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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