Multiple on Invested Capital vs TVPI: Key Differences Explained

The table compares them on definition, the cash flows used, who uses each, legal and tax treatment, risk, liquidity and a typical example.

Both formulas divide value by money. MOIC = (realized value + unrealized value) ÷ invested capital. TVPI = (distributions + remaining value) ÷ paid-in capital. The difference is in the inputs. MOIC’s denominator is the money that went into companies. TVPI’s denominator is all the money you sent the fund, including the part spent on fees (GIPS 2020).

Take the illustrative fund used across this site’s fund-metric pages. An investor commits $1,000,000 in March 2020 and pays in $800,000 over three years. Of that, $680,000 goes into three companies. The other $120,000 pays management fees and fund expenses.

The total value of the companies is $1,550,000, a profit of $750,000 over the $800,000 paid in. The manager takes carry of 20% of that profit, or $150,000. To keep the example simple, all of it comes out of the 2025 sale. The investor receives $800,000 in cash and keeps a $600,000 share of company C. Here is how the multiple shrinks on the way:

• Gross MOIC$1,550,000 ÷ $680,000 = 2.28x
• After fees and expenses$1,550,000 ÷ $800,000 = 1.94x, −15%
• After carry: net TVPI$1,400,000 ÷ $800,000 = 1.75x, −10% more

The same deals produce 2.28x for the manager’s record and 1.75x for the investor. Both numbers are correct. The full TVPI picture, with the year-by-year split into cash and value, is in DPI vs TVPI.

Fees are charged on the whole fund. No single deal pays them, so a net MOIC for one company has no exact answer. ILPA, the Institutional Limited Partners Association, offers a shortcut. Its standard template calls portfolio-level net MOIC a “synthetic calculation.” You take the fund’s net TVPI divided by its gross MOIC. Then you apply that ratio to each portfolio multiple (ILPA, 2025).

In the example, the ratio is 1.75x ÷ 2.28x, about 0.77. Applied to the portfolio, it gives these net figures:

• Company A3.15x gross → 2.42x net
• Company C, still held3.00x gross → 2.30x net
• Sold portfolio, A and B$950,000 ÷ $480,000 = 1.98x gross → 1.52x net
• Whole portfolio2.28x gross → 1.75x net, equal to the fund’s net TVPI

So at the level of the whole fund, net MOIC and net TVPI meet by design. At the level of one deal, net MOIC is an estimate that spreads the fund’s fees evenly. It is useful for comparing deals and less useful as a statement of what any one deal earned you.

MOIC

For

Shows how each deal performed. Lets you see whether a fund’s result came from one company or many. Works the same way for a single SPV investment.

Against

Usually gross, so it overstates what reaches you. It ignores time. A single strong deal, shown on its own, says nothing about the rest.

Verdict: MOIC is the measure for judging a manager’s deal picking. Ask for it by company, with the sold and unsold parts separated. Do not treat it as your return until fees and carry are taken out.

TVPI

For

Net of fees and carry, so it is the investor’s own multiple. Counts every deal, winners and losers. Standard on investor reports.

Against

Hides which deals made the money. Ignores time. Much of it can be a valuation until the fund sells.

Verdict: TVPI is the measure for judging the fund as an investment. Read it next to DPI for cash and next to IRR for speed. When a manager quotes a MOIC, compare it with the fund’s TVPI to see how much the fees took.

If you invest in a fund, a manager’s pitch deck will often lead with deal MOICs. Your quarterly report will show TVPI. Expect the first to be higher. The difference grows with fee levels and with the share of profit taken as carry.

In a single-deal SPV, a company set up to hold one investment, the two measures come close. There is one deal, so the gross MOIC is that company’s multiple. Your TVPI is that multiple after the SPV’s own fees and carry. The fee lines are explained in carried interest and in the distribution waterfall.

For each measure on its own, read what MOIC is and what TVPI is. For the time dimension, see IRR vs XIRR.

Common Mistakes

• Treating a deal MOIC as your returnFees, expenses and carry sit between the deal and you. Ask for net TVPI.
• Comparing a gross MOIC with a net TVPIThey measure different money. Compare gross with gross and net with net.
• Reading one deal as a track recordA single 3x deal says nothing about the deals around it. Ask for the total portfolio.
• Ignoring the unsold partBoth multiples can be mostly valuation. Ask how much has been realized.
• Ignoring timeNeither multiple shows how long it took. Read IRR next to both.

MOIC

Multiple on invested capital: realized plus unrealized value of an investment, divided by the capital put into it.

TVPI

Total value to paid-in: distributions plus the fund’s remaining value, divided by the capital investors paid in. Reported net.

Net MOIC

A MOIC after fees and carry. At portfolio level, ILPA calculates it by scaling gross MOIC by the fund’s net TVPI to gross MOIC ratio.

Equity multiple

Real estate’s name for the same ratio as MOIC: total cash returned and value held, over equity invested.

MoM (multiple of money)

Another name for MOIC, used in some fund and deal reports.

Gross

Before the fees, expenses and carry charged by the fund or SPV.

Net

After all fees and expenses an investor paid.

Carry

Carried interest: the manager’s share of a fund’s profit, often 20%.

Paid-in capital

The money investors have actually sent the fund, including the part used for fees.

DPI

Distributions to paid-in: the cash part of TVPI.

Standards and rules were last checked on October 29, 2026. ILPA templates and GIPS are industry standards without the force of law. The SEC Marketing Rule applies to US investment advisers. The worked example is illustrative and contains no market data.