Distributions to Paid-In (DPI)

Formula

What counts as a distribution

Distributions include exit proceeds, dividends and interest passed through to LPs, and securities distributed in kind, valued when distributed. They are measured after the GP's carried interest; amounts placed in a carry escrow are not LP distributions until released. A distribution counts whatever funded it: proceeds from a sale, a dividend recapitalization at a portfolio company, or borrowing under a fund-level NAV facility. The last two raise DPI while adding leverage, so LPs ask how a distribution was financed, not only its size. Guidance on NAV-based facilities published in 2024 by the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) recommends consent from the limited partner advisory committee (LPAC) whenever facility proceeds fund distributions.

Recallable distributions

Many limited partnership agreements (LPAs) let the GP re-call some distributions, typically to fund follow-ons or expenses within limits (see recallable distributions and recycling). Recorded gross, every distribution counts and every re-call is new paid-in capital; recorded net, the recalled amount is removed from distributions. The gross method usually gives the higher DPI, on a larger paid-in base: in the worked example 0.18x against 0.10x. It gives the lower figure only once distributions exceed paid-in capital plus the amount re-called. Neither is wrong, but mixing them across funds produces false comparisons.

DPI over a fund's life

DPI is zero or close to it during the investment period, rises through the harvest years, and equals TVPI once the fund is fully realised. DPI is measured on paid-in capital, not on commitment: a fund that has called 70% of commitments and returned 1.0x of paid-in has returned 0.7x of the LP's commitment.

How LPs use DPI

DPI feeds liquidity planning and commitment pacing, because distributions fund future capital calls. It tests whether a manager converts reported value into cash, and it weighs heavily in re-up decisions for funds old enough to have exited. An LP that sells its interest in an LP-led secondary turns its own residual value into cash, often at a discount to NAV; the fund's DPI does not change.

Worked examples

Examples are illustrative; figures are not market data.

Not the same as

• Total Value to Paid-In (TVPI): TVPI adds remaining NAV to distributions; DPI counts only what has been distributed.
• Realization Ratio: The realization ratio is DPI divided by TVPI, the share of total value already realised. The Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) use "realization multiple" as another name for DPI itself.
• Cash-on-Cash Return: Cash-on-cash return in real estate is annual cash income divided by equity; fund DPI is cumulative distributions divided by paid-in capital.

Common mistakes

• Treating a low DPI in a young fund as poor performance; distributions follow exits.
• Counting recallable distributions gross for one fund and net for another.
• Quoting DPI on commitment rather than on paid-in capital without saying so.
• Ignoring how distributions were funded (exits, recapitalisations, NAV borrowing).

Edge cases

• In-kind distributions of listed shares are valued at distribution; the LP's eventual sale price may differ.
• In a GP-led continuation vehicle transaction, LPs that sell receive a distribution while rolling LPs do not, so the same fund produces different LP-level DPIs.
• A clawback paid by the GP increases LP distributions late in the fund's life.

Questions

External standards

Sources

1. Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) for Firms 2020. CFA Institute, 2020 edition; effective 1 January 2020; required for GIPS Reports with periods ending on or after 31 December 2020. Status: Current (checked 2026-10-01). 5.A.4 — supports: Composites with committed capital must present TVPI (investment multiple), DPI (realization multiple), PIC multiple and RVPI (unrealized multiple)
2. GIPS Standards for Firms 2020 - Glossary (defined terms). CFA Institute, Glossary section of the 2020 edition. Status: Current (checked 2026-10-01). investment multiple (tvpi); realization multiple (dpi); unrealized multiple (rvpi); pic multiple — supports: Standard-setter definitions of the multiples
3. NAV-Based Facilities: Guidance for LPs and GPs. Institutional Limited Partners Association, ILPA, Published 25 July 2024. Status: Current (checked 2026-10-01). Recommendations — supports: NAV facility proceeds used for distributions; LPAC consent recommended

• Total Value to Paid-In (TVPI)
• Residual Value to Paid-In (RVPI)
• Paid-In Capital
• Recallable Distributions
• Distributions
• NAV Lending (NAV Facility)
• Commitment Pacing
• J-Curve

• Continuation Vehicle (CV)
• Dividend Recapitalization
• Earnout
• Equity Multiple
• Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
• Private Capital (Private Markets)
• Quartile Ranking
• Subscription Line of Credit
• Venture Capital (VC)