Metric Definitions & Methodology
AltTrack computes all metrics client-side from your raw transaction data — no external pricing feeds, no estimates beyond what you enter. Every number on the dashboard traces directly back to a formula described here.
Per-Investment Metrics
XIRR
xirrFn(cashflows)
XIRR (Extended Internal Rate of Return) is the annualized money-weighted (dollar-weighted) return on your investment, accounting for the exact timing and size of every cash flow. It is the most comprehensive single measure of total economic performance for an alternative investment. Because XIRR is money-weighted, larger cash flows have more impact on the result than smaller ones — an early large contribution that underperforms will drag XIRR down more than a small late contribution.
- —Each contribution is a negative cashflow dated to the day it was made; each distribution (income + principal returned) is a positive cashflow.
- —For open investments, the current NAV is added as a terminal positive cashflow dated today. For closed investments, the terminal cashflow is dated to the final transaction date — ensuring XIRR reflects the actual exit date.
- —Reinvestments are excluded from cashflows because they are already reflected in the NAV.
- —Returns null when there are fewer than 2 cashflows or when the solver does not converge.
- —Values above 10× (1000%) are treated as non-converged and shown as —.
- —Mark the last transaction as "Final transaction — investment closed" when an investment fully exits. This anchors the XIRR terminal cashflow to the actual exit date rather than today.
Yield (TTM)
Trailing 12-month income ÷ Current NAV
TTM Yield shows the income your investment generated in the last 12 months as a percentage of its current value. Income means interest, dividends, and profit distributions received — not principal returned. Dividing by current NAV (rather than your original cost) makes yield comparable across investments regardless of when they were made or how their value has changed.
- —Returns null when NAV is zero.
- —Uses income distributions only — principal returned (Return of Capital) and reinvestments are excluded.
- —A 6% yield means you received income equal to 6% of the current investment value over the past year.
- —For investments with no income in the last 12 months, TTM Yield shows 0%. See Since-Inception Income Yield for a longer-term view.
Since-Inception Income Yield (Ann. Yield)
(Total income received ÷ years held) ÷ Current NAV
Since-Inception Income Yield annualizes all income received since you first invested by simple averaging (not compounding), then divides by current NAV. Unlike TTM Yield which only looks at the last 12 months, this smooths out irregular distribution timing — useful for investments that distribute infrequently or have recently paused distributions. Because it uses simple averaging rather than compounding, it should not be compared directly to XIRR. Important: this is not IRR and does not measure total return. If NAV has changed significantly from your original investment, this metric will reflect that change. Use XIRR for total return.
- —Returns null when NAV is zero or holding period is less than 3 months.
- —Uses total income distributions since inception, not a trailing window. Principal returned is excluded.
Example: Investment held 2.9 years. Total income received: $2,366. Current NAV: $129,198. Annualized income: $2,366 / 2.9 = $816/year. Since-Inception Income Yield: $816 / $129,198 = 0.6%
NAV (Net Asset Value)
With override: last NAV override + subsequent net flows | No override: contributions − principal returned + reinvestments
The estimated current value of your position. If you have entered a NAV override transaction, the most recent override becomes the base value and all subsequent contributions, returns of capital, and reinvestments are applied on top. Without any override, NAV = total contributions − total return of capital + total reinvestment.
- —Income does not reduce NAV — it is paid out to the investor.
- —NAV is floored at zero; it cannot go negative.
- —Enter a NAV override any time you receive an official valuation statement.
- —Sponsor-reported NAV values generally already reflect management fees and fund operating expenses. Use the figure exactly as shown on your sponsor statement — do not manually deduct fees.
DPI (Distributions to Paid-In)
Cumulative cash distributions received ÷ Paid-in capital
DPI measures how much actual cash you have received back relative to what you invested. Cash distributions include both income (interest, dividends, profit distributions) and principal returned (from refinancings, asset sales, or wind-down) — all cash that has actually come back to you, regardless of type. DPI of 1.0x means you have received back everything you put in as cash. Below 1.0x means capital is still deployed. Above 1.0x means you have received more cash than you invested. DPI only counts real cash — not unrealized NAV — making it the most conservative performance measure. For AltTrack purposes, paid-in capital means Cash Contributed: cash contributions from your bank account, excluding reinvested distributions and fee payments. Reinvested income distributions are excluded from DPI because they were not received as cash — they went immediately back into the fund.
