DPI, TVPI and XIRR: what each number tells an angel, and what it hides
Three ways to measure one portfolio: which question each answers, where each misleads in the early years, and what to check before you trust it.
In short
- DPI counts cash back. TVPI adds what is still held, at its latest mark. XIRR turns both into a yearly rate.
- In an angel portfolio's early years TVPI moves and DPI barely does, so most of the return is paper.
- One stale mark can carry a TVPI. Check the date and source of each valuation before you trust the total.
- XIRR needs dated cash flows and at least a year of history to mean anything.
Three numbers turn up whenever investors compare returns: DPI, TVPI and XIRR. Funds report all three, and more angels now track them too. Each answers a different question, and in the first years of an angel portfolio each can flatter or mislead if it is read on its own.
What each number measures
- DPI, distributions to paid-in, is cash returned divided by cash invested. It counts only money you have actually received: exits, dividends, secondary sales.
- TVPI, total value to paid-in, is cash returned plus the current value of what you still hold, divided by cash invested. The held part is usually the price of each company's latest round.
- XIRR is the yearly rate of return that fits your dated cash flows, with the current value of your holdings counted as if you received it today.
The gap between TVPI and DPI has its own name, RVPI: residual value to paid-in. It is the part of your return that is still a valuation, not cash.
A worked example
Take a small portfolio of four $25,000 cheques, one exit and one write-off, measured on 1 October 2026.
| Company | Invested | Date | Outcome | Value now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | $25,000 | 1 Mar 2021 | Acquired, Nov 2024 | $40,000 cash |
| B | $25,000 | 1 Sep 2021 | Wound down | $0 |
| C | $25,000 | 1 Jun 2022 | Raised a round in 2025 | $90,000 |
| D | $25,000 | 16 Jan 2023 | No round since | $25,000 |
| Total | $100,000 | $155,000 |
A 1.55x TVPI and an 11.1% yearly return sound respectable. Look at where they come from: $40,000 of the $155,000 is cash. The rest is two valuations, and most of it is one company.
Where each number misleads
DPI is slow by design
Angel exits take years. In the first five or more years of a portfolio, DPI is often close to zero even when the portfolio is doing well. A low DPI early on says little about quality. A low DPI after ten years says a great deal.
TVPI is only as good as its marks
TVPI takes each holding at its latest valuation, and in private companies that is usually the price of the last round. It can be old, it can be a price set in a better market, and it ignores the preferences later investors hold. In the example, company C carries $90,000 of the $155,000. If C's next round halved its value, the picture changes:
| Marks as above | C marked down 50% | |
|---|---|---|
| Held value | $115,000 | $70,000 |
| TVPI | 1.55x | 1.10x |
| XIRR | 11.1% | 2.4% |
A TVPI is a sum of valuations of different ages. Read the dates before you read the total.
XIRR punishes time and rewards early exits
XIRR weighs when money moves. An early exit lifts it sharply. Waiting lowers it, even when nothing else changes: with the same marks, this portfolio's XIRR falls from 11.1% to 9.4% if it is measured a year later, on 1 October 2027.
Over short periods XIRR exaggerates. A company marked up 30% three months after you invested would show a yearly rate of roughly 190%. That is why TheAngel does not show XIRR until your cash flows span at least a year.
What to check before you trust the numbers
- The date of every mark. A valuation more than a year or two old is a guess about the past, not the present.
- The source of every mark. A priced round led by a new investor is stronger evidence than a SAFE cap, a founder's estimate or an internal round among existing holders.
- Concentration. If one company carries most of your held value, your TVPI is really that company's valuation.
- Every cash flow out. Follow-on cheques, syndicate fees and carry belong in the paid-in figure.
- Cash and paper apart. Report DPI next to TVPI, never TVPI alone.
Which number to use for which question
- "How much have I actually made?" DPI.
- "How is the whole portfolio doing on paper?" TVPI, with the dates of its marks.
- "How does this compare with other uses of the money?" XIRR, once there is a year or more of history.
The DPI, TVPI and XIRR calculator works out all three from your own dated cash flows and current values. It uses the same day count as a spreadsheet's XIRR, so the figures match.
Questions angels ask
There is no single benchmark that fits every portfolio. A young portfolio can show a high TVPI on one or two recent rounds. What matters more is how current the marks are and how much of the value is already cash.
Because time passes. The same multiple earned over more years is a lower yearly rate. If your marks stay flat for a year, your XIRR drifts down.
Yes. Every amount you paid in, including follow-ons, syndicate fees and carry, is a cash flow out. Leaving them out makes every one of the three numbers look better than your real result.
A yearly rate over a few months exaggerates. A 1.3x mark three months after investing reads as roughly 190% a year. TheAngel shows XIRR once your cash flows span a year.