DPI (Distributions to Paid-In)
Private Equity glossary · Private Equity Fundamentals
Definition
Ratio of cumulative cash distributions to cumulative paid-in capital: DPI = (Cash Distributions)/(Total Contributions). Sometimes called the realization multiple. DPI = 1.0x means the LP has received back cash equal to total contributions — the fund has 'returned capital.' DPI strips out unrealized NAV (the most subjective valuation input) and is therefore the cleanest measure of realized GP performance; institutional LPs increasingly anchor on DPI rather than TVPI in mid-life fund evaluation. TVPI = DPI + RVPI.
DPI (Distributions to Paid-In) in plain English
When you put money into a private-equity fund, you want to know: how much actual cash have I gotten back? DPI answers exactly that — it's the total cash the fund has paid out to you divided by the total cash you put in. If DPI = 1.0x you've gotten back every dollar you invested (anything above that is real profit in hand); at 0.6x you've only seen 60 cents back per dollar so far. The reason pros trust it is that it counts only money that has actually landed in your bank account, not the fund's guess about what its still-owned companies are 'worth' (that guess is called NAV, and it can be wishful). Think of it like a rental property: DPI is the rent checks that already cleared, not the price a realtor thinks the house might fetch someday.
Also called: Distributions to Paid-In
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