Private Equity Distribution Waterfall Calculator

Inputs

LP Commitment

Total Exit Proceeds

Hold Period

years

Preferred Return

% compounded

Carried Interest

% to GP

GP Catch-Up

% during catch-up

Exit proceeds are below LP commitment — this scenario produces a loss for the LP. No carry is paid.

LP Receives

$0.0M

0.00× MOIC · 0.0% IRR

GP Receives

$0.0M

0.0% of profits

Total Profit

$0.0M

0.00× gross MOIC

The Cascade

Proceeds flow through tiers in sequence. Each tier must fill before the next begins.

Final Allocation

Full GP economics.

Management fees sit outside the waterfall as operating economics, paid through capital calls separate from distributions. Most LP-facing waterfall conversations leave them out — but for a complete picture of what the GP collects, fold them in.

Show calculation

Management Fee

% of committed capital, annually

Carry

$0.0M

From waterfall

Management Fees

$0.0M

Over the hold period

Total GP Economics

$0.0M

— of LP commitment

Convention assumed: fees are paid from the LP commitment via capital calls, not in addition to it. The LP's MOIC and IRR shown above already reflect the full commitment, so adding fees here doesn't change LP returns — it just shows the full GP take. Real funds may apply step-downs after the investment period or compute fees on invested rather than committed capital; this calculator uses the simpler flat assumption.

What this models — and what it doesn't.

This is a European-style, whole-fund waterfall with a single hurdle and a configurable catch-up. European means the GP doesn't see carry until LPs have received their full capital plus the preferred return across the entire fund — not on a deal-by-deal basis. Whole-fund aggregates contributions and distributions at the fund level rather than per-investment.

The preferred return compounds annually on LP commitments over the hold period. The catch-up tier brings the GP up to its target carry split of total profits paid in tiers two and three; at 100%, the GP receives every dollar in this tier until balanced. Carried interest in tier four splits remaining proceeds at the configured rate.

What this tool doesn't model : clawbacks, side letters, fee offsets, multiple hurdle tiers, deal-by-deal (American) waterfalls, capital call timing, NAV-based metrics, management fee drag, or anything tax-related. It's a back-of-envelope check, not a substitute for an LPA-faithful model.