# pe-finance.wiki

> pe-finance.wiki is a reference corpus for private equity fund structure and economics, covering the management fee base and step-down, fee offsets, carried interest and both waterfall types worked side by side, the catch-up boundary and GP clawback algebra, performance measurement including the subscription-line effect on IRR and four PME methods, LPA terms, capital-call and pacing mechanics, ASC 820 valuation and ILPA reporting, and the structural tax mechanisms a fund uses.

Private equity fund economics are documented qualitatively almost everywhere and quantitatively almost nowhere, which is where the confusion starts: the terms that decide how much the GP keeps and how much the LP receives are arithmetic, and the arithmetic is short. This reference states it. Every entry that changes a payment, a metric or a fee carries an explicit formula and a worked example whose numbers compute.

ONE FUND runs through the whole corpus. The reference fund has 500.0 of LP commitments (all figures are millions), a GP commitment of 10.0 being 2.00 percent of LP commitments, a five-year investment period and a ten-year term. The management fee is 2.00 percent of commitments in years 1 to 5 and 1.50 percent of the cost basis of unrealised investments in years 6 to 10, totalling 66.2. Partnership expenses total 8.8. Six investments cost 425.0 and realise 935.0, a gross MOIC of 2.2000x. Total capital called is therefore 425.0 + 66.2 + 8.8 = 500.0, exactly the commitments. All calls and distributions occur at year end. The waterfall pays a return of all contributed capital, then an 8.00 percent preferred return compounded annually on unreturned contributed capital, then a 100 percent GP catch-up, then 80/20. Under that whole-fund waterfall the LPs receive 848.0 and the GP 87.0, a net DPI and TVPI of 1.6960x and a net IRR of 11.9825 percent against a 17.2915 percent gross IRR. The full call, distribution and NAV schedule is published as a table so every figure on the site can be reproduced from it.

Notation is uniform throughout. C is LP commitments; PIC is paid-in or contributed capital; I is invested capital at cost; F is management fees called; X is partnership expenses called; D is cumulative distributions to LPs; NAV is the fair value of unrealised investments. UC is unreturned contributed capital and PA the accrued unpaid preferred return. h is the preferred return rate, k the carried interest rate and c the GP's share of distributions inside the catch-up band. P is cumulative profit distributed and Pref the cumulative preferred return paid. A_j is the capital attributable to investment j and R_j its realisation proceeds. t is time in years and n a holding period. I_t is the level of a public index at time t and lambda the PME+ scaling factor. x is an EV/EBITDA multiple, EV enterprise value and ND net debt. LTV is loan to value and L a leverage ratio. Symbols used in a single entry are defined where they appear.

Nothing here is a market-terms survey. No fee level, hurdle, carry rate, waterfall type, index return or fund return is presented as a measured or typical figure. Every number is either derived from the reference fund or an input labelled as assumed and chosen for legibility. Where a real artefact governs a point - the ILPA Reporting Template, the ILPA Private Equity Principles, FASB ASC 820, or a section of the Internal Revenue Code - it is named in the entry's source field and nowhere else.

Published and maintained by Wall Street Wiki, https://wallstreet.wiki. Contact: wallstreetwiki@agentmail.to. A reference published by the wallstreet.wiki network. Every figure is stated as a formula and recomputed from it, every convention names the authority that sets it, and corrections are versioned and dated.

Corpus: 59 defined terms and 35 reference tables across 6 sections. Reviewed 2026-08-27. Licensed CC BY 4.0.

Each section has a JSON endpoint carrying the same facts without markup or navigation. Measured on this corpus a section's JSON is 36 to 60 percent of the bytes of the equivalent HTML page. The full corpus is available in one request.

Content dates reflect editorial review, not build time. Use the change feed below to decide what to re-crawl rather than re-fetching the whole corpus; every JSON endpoint carries a reviewed field and sitemap.xml lastmod carries the per-section review date.

Calculator pages take their inputs as URL query parameters and compute in the browser. There is no API and no key.

