What is RVPI (residual value to paid-in)? Definition, how it works and examples
The part of a fund’s return that is still on paper — how RVPI is calculated, how it moves over a fund’s life, and why it is read next to DPI.
The short answer
What is RVPI? Residual value to paid-in is the value of everything a fund still holds — its net asset value — divided by the capital investors have paid in so far. An RVPI of 0.8x means 80 cents of every dollar paid in is still sitting in unsold investments: valued, reported, and not yet returned. It is the paper half of a fund’s return. Add the cash half, DPI, and you get TVPI. For a fund holding private companies RVPI rests on valuations rather than prices, and it turns into cash only when those companies list or are sold — so the larger it is, the more of the return is still a promise.
How does RVPI work? The formula
The industry definition is the CFA Institute’s: RVPI, the “unrealized multiple”, is residual value divided by since-inception paid-in capital, and residual value is “the remaining equity that limited partners or investors have in an investment vehicle at the end of the performance reporting period” (GIPS 2020). In practice that is the investors’ share of the fund’s net asset value, usually net of fees, expenses and any carried interest accrued to the manager. RVPI Residual value (NAV) ÷ paid-in capital. What is still held, per dollar paid in. DPI Cumulative distributions ÷ paid-in capital.
Example of RVPI: how it moves over a fund’s life
The same illustrative fund as on the TVPI page: $100M of commitments, capital called over five years, companies sold from year five to year eleven. The last column is the share of the fund’s value that is still unrealised. RVPI rises while the fund buys and its holdings gain value, peaks around the end of the investment period, then falls as companies are sold and the proceeds are paid out. By year eleven only a tail is left. The fund’s TVPI barely moves between years eight and eleven; what changes is that RVPI has been converted into DPI — the part an investor can spend.
Key risks: RVPI is only as good as the NAV
DPI is counted in cash; RVPI is counted in valuations. A fund marks its private holdings at fair value under its own valuation policy — on later funding rounds, secondary trades, comparable companies or models. ILPA’s reporting standard says the NAV it reports should be calculated within the fund’s partnership agreement and valuation policy, and match the fund’s US GAAP or IFRS accounts (ILPA, 2025). Consistent, then — but still an estimate. Stale marks A holding valued at its last round can sit unchanged for quarters while the market moves. The older the mark, the less the RVPI tells you.
How to read RVPI next to DPI and TVPI
Read RVPI against the fund’s age. In the first years a high share of RVPI is normal, because nothing has been sold. By the second half of a fund’s life it should be falling. If it is not, ask why the companies have not exited and how the remaining ones are valued. Carta’s Q2 2026 figures show how long the paper phase lasts in venture. The median 2017-vintage fund had returned 0.37x in cash nine years in, and the median 2019 fund 0.04x (Carta, 2026). Whatever those funds report as TVPI, all of it above those numbers is RVPI — value that still has to find a buyer, an IPO or an acquirer.
RVPI definitions and reporting standards, as of October 2026
Common mistakes when reading RVPI Counting RVPI as money returned It is a valuation. Only DPI is cash. Ignoring the fund’s age High RVPI in year three is normal; in year twelve it is a question. Dividing by commitments The denominator is paid-in capital. Uncalled capital is not in it. Not asking how the NAV is marked The same holdings can carry different values under different policies and dates. Comparing across vintages A young fund and an old one are at different points of the same curve.
The terms this page uses
RVPI Residual value to paid-in: the fund’s remaining NAV, per dollar investors have paid in. Residual value What investors’ remaining stake in the fund is worth at the reporting date — in practice, their share of NAV. DPI Distributions to paid-in: cash or shares actually returned, per dollar paid in. TVPI Total value to paid-in: DPI plus RVPI. Net asset value (NAV) The fund’s holdings at fair value, less its liabilities and accrued fees and carry. Paid-in capital What investors have actually contributed to date, raised by each capital call.
Questions about RVPI
What is a good RVPI? There is no fixed number. RVPI is read against the fund’s age: high early on, falling towards zero as the fund sells. A good sign is RVPI turning into DPI on schedule without large markdowns along the way. What is the difference between RVPI and TVPI? TVPI counts everything — what has been paid out and what is still held. RVPI counts only what is still held. TVPI minus DPI equals RVPI. Can RVPI go down even if the fund is doing well? Yes. When a fund sells a company, the value leaves RVPI and arrives in DPI.
What is a good RVPI?
There is no fixed number. RVPI is read against the fund’s age: high early on, falling towards zero as the fund sells. A good sign is RVPI turning into DPI on schedule without large markdowns along the way.
What is the difference between RVPI and TVPI?
TVPI counts everything — what has been paid out and what is still held. RVPI counts only what is still held. TVPI minus DPI equals RVPI.
Can RVPI go down even if the fund is doing well?
Yes. When a fund sells a company, the value leaves RVPI and arrives in DPI. A falling RVPI with a rising DPI is a fund returning money, which is the point.
Is RVPI net of fees?
When reported to investors it should be: residual value is the investors’ remaining equity, after management fees and expenses, and usually after any carried interest accrued to the manager.
Does RVPI apply to an SPV?
The arithmetic is the same: your share of the vehicle’s NAV divided by what you paid in. In a single-company vehicle it moves with that one company’s valuation until the exit.
Where the figures on this page come from
Definitions and figures were last verified on 2 October 2026. The Carta figures describe venture funds on Carta’s platform as of the end of Q2 2026 and are the same as on the TVPI page. The fund example is illustrative.