Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC)
Last updated 17 July 2026
Multiple on invested capital (MOIC) is a private markets metric that divides the total value of an investment, both realised and unrealised, by the capital put in. Total value means cash already distributed back plus the current value of what remains. A MOIC of 2.0x says the investment has doubled the money invested, regardless of how long that took, and that indifference to time is both its strength and its weakness. MOIC is simple, hard to manipulate, and easy to compare across deals, but it says nothing about whether the doubling took three years or thirteen. It is therefore usually read alongside the internal rate of return (IRR), which adds the time dimension MOIC ignores.
Why it matters for family offices
Family offices lean on MOIC because it resists the flattery that can affect IRR. IRR is sensitive to cash flow timing and can be lifted by techniques such as subscription credit lines, while MOIC answers the plainer question of how much money came back for money in. Reading the two together, along with DPI (cash actually returned per unit invested) and TVPI (the fund-level equivalent of MOIC), gives a rounded picture: a fund can show a strong interim MOIC that rests mostly on the manager's own valuations of unsold holdings. Distinguishing realised from unrealised value inside the multiple is one of the most useful habits in private markets reporting.
How it shows up in practice
Suppose a family office invests $2 million in a growth equity deal. Four years on it has received $1.5 million in distributions and the remaining stake is valued at $2.5 million. Total value is $4 million, so MOIC is 2.0x, while DPI is only 0.75x: on paper the deal has doubled, in cash it has not yet returned its cost. Across a portfolio of funds and direct holdings, keeping these figures current means capturing every call, distribution, and valuation as it happens. Offices doing this in spreadsheets tend to recalculate multiples quarterly and by hand; kept in a dedicated system, the same figures update as each cash flow lands, so realised versus unrealised value is always visible per deal, per fund, and for the portfolio as a whole.
Related terms
Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
The annualised return that accounts for the size and timing of all cash flows into and out of an investment. IRR is the standard performance measure for private equity and other investments with irregular cash flows. Because principals control when money moves, IRR reflects the investor's actual experience, unlike time-weighted measures.
DPI and TVPI
Two core private equity ratios: DPI (distributions to paid-in capital) measures how much cash has actually been returned relative to capital invested, while TVPI (total value to paid-in capital) adds the remaining unrealised value. DPI shows realised performance; TVPI shows the total picture including paper gains. Together they reveal both how good a fund looks and how much of that value is already banked.
J-Curve
The typical performance pattern of a private equity or venture fund, in which returns are negative in the early years, as fees and setup costs are incurred before investments mature, and turn positive later as value is realised. Plotted over time, the return curve resembles the letter J. Understanding the J-curve helps families set expectations and pace commitments across vintage years.
Private Equity
Investment in companies that are not publicly traded, typically through funds that acquire, improve, and eventually sell businesses. Private equity offers strong long-term return potential in exchange for illiquidity and long holding periods. For family offices, tracking commitments, capital calls, distributions, and valuations across many funds is a significant administrative undertaking.
Net Asset Value (NAV)
The value of an entity's or fund's assets minus its liabilities, representing what the holding is worth at a point in time. In private markets, NAVs are reported quarterly by fund managers and arrive with a lag. Family office reporting combines custodial market values with reported NAVs to build a complete picture of wealth.
Further reading
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