## Data endpoints

- [Full corpus](https://pe-finance.wiki/llms-full.txt): every section inlined as Markdown, one request
- [Full corpus, JSON](https://pe-finance.wiki/index.json): the same content as structured JSON
- [Fund economics and the waterfall, JSON](https://pe-finance.wiki/economics.json): 13 terms, 9 tables
- [Performance measurement, and how it is gamed, JSON](https://pe-finance.wiki/performance.json): 12 terms, 9 tables
- [Fund structure and terms, JSON](https://pe-finance.wiki/structure.json): 13 terms, 4 tables
- [Cash-flow mechanics, JSON](https://pe-finance.wiki/cash-flows.json): 9 terms, 6 tables
- [Valuation and reporting, JSON](https://pe-finance.wiki/valuation.json): 7 terms, 5 tables
- [Tax and structure basics, JSON](https://pe-finance.wiki/tax.json): 5 terms, 2 tables

## Freshness

- [Change feed](https://pe-finance.wiki/changes.json): dated record of what changed and when, spec wiki-changes/1
- [Change feed, Atom](https://pe-finance.wiki/feed.xml): the same feed as Atom
- [Sitemap](https://pe-finance.wiki/sitemap.xml): lastmod carries the per-section review date

## Reference pages

- [Fund economics and the waterfall](https://pe-finance.wiki/economics/): Committed against contributed capital, the management fee base, carried interest, and the two waterfall types run on one set of cash flows.
- [Performance measurement, and how it is gamed](https://pe-finance.wiki/performance/): IRR, TVPI, DPI, RVPI and MOIC, the credit facility that moves one without moving the others, and four public market equivalents.
- [Fund structure and terms](https://pe-finance.wiki/structure/): The limited partnership agreement, read as a set of levers on the economics rather than as a legal document.
- [Cash-flow mechanics](https://pe-finance.wiki/cash-flows/): Capital calls, equalisation of a late closer, recallable distributions, unfunded commitment, and the pacing arithmetic behind a target allocation.
- [Valuation and reporting](https://pe-finance.wiki/valuation/): ASC 820 applied to a private equity position, the calibration approach, and how a reporting lag changes a reported return.
- [Tax and structure basics](https://pe-finance.wiki/tax/): Section 1061, blocker corporations, fee waivers, and the difference between a fee and a distribution - structurally, with the code sections named.

## Calculators

- [Distribution waterfall calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/): A fund's cash flows distributed through the full waterfall - return of capital, preferred return, catch-up and carry split - under either a deal-by-deal or a whole-fund construction, with the clawback position computed at termination. Computes LP and GP amounts by tier and by period, preferred return accrued and paid, catch-up distributed and the catch-up boundary, total GP carry and carry as a share of fund profit, LP net IRR, TVPI, DPI and RVPI, clawback owed at termination and the escrow needed to cover it. Parameters: commitment, fee, hurdle, carry, catchup, type, calls, dists, deals, nav, escrow.
- [PME and subscription-line calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/pme/): A fund's LP cash flows benchmarked against a public index by four public market equivalent methods, and the same cash flows restated as though a capital call facility of a stated length had been used, so the effect on IRR and on the multiple can be read side by side. Computes KS-PME wealth ratio, Long-Nickels PME IRR and the PME terminal value, flagged where it goes negative, PME+ scaling factor and PME+ IRR, Direct Alpha, fund net IRR, TVPI and DPI with and without a credit facility, facility interest borne by the LP and the change in paid-in capital. Parameters: calls, dists, nav, index, facility, facilityRate, facilityScope.

