DPI

TL;DR

Distributions to Paid-In capital — the cash a fund has returned to LPs divided by total capital called, the realized portion of TVPI.

DPI measures actual cash returned. A DPI of 1.0× means the fund has returned all the capital LPs put in; anything above 1.0× is realized profit. DPI is the metric LPs care most about late in a fund's life because paper marks (RVPI) eventually need to convert into cash.

For venture funds, DPI tends to lag TVPI by years because exits (IPO, M&A, secondary) happen on long horizons. A fund with high TVPI and low DPI for years past its expected liquidation cycle is a yellow flag.

Formula

DPI = Distributions to LPs ÷ Paid-In Capital

• Distributions to LPs — Realized cash and stock returned (after carry, after recycling)
• Paid-In Capital — Total capital called from LPs to date

DPI ≥ 1.0× means LPs have at least gotten their money back in cash. DPI is the 'realized' multiple; TVPI − DPI is the unrealized markup.

Worked example

Fund II has called $300M and returned $360M to LPs. DPI = $360M ÷ $300M = 1.2× — LPs are 1.2× cash-on-cash before any remaining NAV is realized.

Common pitfalls

• Conflating TVPI with DPI and overstating cash returns.
• Treating DPI of 1.0× late in fund life as 'success' instead of break-even.
• Ignoring DPI gap when comparing fund performance.

When this shows up in a pitch deck

Fund-level metric.

See DPI in context

DPI shows up most often in these scoring rubrics and investor profiles — jump straight to who cares about it and how to pitch them.

For investor types

• Family Office — Risk & Returns

Related terms

• TVPI — Total Value to Paid-In capital — the sum of distributions and remaining NAV divided by capital paid in, used by VC LPs.
• RVPI — Residual Value to Paid-In capital — the unrealized portion of fund NAV divided by capital called, the paper portion of TVPI.
• MOIC — Multiple on Invested Capital — total value (realized + unrealized) divided by total capital invested, a simple time-insensitive return metric.
• IRR — Internal Rate of Return — the annualized return that makes the net present value of all fund cash flows equal to zero.
• Carry (Carried Interest) — The share of fund profits paid to the GPs above a defined hurdle, typically 20% in venture funds — 'carry' is the GP's economic upside.

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