TVPI (Total Value to Paid-In)
(Cumulative cash distributions + Current NAV) ÷ Paid-in capital
TVPI measures your total value — both cash already received AND current unrealized value — as a multiple of what you invested. Total value = cumulative cash distributions (income + principal returned) + current NAV. TVPI of 1.5x means your total value is 1.5 times your investment. Since TVPI includes unrealized NAV, its accuracy depends on the reliability of sponsor valuations. Also known as MOIC (Multiple on Invested Capital) or Equity Multiple.
- —TVPI ≥ DPI always, because it adds unrealized NAV.
- —For fully exited investments (final transaction marked), NAV = 0 so TVPI = DPI.
Cash-on-Cash
Trailing 12-month income ÷ Cash Contributed
Trailing 12-month income distributions divided by Cash Contributed (net of reinvestments). Measures near-term income yield on your out-of-pocket cost — unlike Yield, it does not adjust for changes in NAV. Useful for comparing income productivity across investments regardless of appreciation or depreciation. The difference from Yield: Yield measures income relative to today's investment value (NAV). Cash-on-Cash measures income relative to the cash you actually sent from your bank account. If your investment has appreciated significantly, Yield will be lower than Cash-on-Cash.
- —Uses Cash Contributed as the denominator — net cash from your bank account, excluding reinvested distributions.
Equity Multiple
(Cumulative cash distributions + Current NAV) ÷ Paid-in capital
Synonym for TVPI. Displayed in the sort / summary views.
Portfolio Metrics
Portfolio XIRR
xirrFn(all_investment_cashflows)
The blended XIRR across all filtered investments, computed by pooling every cashflow from every investment and solving a single IRR. This treats the portfolio as a single fund — a dollar invested early in a low-performer reduces the blended rate just as it would in a real fund.
Portfolio Yield (TTM)
Trailing 12-month income distributions ÷ total NAV
Sum of trailing 12-month income across all filtered investments divided by total portfolio NAV. Represents the trailing 12-month income rate of the portfolio as a whole.
Total NAV
Σ NAV per investment
Sum of current estimated values across all filtered investments.
Cash Contributed
Sum of contributions − reinvested distributions
Cash Contributed is the net cash that actually left your bank account for this investment. It excludes reinvested distributions since those never touched your bank — they went straight back into the fund. This is your true out-of-pocket cost and is used as the denominator in DPI and TVPI calculations.
Total Distributed
Σ (income + principal returned)
Net cash received across all filtered investments. Excludes reinvestments since those never hit your bank account.
Which Metric Should I Use?
| Question | Use This |
|---|---|
| How is this investment performing overall? | XIRR |
| What income is this generating right now? | TTM Yield |
| How much cash have I gotten back? | DPI |
| What is my total value including unrealized? | TVPI |
| What income am I earning on my original investment? | Cash-on-Cash |
| How much have I actually put in from my bank? | Cash Contributed |
RAG Status
The colored dot next to each investment's XIRR indicates performance relative to your target XIRR (set on the investment's edit screen).
No dot is shown when no target XIRR is set, or when XIRR cannot be computed.
Distribution Status
Distribution Status analyzes the median gap between historical income distributions (interest, dividends, profit distributions) to infer your expected distribution frequency and whether you are on track. It does not track principal returns (Return of Capital), which are event-driven and not periodic.
Transaction Types
| Field | What it means | Effect on NAV |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution | Capital you deploy into the investment from your bank account. | + |
| Income (profit distributions, interest) | Income distributions — interest, dividends, and profit distributions paid to you by the fund. This is the income your investment generates. It does not reduce your investment balance. | None (paid out) |
| Return of Capital (principal returned) | Your original invested capital being returned to you. Occurs during refinancings, asset sales, or fund wind-down. This reduces your remaining investment balance. | − |
| Reinvestment | Income distributions immediately reinvested back into the fund. Enter the same amount in both Income and Reinvestment. Net cash to you: $0, but your investment value (NAV) increases by the reinvested amount — reinvestment adds capital to the fund exactly like a new contribution. If the sponsor counts this toward a capital call, check "Count reinvestment toward capital commitment." Example: fund pays $5,000 income and reinvests it — NAV increases by $5,000, cash received: $0. | + Reinvested amount |
| NAV Override | A direct valuation mark from an official sponsor statement. Use the figure exactly as shown — sponsor NAV is already net of fund-level fees. | Resets to override value |
| Fee (contribution + checkbox) | A cash fee paid separately outside of distributions — management fee, setup fee, fund expense. Enter the amount as a Contribution and check "This is a fee payment." Included in XIRR as a negative cashflow. Not added to NAV. Excluded from Cash Contributed and DPI/TVPI denominators. Shown with a red FEE badge in transaction history. | None |
Charts & Visualization
Capital Flow
DPI = cumulative cash distributions received ÷ paid-in capital
The Capital Flow chart shows the complete picture of money moving in and out of your investment.
