
- Which vintage benchmark do you compare against, and from which dataset?
- How has the TVPI moved over the last four quarters?
What is a good TVPI?
A good TVPI depends on the fund's age. Young funds sit near 1x while they invest; mature funds are judged against their vintage. The figures below are net of fees and carry unless noted.
Show the numbers
| Vintage | Median | Top quartile |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1.64x | 2.20x |
| 2018 | 1.40x | 2.14x |
| 2019 | 1.24x | 1.62x |
| 2020 | 1.12x | 1.54x |
| 2021 | 1.04x | 1.29x |
| 2022 | 1.08x | 1.33x |
| 2023 | 1.00x | 1.20x |
| 2024 | 0.97x | 1.14x |
Benchmarks
| Segment | Measure | Typical | Top quartile | As of | Sample | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US VC funds (Carta), net TVPI · The data behind the chart above, from Carta's summary table. 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 |
| 2023 vintage | Net TVPI | 1.00x | 1.20x | Q1 2026 | 280 funds | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| 2024 vintage | Net TVPI | 0.97x | 1.14x | Q1 2026 | 244 funds | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| Emerging-manager funds (AngelList), TVPI · A different universe from Carta, so don't compare across the two blocks. AngelList calls its IRRs net but doesn't say whether its TVPIs are. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 2023 vintage | TVPI | 1.11x | 1.58x | 1 Jul 2026 | Not disclosed | AngelList, Jul 2026 |
| Thresholds and program totals | ||||||
| Mature VC fund | Net TVPI read as true success | 3x | — | Q1 2026 | Convention reported by Carta | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| CalPERS private equity program | Net multiple since inception | 1.5x | — | 31 Mar 2026 | All active PE partnerships | CalPERS, Mar 2026 |
The top decile pulls away from everyone else. In the 2017 vintage on Carta, the 90th percentile is 3.46x against a 2.20x top quartile and a 1.64x median (Q1 2026).
Few funds clear 1x in cash. Carta's 2017 vintage has a 0.31x median DPI behind its 1.64x median TVPI, and less than 20% of 2017 and 2018 funds have reached 1x DPI.
Compiled Oct 2, 2026. Next review: December 2026, after Carta's Q3 2026 release. Left out: Cambridge Associates (Its licence bars reuse of its benchmark figures without written permission); PitchBook benchmarks (Available to PitchBook clients only). Download these benchmarks as CSV.
TVPI in the wild: four 2.1x funds, from all cash to all paper
Four CalPERS private equity commitments, each at a 2.1x net multiple, as CalPERS reported them as of 31 March 2026. CalPERS's multiple is cash out plus remaining value over cash in, which is TVPI from CalPERS's seat. The cash-back column is DPI, our arithmetic from CalPERS's figures. (CalPERS, Mar 2026)
| Fund (vintage) | Cash in | Cash out | Cash out + remaining value | Net IRR | Multiple | Cash back (DPI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund III, L.P. (2008) | $512.1M | $1.06B | $1.06B | 20.2% | 2.1x | 2.07x |
| Advent International GPE VIII-B Limited Partnership (2016) | $500.0M | $774.4M | $1.04B | 15.1% | 2.1x | 1.55x |
| CVC Capital Partners VII (A) L.P. (2018) | $590.3M | $769.2M | $1.25B | 19.5% | 2.1x | 1.30x |
| Lightspeed Venture Partners XIV-B (Ignite), L.P. (2022)† | $51.1M | $0 | $106.5M | 34.5% | 2.1x | 0.00x |
† CalPERS flags every fund with a vintage of 2021 or later as Not Meaningful.
Same 2.1x, four different stories. Ares's 2008 fund has paid back 2.07 times the money, so its multiple is almost all cash. Advent's 2016 fund has paid back 1.55 times and CVC's 2018 fund 1.30 times. Lightspeed's 2022 fund has paid back nothing yet: its 2.1x is all marks.
CalPERS warns 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." The remaining value in each row is the managers' own estimate.
