Tracking Private Equity

Whether you're an LP in a venture capital fund, a buyout fund, or any other private equity vehicle, Capitally lets you track your full PE lifecycle — from capital commitments through distributions and exit — with dedicated PE metrics like TVPI, DPI, and RVPI.

Setting up a Private Equity fund

To start tracking a PE investment, add it as a Private Equity custom asset:

1. Click Add
2. Choose create a custom asset
3. Choose the Private Equity asset type
4. Enter the fund name, currency, and any other details
5. Leave Pricing method in Prices tab as Manual

Recording a Capital Commitment

A capital commitment is the total amount you've pledged to invest in a fund. It's not a cash flow — it's your binding obligation to provide capital when the fund calls for it.

To record your commitment:

1. Click Add
2. Choose your PE fund
3. Choose Capital Commitment transaction type
4. Enter the Committed amount and the date
5. If it's the first transaction on that asset, set the Current Market Price to a current price per share

Recording Capital Calls

When the fund's general partner (GP) requests you to transfer part of your committed capital, that's a capital call. In Capitally, capital calls are recorded as Buy transactions — but they appear labeled as Capital Call on PE assets.

1. Click Add
2. Choose your PE fund
3. Choose Capital Call transaction type
4. Enter the date, Quantity of shares and Price per share

Recording Distributions

Distributions are cash flows back from the fund to you. In Capitally, distributions are recorded via Dividends — but they appear labeled as Distribution on PE assets.

Return of Capital Distributions

When the fund returns your own invested capital (e.g., from an exit of a portfolio company), that's a Return of Capital. It's not income — it reduces your cost basis while keeping your units unchanged.

To record a Return of Capital distribution:

1. Click Add
2. Choose your PE fund
3. Choose Distribution transaction type
4. Enter the amount in the Return of Capital field

If the distribution is entirely Return of Capital, you can leave the main Dividend total value field set to 0 and only fill in the Return of Capital amount. For mixed distributions (part profit, part RoC), fill in both fields. Just remember that in such case, Dividend total value should include the Return of Capital.

10000 Return of Capital + 5000 Income

Capitally automatically:

• Reduces your cost basis proportionally across all lots
• Keeps your unit count unchanged
• If Dividend total value exceeds the Return of Capital, the excess is treated as realized income
• If Return of Capital exceeds your total cost basis, the excess is treated as realized income

Profit Distributions

When the fund distributes profits (gains above your cost basis), record a Distribution with the amount in the main Dividend total value field. These show up as realized income in your portfolio.

Updating Fund Valuation (NAV)

PE funds typically report their Net Asset Value quarterly. In Capitally, you update the NAV by setting a new price per unit for your PE asset.

1. Edit your PE asset and go to Prices tab
2. Add a new price entry with the date and the fund's latest NAV per unit

PE Performance Metrics

When you open a Private Equity asset in the portfolio (or open Private Equity from the Types tab), you'll see an additional metrics tab with PE-specific performance indicators, charts and columns.

Key Metrics

Full Lifecycle Example

Here's how a typical PE fund investment looks over its lifetime:

Final result: $1M invested → $2.15M total distributions → TVPI: 2.15x