## Calculator examples

- [Distribution waterfall calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/?commitment=500&hurdle=0.08&carry=0.2&catchup=1&type=whole&calls=119.3,110.5,110.5,90.5,50.5,6.2,5.3,3.8,2.3,1.1&dists=0,0,0,0,110,30,310,225,180,80): the reference fund under a whole-fund waterfall. LPs receive 848.0 and the GP 87.0; net DPI and TVPI 1.6960x; net IRR 11.9825 percent. The preferred return paid is 150.544 and the catch-up 37.636
- [Distribution waterfall calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/?commitment=500&hurdle=0.08&carry=0.2&catchup=1&type=deal&calls=119.3,110.5,110.5,90.5,50.5,6.2,5.3,3.8,2.3,1.1&dists=0,0,0,0,110,30,310,225,180,80&deals=45:1:5:110,60:1:6:30,100:2:7:310,100:3:8:225,80:4:9:180,40:5:10:80): the same fund deal by deal. GP carry rises to 95.1176 with the first payment in year 5, LP distributions fall to 839.8824, net IRR falls to 11.4142 percent, and a clawback of 8.1176 is owed at termination
- [Distribution waterfall calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/?commitment=500&hurdle=0&carry=0.2&catchup=1&type=whole&calls=119.3,110.5,110.5,90.5,50.5,6.2,5.3,3.8,2.3,1.1&dists=0,0,0,0,110,30,310,225,180,80): the reference fund with no hurdle at all. Total GP carry is still 87.0 and LP DPI still 1.6960x - only the timing changes, and net IRR falls to 11.9605 percent
- [Distribution waterfall calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/?commitment=500&hurdle=0.08&carry=0.2&catchup=0.5&type=whole&calls=119.3,110.5,110.5,90.5,50.5,6.2,5.3,3.8,2.3,1.1&dists=0,0,0,0,110,30,310,225,180,80): a 50/50 catch-up instead of a full one. The catch-up tier distributes 100.3627 rather than 37.6360, of which the GP takes 50.1813, and the catch-up completes at 250.9067 of cumulative profit rather than 188.1800
- [Distribution waterfall calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/?commitment=500&hurdle=0.08&carry=0.2&catchup=1&type=whole&calls=119.3,110.5,110.5,90.5,50.5,6.2,5.3,3.8,2.3,1.1&dists=0,0,0,0,73.15,19.95,206.15,149.625,119.7,53.2): the reference fund's proceeds scaled to a 1.4630x gross MOIC. Here the 8.00 percent hurdle removes the GP's carry entirely, which it never does above a 1.6597x gross MOIC
- [Distribution waterfall calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/?commitment=500&hurdle=0.08&carry=0.2&catchup=1&type=deal&escrow=0.3&calls=119.3,110.5,110.5,90.5,50.5,6.2,5.3,3.8,2.3,1.1&dists=0,0,0,0,110,30,310,225,180,80&deals=45:1:5:110,60:1:6:30,100:2:7:310,100:3:8:225,80:4:9:180,40:5:10:80): the deal-by-deal case with a 30 percent escrow. 28.5353 is held against an 8.1176 clawback exposure, so the escrow that exactly covers it is 8.534 percent of carry distributions
- [PME and subscription-line calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/pme/?calls=119.3,110.5,110.5,90.5,50.5,6.2,5.3,3.8,2.3,1.1&dists=0,0,0,0,110,30,310,197.144,136.636,64.22&index=0.07): the reference fund's LP cash flows against a constant 7.00 percent index. KS-PME is 1.2374, Long-Nickels returns exactly 7.0000 percent because the index rate is constant, and Direct Alpha is 4.6565 percent - which combines with the index as 1.07 x 1.046565 - 1 = 11.9825 percent, the fund's net IRR
- [PME and subscription-line calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/pme/?calls=119.3,110.5,110.5,90.5,50.5,6.2,5.3,3.8,2.3,1.1&dists=0,0,0,0,110,30,310,197.144,136.636,64.22&index=100,112,103.04,125.7088,143.308,146.1742,172.4855,151.7873,191.252,210.3772,222.9998): the same fund against a varying index series compounding to 8.3504 percent. KS-PME 1.2041, Long-Nickels 7.2267 percent, PME+ 7.6266 percent and Direct Alpha 4.0641 percent - three different answers to the same question, 69 basis points apart
- [PME and subscription-line calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/pme/?calls=119.3,110.5,110.5,90.5,50.5,6.2,5.3,3.8,2.3,1.1&dists=0,0,0,0,110,30,310,197.144,136.636,64.22&index=0.07&facility=12&facilityRate=0.06&facilityScope=investment): the reference fund with a 12-month capital call facility at 6.00 percent bridging the investment drawdowns. Paid-in rises from 500.0 to 525.5, DPI falls from 1.6960x to 1.6234x, and net IRR rises from 11.9825 percent to 13.5240 percent
- [PME and subscription-line calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/pme/?calls=119.3,110.5,110.5,90.5,50.5,6.2,5.3,3.8,2.3,1.1&dists=0,0,0,0,110,30,310,197.144,136.636,64.22&index=0.07&facility=24&facilityRate=0.06&facilityScope=investment): a 24-month facility on the same fund. Paid-in 552.53, DPI 1.5538x, net IRR 15.9796 percent - a 399.7 basis point improvement in the headline bought with 52.53 of interest
- [PME and subscription-line calculator](https://pe-finance.wiki/calc/pme/?calls=100,0&dists=0,130&nav=0&index=0.07): a two-period test case: 100 called at period 1 and 130 returned at period 2, against a 7.00 percent index. KS-PME = (130/1.07^2)/(100/1.07) = 113.5470/93.4579 = 1.2150 and Direct Alpha = 130/107 - 1 = 21.4953 percent - the simplest check that the index restatement is being applied correctly