TVPI vs DPI, RVPI, MOIC, IRR and PME
| Metric | Answers | Ignores | Use it when | It misleads when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TVPI | Total value per dollar LPs paid in, usually net | Time, and how much is still paper | Tracking a fund against its vintage | Marks are stale or optimistic |
| DPI | Cash returned per dollar paid in | Value still held | Judging a mature fund, or what LPs can spend | Early in a fund's life |
| RVPI | Unrealized value per dollar paid in | Cash already returned | Sizing how much of a TVPI is still at risk | Read without DPI beside it |
| MOIC | Value per dollar invested in deals, usually gross | Fees, carry and time | Judging a deal or a portfolio | Set against a net TVPI |
| IRR | Annual rate of return, timing included | How much money was made | Comparing speed, or testing a required return | Exits come early or a credit line delays calls |
| PME | Return against a public index over the same dates | Absolute size | Asking whether illiquidity paid off | The index doesn't fit the strategy |
TVPI = DPI + RVPI, so the cash part and the paper part always add up to the headline. A fund's net TVPI sits below the gross MOIC of its portfolio, because fees, expenses and carry come out of the value while the fees LPs paid stay in the denominator.
The annual return behind a TVPI
TVPI has no clock in it. The grid shows the IRR a multiple implies if all the capital went in on day one, computed by the calculator's code. Real funds call capital over several years, so money is at work for less time and the true IRR on the same TVPI is higher.
| TVPI | 5 years | 7 years | 10 years | 12 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5x | 8.4% | 6.0% | 4.1% | 3.4% |
| 2.0x | 14.9% | 10.4% | 7.2% | 5.9% |
| 3.0x | 24.6% | 17.0% | 11.6% | 9.6% |
| 5.0x | 38.0% | 25.8% | 17.5% | 14.4% |
Common mistakes: how TVPI gets flattered
- Reading paper as cash. TVPI mixes cash already returned with an estimate of what is still held. Carta's Q1 2026 report: "it's worth emphasizing that most of these gains are still on paper" (Carta). Split TVPI into DPI and RVPI before reading it.
- Trusting marks that only go one way. Marks reverse. AngelList found the 2017 vintage "peaked in median TVPI at the end of Q1 2022 and has fallen roughly 25% since then" (AngelList, Sep 2026).
- Comparing funds of different ages. A young fund pays fees before its investments grow, so it starts below 1x: the median 2024-vintage US VC fund on Carta is at 0.97x. Compare a fund only with funds of its own vintage.
- Dividing by commitments. The denominator is capital paid in, not capital committed. Early in a fund's life only part of the commitments has been called, so dividing by commitments understates TVPI (our arithmetic).
- Setting net against gross. A gross MOIC on deals and a net TVPI for LPs measure different things, and the gap between them is fees, expenses and carry. ILPA's template reports both, labelled.
- Forgetting the credit line. A subscription line lifts IRR but trims TVPI, because the fund pays interest. Albertus and Denes found that it "decreases a fund's TVPI by an average of 0.006" (2019), small next to its effect on IRR.
Where TVPI came from and how it's regarded today
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | AngelList: every vintage from 2019 onward raised its median TVPI in the first half of 2026, while "DPI barely moved across the board". | AngelList, Jul 2026 |
| Aug 2026 | PitchBook's Kyle Stanford: at a fund's midpoint, TVPI is "a better indicator" of where a vintage is headed than year-5 DPI. | PitchBook, Aug 2026 |
| Jun 2026 | Carta reports that the median net TVPI rose in Q1 2026 for every recent vintage except 2017. | Carta, Q1 2026 |
| Jun 2026 | Hunter Walk describes a "SAFE Adjusted TVPI" column that early-stage VCs add to their LP reports. | Walk, 2026 |
| Jan 2025 | ILPA's Performance Template defines fund-level net TVPI, with and without subscription facilities, for adoption from Q1 2026. | ILPA, Jan 2025 |
| Nov 2024 | Carta finds the 2018 vintage's median TVPI fell from 1.55x to 1.37x over the four quarters to Q1 2024. | Carta, Nov 2024 |
| 2020 | The 2020 GIPS standards require TVPI, DPI, RVPI and the PIC multiple for any pooled fund with committed capital. | GIPS, 2020 |
| 2019 | Albertus and Denes measure subscription lines lowering TVPI slightly while lifting IRR. | Albertus & Denes, 2019 |
| Jun 2017 | ILPA's guidance on subscription lines shows one credit line raising IRR and lowering TVPI in the same example. | ILPA, 2017 |
| Sep 2013 | LP Chris Douvos calls TVPI "the private equity equivalent" of a misleading first-quarter score. | Douvos, 2013 |
| 2005–06 | The GIPS private equity provisions require the investment multiple (TVPI) and the realization multiple (DPI) for each year presented. | GIPS, 2005 |
| 2003 | Ljungqvist and Richardson note that Venture Economics' TVPI is the main performance measure in Kaplan and Schoar's study of fund returns. | Ljungqvist & Richardson, 2003 |
How it's regarded today
- Still mostly paper. Carta: "Unrealized valuations of VC-owned assets may be trending up. But realized gains—the deals that actually put cash in investors' pockets—are still relatively few and far between" (Carta, Q1 2026).
