Distributions to Paid-In Capital (DPI)

Distributions to paid-in capital (DPI) is a fund's cumulative distributions to limited partners divided by the capital they have paid in, which the Global Investment Performance Standards call the realization multiple.

Reviewed by Peleg Chevion, Managing Partner

Formula

DPI equals cumulative distributions divided by cumulative paid-in capital. Each term is defined in the 2020 Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) for Firms, published by CFA Institute.

Cumulative distributions are the cash or stock distributed to limited partners from the fund since inception, and they include both recallable and non-recallable distributions, according to the GIPS glossary. The ILPA Performance Template is built to show distributions net of carried interest and gross of recallable distributions, and a manager that departs from either convention is asked to disclose it in the template footnotes.
Paid-in capital is the capital inflow to the fund, which the GIPS glossary defines to include committed capital drawn through capital calls and distributions that are later recalled and reinvested. The ILPA Capital Call and Distribution Template treats a return of excess capital called as a negative contribution that reduces paid-in capital and is not a distribution.
Relationship to other multiples: PitchBook states that total value to paid-in (TVPI) equals DPI plus residual value to paid-in (RVPI), so DPI is the realized part of TVPI.

Because the numerator contains only value already distributed, a revaluation of unsold holdings does not move DPI.

Hypothetical $100 million fund at year 6: DPI of 0.25x plus RVPI of 0.95x equals TVPI of 1.20x. Definitions follow the 2020 GIPS Standards for Firms glossary.

Worked Example

Consider a hypothetical $100 million fund. After six years its limited partners have paid in $80 million, including capital called for management fees, and the fund has distributed $20 million to them, net of carried interest. The unsold holdings carry a residual value of $76 million.

DPI is $20 million divided by $80 million, which is 0.25x.
RVPI is $76 million divided by $80 million, which is 0.95x.
TVPI is ($20 million plus $76 million) divided by $80 million, which is 1.20x, the sum of 0.25x and 0.95x.

In year seven, suppose limited partners pay in a further $10 million and the fund distributes a further $26 million. DPI becomes ($20 million plus $26 million) divided by ($80 million plus $10 million), or 0.51x. If $5 million of that $26 million was recallable and the fund later recalls it, the $5 million stays in distributions and also enters paid-in capital under the GIPS definition, so DPI becomes $46 million divided by $95 million, or 0.48x.

What It Means for a Limited Partner

DPI is the share of paid-in capital an allocator has already received in cash, and no valuation judgment can change it. A TVPI of 1.20x and a DPI of 0.25x describe the same fund, but the first rests largely on the manager's carrying values and the second rests on cash received. Provision 7.A.4 of the 2020 GIPS Standards for Firms requires a pooled fund with committed capital that reports money-weighted returns to present DPI beside TVPI, RVPI, paid-in capital, distributions and committed capital.

DPI is low in early years by design, because capital is called before holdings are sold. PitchBook Benchmarks, with data as of December 31, 2024, show a global private equity median DPI of 0.56x for 2018 vintage funds and 0.31x for 2019 vintage funds, net of fees and accrued carry. Bain & Company's Global Private Equity Report 2026 states that distributions as a percentage of net asset value have held below 15 percent for four years running and stood at 14 percent for the twelve months through September 2025, on MSCI data.

ILPA's Performance Template guidance does not define DPI by name. It standardizes net IRR and net TVPI, with and without subscription facilities, and the contributions and distributions from which DPI is computed. ILPA's earlier Quarterly Reporting Standards list DPI among the key fund valuation metrics (ILPA, Quarterly Reporting Standards, Version 1.1, September 2016).

In Life Sciences and Healthcare

In life sciences and healthcare, the timing of distributions follows regulatory and clinical milestones. The FDA's PDUFA VII goals letter commits to acting on 90 percent of standard new molecular entity applications and original biologics license applications within 10 months of the 60-day filing date, so a standard review spans about twelve months from submission.

A sale of a biopharmaceutical company can also defer part of the price: in its 2025 tender offer for scPharmaceuticals, as described in the company's Schedule 14D-9, MannKind offered $5.35 per share in cash plus a non-tradeable contingent value right of up to $1.00 per share, payable on regulatory and net sales milestones. Cash paid at closing can be distributed promptly, while a contingent amount cannot enter DPI until it is paid, whatever value the manager assigns to it.

Governing Authority and Sources

CFA Institute, Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) for Firms, 2020: glossary definitions of DPI (realization multiple), distribution, paid-in capital, TVPI and RVPI; provision 7.A.4.
ILPA, Performance Template Suggested Guidance, Granular Methodology, January 2025: net IRR and net TVPI, distributions net of carry and gross of recallables, implementation dates.
ILPA, Quarterly Reporting Standards, Version 1.1, September 2016: key fund valuation metrics, including DPI.
ILPA, Capital Call and Distribution Template Guidance, September 2025: management fee capital calls and the treatment of returned excess capital.
PitchBook, Global Benchmarks, Q4 2024 with preliminary Q1 2025 data: DPI and TVPI definitions and median DPI by vintage for private equity.
Bain & Company, Global Private Equity Report 2026: distributions as a percentage of net asset value.
FDA, PDUFA Reauthorization Performance Goals and Procedures, Fiscal Years 2023 Through 2027: review performance goals.
scPharmaceuticals Inc., Schedule 14D-9, 2025: cash amount and contingent value right terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DPI in private equity?

DPI in private equity is cumulative distributions to limited partners divided by cumulative paid-in capital. A DPI of 0.51x means investors have received 51 cents in distributions, cash or stock, for every dollar they have paid in. GIPS calls it the realization multiple, and PitchBook calls it the cash-on-cash multiple. Unsold holdings are excluded and appear in RVPI.

What is a good DPI?

A good DPI depends on the age of the fund, because distributions arrive late. In PitchBook's global private equity data as of December 31, 2024, the 2015 vintage showed a median DPI of 1.27x and a top-quartile DPI of 1.67x, while the 2019 vintage showed a median of 0.31x. These are public benchmarks, and a fund should be compared with its own vintage.

What is the difference between DPI and TVPI?

DPI counts only cash already distributed, while TVPI adds the remaining value of unsold holdings. PitchBook states that TVPI equals DPI plus RVPI. In the $100 million fund example, 0.25x of DPI plus 0.95x of RVPI gives 1.20x of TVPI. DPI is realized, and the RVPI inside TVPI depends on the manager's valuation.

DPI belongs to the discussion of growth equity. Related entries: Total Value to Paid-In (TVPI), Multiple on Invested Capital and Private Equity Secondaries.