DPI vs TVPI

The short version

Cash back, value still held, and the two together

Private funds report three multiples, all measured against paid-in capital, the money LPs have actually sent so far. The GIPS standards, the performance-presentation code run by CFA Institute, name them:

DPI (distributions to paid-in, the realisation multiple) is cash in your account. RVPI (residual value to paid-in) is what the fund says the investments it still holds are worth. TVPI (total value to paid-in, the investment multiple) adds the two.

Why IRR tells a different story

The internal rate of return is a money-weighted return: it reflects the timing and size of every cash flow in and out. Carta puts the contrast neatly: IRR is tied closely to when returns arrive, while TVPI is time neutral. A fund that returns 1.5x in four years and one that takes twelve report the same TVPI and very different IRRs.

Time matters because cash comes back slowly. In Carta’s Q2 2026 data, US venture funds of the 2017 vintage, now close to ten years old, had a median DPI of 0.37x: most of their reported value was still on paper.

Gross, net and credit lines

Gross figures are before fees, expenses and carry; net figures are what LPs actually earn. In the US, the SEC’s marketing rule says an adviser’s advertisement may not show gross performance unless net performance is shown with at least equal prominence, over the same period and method.

Funds that borrow against LPs’ commitments (a subscription line) delay capital calls, which can lift IRR without changing the multiple much. ILPA’s 2025 performance templates, as summarised by Alston & Bird, ask for figures with and without the effect of these facilities.

Questions to ask about any fund report

1. What is the DPI, and how much of the TVPI is still NAV?
2. Are the figures net of fees, expenses and carry? Where is net shown next to gross?
3. What is the as-of date, and what vintage year is the fund?
4. What is IRR with and without the subscription line?
5. How are the remaining holdings valued, and by whom?

Education only. This page explains how fund structures and terms generally work. It is not investment, legal or tax advice and is not a view on any fund, manager or product. Worked examples are hypothetical.