- The top pulls away. "For vintages from the late 2010s, the gulf in TVPI between the best-performing funds and the rest of the pack is starting to widen" (Carta, Q1 2026).
- Reported both ways. ILPA's 2025 template standardizes "IRRs and TVPI/MOIC, with designated breakouts for reporting the relevant gross and net figures with and without the impact of fund-level subscription facilities" (ILPA).
- Back in favour as a predictor. With distributions scarce, PitchBook's research finds TVPI a better guide than year-5 DPI to where a vintage will end up (PitchBook, Aug 2026).
- The Cash Flow, Return and Risk Characteristics of Private Equity (Ljungqvist & Richardson, 2003). TVPI was the main performance measure in early fund-return studies built on Venture Economics data.
- Distorting Private Equity Performance: The Rise of Fund Debt (Albertus & Denes, 2019). Subscription lines lower TVPI by 0.006 on average, about 0.4%, while lifting IRR far more.
- Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) for Firms (GIPS, 2020). The standard definitions of TVPI, DPI, RVPI and the PIC multiple, and when firms must present them.
- Performance Template Definitions: Granular Methodology (v1.1) (ILPA, 2025). The industry definition of fund-level net TVPI, with and without subscription facilities.
- Why 2021 vintage funds shouldn't panic yet (PitchBook, Aug 2026). At a fund's midpoint, TVPI predicts where a vintage is headed better than DPI does.
What experts say about TVPI
“Realized returns are still the missing piece. DPI barely moved across the board. Paper marks are recovering faster than cash is coming back to LPs.”
“The increasingly standard way to communicate this is by adding a column to your financial reporting that’s essentially ‘SAFE Adjusted TVPI’ alongside your more standard TVPI calculations.”
“With TVPI, a big question for LPs is, what are individual companies marked at? … Because it's very hard to know how and when things will eventually exit.”
“In this market, sometimes you'll see these crazy markups where MOICs (Multiple on Invested Capital) and TVPIs are high. But they don't necessarily realize those gains.”
Where they disagree
An LP and a researcher on whether a TVPI tells you how a fund will end.
“Yet TVPI has been feeling pretty useless as a predictor of final performance unless the D(distributions relative to)PI quotient is pretty high.”
“When looking at the data, though, total value to paid-in capital (TVPI), or the total value a fund has generated relative to what investors put in, is a better indicator at the fund's midway point of where the vintage is headed.”
TVPI FAQ
What is TVPI in private equity and venture capital?
TVPI stands for total value to paid-in capital. It is the cash a fund has paid back to its investors plus the current value of what it still holds, divided by the capital those investors have paid in. The GIPS standards also call it the investment multiple. Above 1x, the fund is worth more than was put in, at least on paper.
How do you calculate TVPI?
Add the distributions paid to LPs to the fund's current net asset value, then divide by the capital LPs have paid in, fees included: TVPI = (distributions + NAV) ÷ paid-in capital. A fund that has called $45M, paid back $18M and holds $54M has a TVPI of 1.60x.
What is a good TVPI?
