Glossary · Fund life

What is RVPI?

RVPI, residual value to paid-in capital, divides the value of what a fund still holds by the money investors paid in. It is the unrealized part of the return.

In practice

RVPI appears in quarterly LP reports next to DPI, and the two add up to TVPI. It usually uses reported NAV as the numerator, net of fees and carried interest, so it is a net figure. It tends to be high in a fund’s early and middle years and falls toward zero as investments are sold. It is sometimes mistaken for a measure of cash returned.

An example

Round numbers, not a real fund

Say investors paid in $100 million and the fund’s remaining investments are valued at $90 million. RVPI is 0.9.

Why it matters

It tells investors how much of the reported gain still depends on the manager’s valuations.

A definition, not advice; where usage varies the entry says so. Something wrong? Tell the desk.

Related terms

DPIDPI, distributions to paid-in capital, divides the cash a fund has returned to investors by the cash they paid in. A DPI of 1.0x means they have their money back.
TVPITVPI, total value to paid-in capital, adds the cash a fund has already returned to the value it still holds, then divides by the money investors paid in.
NAVNet asset value, or NAV, is a fund’s assets minus its liabilities. In private funds it is usually reported quarterly and rests on the manager’s valuations.
MOICMOIC, multiple on invested capital, is the total value an investment has returned or still holds, divided by the money put into it. It ignores how long that took.
J-curveThe J-curve is the usual pattern where a fund’s reported returns dip below zero in its early years, because of fees and costs before investments mature, and then climb.

The terms, in the news each morning.

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