- —Contributions bar (orange) — dark orange: cash you contributed from your bank account.
- —Contributions bar (orange) — light orange: distributions reinvested back into the fund (never touched your bank). Total = all capital ever deployed.
- —Distributions bar — dark blue: Return of Capital — your original principal being returned.
- —Distributions bar — teal: Income — interest, dividends, and profit distributions.
- —DPI below the bars uses the same definition as the DPI metric: cumulative cash distributions (income + principal returned) ÷ paid-in capital.
Example: You contributed $85k cash. The fund reinvested $9.3k of your distributions back in — so $94.3k total was deployed. The fund returned $21k principal (dark blue) and paid $21.8k income (teal). DPI = $42.8k / $85k = 0.50x.
Distributions Chart
—
The Distributions chart on the investment Overview tab shows cash paid out by the fund over time, split into two types so you can see both the income stream and principal return history side by side.
- —Teal bars: Income (interest, dividends, profit distributions). This is income generated by the investment.
- —Dark blue bars: Return of Capital (principal) — your original capital being returned. This occurs during refinancings, asset sales, or partial exits. It reduces your remaining investment balance.
- —Use the M/Q/Y buttons to group by month, quarter, or year. Use 1Y/3Y/Max to control the time window.
Example: A real estate fund pays $500/month in income (teal) and returns $10,000 of principal in October after refinancing a property (dark blue). Both appear on the Distributions chart.
Performance: Distributions Tab (Portfolio Page)
—
The Distributions tab in the Portfolio page's Performance section shows both income and principal returned as grouped bars per period, aggregated across all filtered investments.
- —Teal bars: Income received that period across all filtered investments.
- —Dark blue bars: Return of Capital (principal returned) received that period across all filtered investments.
- —Table view shows Distributions, Principal, and Total columns with a summed totals footer.
- —Use 1Y/3Y/Max to control the time window. Use Chart/Table toggle to switch views.
Capital Commitment
Committed − Called = Remaining
For investments with capital calls, AltTrack tracks your total commitment and how much has been called so far. Committed: the total amount you agreed to invest when you signed the subscription agreement. Called: the amount actually requested and paid so far via capital calls. Remaining (Unfunded): the amount still owed but not yet requested. This is your unfunded commitment. A color-coded progress bar on each investment card shows how much of your commitment has been called: Amber — early stage (0–33% called) Blue — mid stage (34–66% called) Green — mostly called (67–99% called) Green + Fully Called — 100% called To track capital calls, enable "Has capital calls" when adding an investment and enter your total committed amount. Mark each contribution as a "Capital call" when entering transactions.
Example: You committed $100,000 to a private equity fund. They have called $65,000 in three capital calls. The progress bar shows 65% (blue), Called $65k, Remaining $35k.
Fee Transactions
AltTrack only tracks fees billed separately as cash payments outside the fund.
Most alternative investment fees are already embedded in your returns and require no entry:
- Management fees — deducted from NAV before sponsor reporting. Already reflected in your NAV figure.
- Performance fees (carried interest) — taken at exit or distribution. Already reflected in lower distributions received.
- Fund operating expenses — deducted from returns before NAV is reported.
These fees are already captured in your metrics. Your XIRR, NAV, and yield reflect net-of-fee returns as reported by your sponsor.
To record a separately billed cash fee:
- Enter the amount as a Contribution
- Check “This is a fee payment”
- The fee appears with a FEE badge in your transaction history
- XIRR automatically reflects it as a cash outflow
Most investors will rarely use this. If unsure whether a fee belongs here, it probably does not — it is most likely already embedded in your fund's reported returns.
Example
A feeder fund charges a separate annual management fee of $1,270 billed directly to you outside the fund. Enter: Contribution = $1,270, check “This is a fee payment.” XIRR automatically reflects the true net cost. By contrast, a fund charging a 2% management fee deducted from NAV requires no entry — it is already reflected in your reported NAV.