It depends on the fund's age. On Carta, the median 2017-vintage US VC fund is at 1.64x net and the top quartile starts at 2.20x (Q1 2026), while funds from 2023 and 2024 sit near 1x because they are still investing. For a mature VC fund, Carta says 3x is commonly viewed as true success.
What is the difference between TVPI and DPI?
DPI counts only the cash a fund has paid back; TVPI adds the value of what it still holds, so TVPI = DPI + RVPI. A fund at 1.6x TVPI and 0.4x DPI has returned 40 cents per dollar in cash, and the other $1.20 is still a valuation.
Is TVPI the same as MOIC?
Same idea, different level. MOIC usually measures deals or a portfolio, before fees. TVPI measures the fund from the LP's seat, normally net of fees, expenses and carry, over all the capital LPs paid in. ILPA's template reports net TVPI for the fund and MOIC for the portfolio.
Is TVPI net or gross?
It can be either, so ask. ILPA's net TVPI uses the fee-paying investors' share of NAV and distributions over everything they contributed, shown with and without subscription facilities. Gross TVPI is before management fees, expenses and carried interest, so it is higher.
What does a TVPI below 1x mean?
The fund's distributions plus remaining value are less than the capital paid in, so on paper LPs are down. That is normal in the first years, when fees are paid and investments are held near cost: the median 2024-vintage US VC fund on Carta was at 0.97x in Q1 2026.
Does TVPI account for time?
No. A 2x TVPI reads the same after four years or twelve, which is why funds report IRR next to it. For a single check, 2x over five years is about 14.9% a year, and over ten years about 7.2% (our arithmetic).
Related metrics and guides
Sources
Every link was opened and checked. Archived copies guard against links that move or disappear.
Academic
- The Cash Flow, Return and Risk Characteristics of Private Equity. Ljungqvist & Richardson, NBER Working Paper 9454, 2003. Free NBER working paper. Archived copy
- Distorting Private Equity Performance: The Rise of Fund Debt. Albertus & Denes, Kenan Institute, Jun 2019. Working paper. Archived copy
Primary data
- VC Fund Performance: Q1 2026. Carta (Peter Walker, Kevin Dowd), 4 Jun 2026. Vendor data from Carta-administered funds; its charts disagree at the top decile. Contested. Archived copy
- Recent VC vintages struggle with a dip in TVPI—and with how to value their investments. Carta (Kevin Dowd), 5 Nov 2024. Vendor data from Carta-administered funds. Archived copy
- Fund Benchmarks: A Mid-Year 2026 Refresh. AngelList (Abe Othman), 4 Sep 2026. Vendor data; full report gated. Archived copy
- Private Equity Program (PEP) Fund Performance Review. CalPERS, As of 31 Mar 2026. Archived copy
Standard
- Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) for Firms. CFA Institute (GIPS), Effective 1 Jan 2020. Archived copy
- Interpretive Guidance for Private Equity. CFA Institute (GIPS), Effective 1 Jan 2005. Archived copy
- Performance Template Definitions: Granular Methodology (v1.1). ILPA, Jan 2025.
- ILPA Releases Updated Reporting Template and New Performance Template for Industry Adoption. ILPA, 22 Jan 2025. Archived copy
- Subscription Lines of Credit and Alignment of Interests. ILPA, Jun 2017. Guidance. Archived copy
Practitioner
- SAFE Adjusted TVPI: How Early Stage VCs Should Communicate SAFE Note Markups to their LPs. Hunter Walk (blog), 6 Jun 2026. Practitioner opinion. Archived copy
- All About the Benjamins. Chris Douvos (Super LP blog), 24 Sep 2013. Practitioner opinion. Archived copy
News
- Why 2021 vintage funds shouldn't panic yet. PitchBook (Kyle Stanford), 7 Aug 2026. Summary of PitchBook research; the full note is for clients. Archived copy
Changes to this page
- · Major · Page published. Benchmarks as of Q1 2026 (Carta) and 1 July 2026 (AngelList), compiled 2 October 2026.
Cite this page
Dominique Bouillet, "TVPI (total value to paid-in capital): formula, calculator and VC benchmarks", CX Cash, updated Oct 9, 2026, https://cxcash.com/metrics/tvpi
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.