TVPI (total value to paid-in)
Distributions plus remaining value, divided by the capital actually paid in.
TVPI is the total multiple: what the position is worth in all, per euro invested. It ignores timing entirely, so a 2.0x earned in three years and a 2.0x earned in twelve look identical. Because it includes unrealised value, it is only as reliable as the manager's latest NAV mark.
The formula
TVPI = (cumulative distributions + residual value) ÷ paid-in capital
DPI and RVPI share this denominator, which is why TVPI = DPI + RVPI exactly. If the three do not add up, one of them is being quoted on a different basis.
A worked example
An LP has paid in €3,000,000. The manager has distributed €1,800,000 and marks the remaining position at €4,200,000. TVPI is (1,800,000 + 4,200,000) ÷ 3,000,000 = 2.0x. Split it and DPI is 0.6x while RVPI is 1.4x — so seventy per cent of that 2.0x is still an unrealised mark, not money anyone has received.
The comparisons people search for
- TVPI vs MOIC
In most reporting they are the same arithmetic and the labels get used interchangeably. Where they diverge, MOIC is usually quoted gross of fees and at the deal level, while TVPI is quoted net and at the fund level. Before comparing a MOIC from one manager with a TVPI from another, check which side of the fees each one sits on.
- TVPI vs DPI
DPI is the part of TVPI that has actually been paid out; the difference between them is RVPI, which lives entirely in the manager's NAV mark. A 2.0x TVPI with a 0.2x DPI and a 2.0x TVPI with a 1.8x DPI describe very different positions, and only one of them has returned real money.
- TVPI vs IRR
TVPI ignores time completely; IRR is almost entirely about it. The same 2.0x earned over four years and over twelve is one number in TVPI and two very different ones in IRR. Neither is sufficient alone, which is why credible reporting quotes both.
- What counts as a good TVPI?
It depends almost entirely on vintage and how far into the fund's life you are. A 1.1x in year two and a 1.1x in year ten mean opposite things. Comparing TVPI across funds is only meaningful within the same vintage year, which is why vintage is reported alongside it.
Worth knowing
- Also called the investment multiple or total value multiple.
- Quoted as a multiple (2.0x), never as a percentage.
- Only as reliable as the NAV behind its residual value component.
- Net TVPI is after fees and carry, gross TVPI before; the two are not comparable.
See these numbers on your own portfolio
Wealth Management by Zahlenwerk computes them from the statements you forward in, and keeps every figure traceable to the document it came from.
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