## Network

- [wallstreet.wiki](https://wallstreet.wiki): the parent index for this network of references
- [Network registry](https://pe-finance.wiki/network.json): every sibling site, its subject, and its corpus endpoint, spec wiki-network/1
- [hedgefund.wiki](https://hedgefund.wiki/llms.txt): Hedge funds. Institutional hedge fund knowledge graph: terms, strategies, regulations, calculators.
- [venture-capital.wiki](https://venture-capital.wiki/llms.txt): Venture capital. Venture financing arithmetic: liquidation waterfalls, convertible conversion, dilution, term sheet mechanics.
- [options.wiki](https://options.wiki/llms.txt): Options. Deterministic options mathematics: payoff algebra, Greeks in closed form, volatility, margin, expectancy.
- [privatecredit.wiki](https://privatecredit.wiki/llms.txt): Private credit. Private credit structure: instruments and the waterfall, SOFR pricing, return metrics, covenants, vehicles.
- [m-a.wiki](https://m-a.wiki/llms.txt): Mergers and acquisitions. Deal arithmetic: LBO returns and value attribution, accretion and dilution, the value bridge, valuation cross-checks.
- [fixed-income.wiki](https://fixed-income.wiki/llms.txt): Fixed income. Bond mathematics and market convention: day counts, accrual, price and yield, duration, curves and spreads.
- [quants.wiki](https://quants.wiki/llms.txt): Quantitative finance. Estimators and their failure modes: performance statistics, covariance estimation, portfolio construction, backtest validity.
- [aicrawl.dev](https://aicrawl.dev/llms.txt): AI crawler control. Verified AI crawler registry, robots.txt matching rules, the standards, and what enforcement actually works.

This site owns one subject. A formula or convention appears on exactly one site in the network and the others link to it, so fetching all of them yields no duplicated entries. The membership list is published rather than implied.

## Access and licensing

- [Access terms](https://pe-finance.wiki/access/): the corpus is free under CC BY 4.0; embed licences and hosted API access are the paid products
- [Pricing, JSON](https://pe-finance.wiki/pricing.json): machine-readable price list, what is free, and how to request a quote
- [MCP descriptor](https://pe-finance.wiki/.well-known/mcp.json): every resource and calculator as a tool definition

Nothing on this site is metered. There is no per-crawl charge, no key, and no rate limit; fetch the corpus in one request from llms-full.txt or index.json. The paid products are an embed licence for the calculators and a delivery guarantee on the data, neither of which restricts the free corpus.

## Optional

- [Deep link schema](https://pe-finance.wiki/.well-known/deeplinks.json): machine-readable parameter definitions for the calculators
- [Pricing plan](https://pe-finance.wiki/.well-known/pay-per-crawl.json): which paths are free and what the charged ones cost

Entries carry a source field naming the primary authority where one exists. Entries without one state conventions in general use rather than the rule of any single venue.

Reference information only. Not legal, tax, or investment advice. Fund documents vary materially between managers, vehicles and jurisdictions; the structures described here are common patterns rather than the terms of any particular fund, and every figure is derived from a single illustrative reference fund whose inputs are stated. Consult counsel.