TVPI (Total Value to Paid-In Capital)
A fund performance metric combining realized distributions and the current estimated value of unrealized holdings.
TVPI measures a fund's total value — both cash already distributed to LPs and the current mark-to-market value of remaining unrealized positions — relative to the capital LPs have paid in. It's essentially DPI plus RVPI combined into one number.
TVPI is useful for tracking fund progress mid-life, but it's inherently softer than DPI because unrealized valuations (based on the last priced round, or GP marks) can be optimistic and haven't been tested by an actual sale. A high TVPI driven mostly by unrealized markups on a handful of paper unicorns is a materially different (and riskier) situation than the same TVPI backed mostly by realized DPI.
TVPI is the headline number most funds lead with in performance reports because it captures everything the fund has created in a single multiple. That's also what makes it dangerous to read naively: it treats a realized exit and a GP's internal valuation mark as equivalent, when only the first is certain. The experienced move is to ask what share of a fund's TVPI is DPI (already in LPs' pockets) versus RVPI (still paper) — the larger the paper share, the more you should discount the headline.
TVPI can fall even when nothing is sold. If a portfolio company's last round was priced in a boom and the GP later marks it down to reflect current comparables, RVPI drops and TVPI drops with it. Honest markdowns are a feature of good reporting; stale marks that never move are the real problem.
Standard LP reporting presents TVPI net of management fees and carried interest, because paid-in capital includes the fees LPs were called for and distributions are net of carry. If a GP quotes a gross TVPI, ask for the net figure — gross numbers flatter the fund by ignoring what LPs actually pay.
TVPI = (cumulative distributions + residual value of unrealized holdings) / total paid-in capitalLPs have paid in $40M. The fund has distributed $10M in cash so far (DPI = 0.25x) and holds unrealized positions currently marked at $50M. TVPI = ($10M + $50M) / $40M = 1.5x, even though realized DPI is still low.
Always look at TVPI alongside DPI and the fund's vintage year — a young fund with high TVPI and near-zero DPI simply hasn't had exits yet, which is normal, but a mature fund with the same gap suggests the paper markups may not be converting to real returns.
What's the difference between TVPI and DPI?
DPI counts only cash actually distributed to investors; TVPI adds the current estimated value of unsold, unrealized positions on top of that, making it a paper-inclusive measure rather than a purely realized one.
What's the difference between TVPI and MOIC?
At the fund level they describe the same idea: total value divided by capital in. TVPI is the term used in LP fund reporting, always relative to LP paid-in capital, while MOIC is more often used for a single deal. In casual use they're interchangeable.
How do GPs set the marks inside TVPI?
Under a typical valuation policy, a position is marked at its last round's price per share and adjusted for material later events. Companies that haven't raised in years are the gray zone — the last price may reflect a very different market, and GPs use judgment on whether to hold, haircut, or write down the mark. TVPI inherits whatever judgment went into those marks.
Does TVPI eventually converge with DPI?
Yes. As a fund liquidates, unrealized value either turns into distributions or disappears, so TVPI and DPI meet at the end of the fund's life. In the good case the portfolio sells at or above its marks; in the bad case DPI finishes well below the TVPI that was reported mid-life.
Related terms
Run the numbers yourself: dilution, SAFE conversion, and fund-returner calculators.