Multiple on Invested Capital
The total value — realized proceeds plus unrealized book value — an investment has generated per dollar of capital invested.
◆ Multiple
Realized — distributions already received
Unrealized — current holding value
Capital paid in
MOIC — capital multiplier
1 tile = capital invested · brighter tiles = gain
Awaiting inputs — enter the invested capital to see the multiple.
Formula
What it measures
The total multiple an investment has generated so far, combining what's already been cashed out (proceeds) with what's still held on the books (book value) — the most complete single-number read on an investment's performance to date.
Why it matters
MOIC is the workhorse metric for evaluating individual deals and portfolios before an exit locks in a final, realized number. Because it includes unrealized value, it lets GPs and LPs track performance continuously rather than waiting years for liquidity events.
How to read it
A MOIC of 4x means the position is currently worth 4 times what was invested, combining cash already returned and the current mark on what's still held. Because the unrealized portion is a mark, not cash, MOIC can move — up or down — as valuations change; a high MOIC driven mostly by unrealized markup carries more uncertainty than one driven mostly by realized proceeds.
What good looks like
Good
MOIC above 3x on individual deals is a strong outcome for early-stage venture; fund-level MOIC above 2.5x by year 8-10 is competitive.
Watch
MOIC hovering near 1.0x for mature holdings with no clear path to markup.
Bad
MOIC below 1.0x driven by write-downs rather than simply being early in the hold.
Watch-outs
- Treating an unrealized-heavy MOIC as equivalent to a realized one — a markup isn't cash until there's an exit.
- Using stale valuation marks, which can overstate or understate MOIC significantly in fast-moving markets.
- Averaging MOIC across a portfolio without weighting by check size — a few large winners should dominate the number, not be diluted by many small losers.
Worked example
Hypothetical
A $2M investment has returned $1M in proceeds and carries a current book value of $7M. MOIC = ($1M + $7M) ÷ $2M = 4.0x.
FAQ
What's a good MOIC for a venture deal?
Given power-law return distributions, most individual venture deals return below 1x. The handful that return 10x-plus are what make fund-level returns work — evaluate MOIC at the portfolio level, not deal by deal, for a fair read on GP skill.
How does MOIC differ from IRR?
MOIC ignores the time value of money — a 3x MOIC over 3 years and a 3x MOIC over 10 years look identical on this metric, even though the first is a far better annualized return. Use IRR alongside MOIC to capture the time dimension.
Why did my MOIC drop even though I didn't sell anything?
MOIC includes unrealized book value, which moves with the position's fair-value mark. A down round or valuation markdown lowers book value and therefore MOIC, even with zero change in what's been realized.
Related
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