Total Value to Paid-In (TVPI)
Total value to paid-in capital (TVPI) is the ratio of a fund's cumulative distributions plus the current value of its remaining investments to the total capital its limited partners have contributed to date.
Reviewed by Peleg Chevion, Managing Partner
The Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) publishes standardized reporting templates and definitions for private fund performance. Its 2025 Performance Template defines Fund-Level Net TVPI as the sum of the fee-paying investors' share of quarter-end net asset value and all distributions made to them, divided by the total capital they contributed "for any purpose" (ILPA, Performance Template Definitions, 2025). The term traces to ILPA's 2011 glossary, which defines TVPI as the ratio of "the current value of remaining investments within a fund plus the total value of all distributions to Limited Partners to date to the total contributions of Limited Partners to date" (ILPA, Quarterly Reporting Standards, Version 1.0, October 2011).
Formula
TVPI is the sum of two components that ILPA lists side by side in its standard reporting table: distributions to paid-in capital (DPI) and residual value to paid-in capital (RVPI). ILPA's sample table shows DPI of 0.3x and RVPI of 0.9x producing TVPI of 1.2x (ILPA, Quarterly Reporting Standards, Version 1.1, September 2016).
TVPI = (D + N) / P = DPI + RVPI
- D is cumulative distributions: all cash and securities paid by the fund to its limited partners to date.
- N is the residual value: the limited partners' share of the fund's remaining investments at the reporting date, which ILPA's Performance Template calls the quarter-end net asset value.
- P is paid-in capital: the total capital the limited partners have contributed to date. ILPA counts contributions inside or outside of commitment, so fees and expenses funded by capital calls belong in P.
- DPI is D / P, the realized portion. RVPI is N / P, the unrealized portion.
TVPI as reported to limited partners is a net multiple. Its numerator, the investors' share of net asset value plus the distributions made to them, is measured after management fees, partnership expenses and carried interest, and its denominator includes capital called for those fees and expenses. ILPA therefore names its measure for an entire private fund Fund-Level Net TVPI and pairs it with a Fund-Level Gross MOIC, whose denominator counts only cash paid in for investment (ILPA, Performance Template Definitions, 2025).
Worked Example
Consider a hypothetical $100 million fund whose capital calls fund both investments and fees, and whose distributions and residual values are net of carried interest. The table shows three reporting dates.
| Reporting date | Paid-in (P) | Distributions (D) | Residual value (N) | DPI | RVPI | TVPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 3 | $40 million | $0 | $36 million | 0.00x | 0.90x | 0.90x |
| Year 6 | $80 million | $20 million | $76 million | 0.25x | 0.95x | 1.20x |
| Year 10 | $95 million | $171 million | $19 million | 1.80x | 0.20x | 2.00x |
At year 6, DPI is $20 million divided by $80 million, or 0.25x; RVPI is $76 million divided by $80 million, or 0.95x; and TVPI is ($20 million plus $76 million) divided by $80 million, or 1.20x, which equals 0.25x plus 0.95x. At year 10, TVPI is $190 million divided by $95 million, or 2.00x, and nearly all of the value has moved from RVPI into DPI.
In year 3, TVPI is below 1.00x because fees and expenses are part of paid-in capital but do not themselves add residual value. All figures are hypothetical.
What It Means for a Limited Partner
TVPI answers one question: for each dollar paid in to date, how many dollars of value exist today, realized and unrealized combined. ILPA's Principles 3.0 glossary adds that TVPI "is considered to be [a] preferable measure of performance before the end of a fund's life".
The ratio carries no time dimension. Two funds can report the same TVPI while one reached it in five years and the other in twelve, so ILPA's Performance Template reports internal rate of return and TVPI together. A limited partner reads TVPI beside the net internal rate of return and the split between its components. A TVPI composed mostly of DPI consists of cash already received; one composed mostly of RVPI rests on fair-value estimates.
Public benchmarks give the scale. PitchBook's global private equity benchmarks, with data as of December 31, 2024 and net of fees and accrued carry, show a median TVPI of 1.88x for 2015 vintage funds, with a top quartile of 2.28x, and medians of 1.65x for 2018 vintage funds and 1.51x for 2019 vintage funds (PitchBook, Global Benchmarks, Q4 2024).
Financing matters as well. ILPA's Principles 3.0 state that limited partners should receive IRR and TVPI or multiple figures "with and without the use of" subscription and other credit facilities, and the Performance Template defines Fund-Level Net TVPI to be calculated both with and without subscription facilities (ILPA, Performance Template Definitions, 2025).
In Life Sciences and Healthcare
In a portfolio of clinical-stage companies, unrealized value is an estimate. Unrealized holdings are measured at fair value, and a measurement that relies on significant unobservable inputs is categorized within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy under FASB ASC Topic 820. Accounting Standards Update 2018-13 amended the Level 3 disclosure requirements in ASC 820-10-50-2, which call for quantitative information about the significant unobservable inputs.
FDA states that about 70 percent of drugs move from Phase 1 to Phase 2, about 33 percent from Phase 2 to Phase 3, and about 25 to 30 percent from Phase 3 to the next stage, with Phase 3 alone lasting one to four years (FDA, "Step 3: Clinical Research"). A readout can therefore move the fair value of a holding, and with it RVPI and TVPI, without any cash changing hands. DPI rises only as companies are sold, merged or listed and proceeds are distributed.
Governing Authority and Sources
- ILPA, Quarterly Reporting Standards, Version 1.0 (October 2011): glossary definitions.
- ILPA, Quarterly Reporting Standards, Version 1.1 (September 2016): key fund valuation metrics table.
- ILPA, Principles 3.0 (2019): TVPI glossary entry; subscription facilities.
- ILPA, Performance Template Definitions, Granular Methodology, v1.1 (2025): definition of Fund-Level Net TVPI.
- Financial Accounting Standards Board, Accounting Standards Update 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): disclosure of significant unobservable inputs for Level 3 measurements (ASC 820-10-50-2 as amended).
- PitchBook, Global Benchmarks, Q4 2024 with preliminary Q1 2025 data: private equity multiples by vintage.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Step 3: Clinical Research: phase durations and advancement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TVPI?
TVPI is total value to paid-in capital, a multiple that adds a fund's cumulative distributions to the current value of its remaining investments and divides the sum by the capital limited partners have paid in. A TVPI of 1.20x means $1.20 of realized and unrealized value for each $1.00 contributed (ILPA, Performance Template Definitions, 2025).
How is TVPI calculated?
Add cumulative distributions to the residual value of the remaining investments, then divide by total paid-in capital. Equivalently, add DPI and RVPI. In a hypothetical $100 million fund with $80 million paid in, $20 million distributed and $76 million of residual value, TVPI is $96 million divided by $80 million, or 1.20x.
What is the difference between TVPI and DPI?
DPI counts only cash and securities already distributed to limited partners, divided by paid-in capital, while TVPI also counts the remaining unrealized value. TVPI equals DPI plus RVPI, so TVPI can never be lower than DPI. In the hypothetical year 6 example, DPI is 0.25x and TVPI is 1.20x.
Related Reference
See the pillar on growth equity, and the related entries Distributions to Paid-In Capital, Multiple on Invested Capital and The J-Curve.