RVPI — residual value to paid-in capital — measures a fund’s remaining, unrealized portfolio value relative to the capital investors have contributed. It is the “still on the books” half of fund performance: RVPI plus DPI equals TVPI, the fund’s total multiple.
What RVPI tells you — and what it can't
The arithmetic: current NAV of unrealized holdings ÷ paid-in capital. A fund showing 1.5x TVPI as 0.4x DPI plus 1.1x RVPI has banked forty cents on the dollar and claims another $1.10 — with the claim resting entirely on valuation marks: sponsor fair-value judgments, informed by comparables, models, recent financing rounds (venture marks lean on the last round’s price, which staleness can flatter), and auditor review, but not by transactions. RVPI is a forecast wearing an accounting statement’s clothes.
The metric’s analytical use is in trajectory and composition rather than level. Over a fund’s life, value should migrate down the RVPI column and into DPI as the portfolio realizes; a mature fund whose RVPI stays stubbornly high while DPI stalls is either holding winners patiently or carrying marks the exit market won’t validate — and the difference is the diligence question. Cross-checks that discipline RVPI: how prior funds’ residual marks converted to actual exit values (the sponsor’s historical mark-to-exit accuracy is knowable and worth asking for), how marks moved when public comparables repriced, and what secondaries pricing implies — a fund whose stakes trade at meaningful discounts to NAV is receiving a market opinion on its RVPI.
For advisors reading track records and semi-liquid product performance, RVPI is where healthy skepticism belongs: young funds and recently ramped evergreen vehicles are structurally RVPI-heavy (nothing has had time to realize), so their reported returns are predominantly valuation — not a flaw, but a fact that should calibrate confidence and comparison. The metric completes the family every fund report uses: TVPI = DPI + RVPI, with MOIC as TVPI’s deal-level synonym — the receipt, the claim, and their sum.
FAQ
What is RVPI in simple terms?
The estimated value still sitting in the fund per dollar you put in — your stake’s unrealized worth, based on the manager’s marks rather than completed sales.
How do DPI, RVPI, and TVPI relate?
TVPI (total multiple) = DPI (cash distributed) + RVPI (remaining marked value). As a fund matures, RVPI should convert into DPI.
Can RVPI be wrong?
It’s an estimate by construction — marks can prove high or low against eventual exits. A sponsor’s historical accuracy converting residual value to realizations, and secondary-market pricing of fund stakes, are the reality checks.
Related terms
DPI · MOIC · Paid-In Capital · NAV · Secondaries
Educational content only; not investment, tax, or legal advice. Consult qualified professionals regarding your specific circumstances.
