Portfolio: What You Own
The portfolio is the record of money actually deployed and what it is now worth. It only tells the truth if somebody keeps the valuations current - this page explains what each number is built from.
What you will learn
- Adding a holding after a deal closes
- Why an unmarked holding is worth nothing, not cost
- Recording valuation marks, follow-ons and exits
- What the statuses mean
- Keeping the numbers honest enough to report
The portfolio screen#
| Number | What it is |
|---|---|
| Companies | How many holdings you have. |
| Deployed | Everything you have put in, initial cheques plus every follow-on. |
| Current value | The sum of your valuation marks. Unmarked holdings contribute nothing. |
| MOIC | Current value divided by deployed. Below 1.00× means you are underwater on paper. |
An unmarked holding is worth nothing#
This is the single most important thing to understand about these numbers. When you add a holding without a valuation, its current value is zero - not its cost.
- Add a mark as soon as you have any defensible basis for one - the last round price is usually it.
- Analytics and this screen agree with each other, so a number that looks odd here will look odd there too.
- The returns calculation only includes holdings that have been marked or exited, so an unmarked portfolio simply has no IRR yet.
Why zero and not cost
Because carrying a holding at cost quietly asserts a 1.00× multiple on something nobody has ever valued. Zero is visibly wrong, which is the point: it makes you go and mark it.
Careful
A brand new portfolio therefore reads ₹0 current value and 0.00× MOIC until you record your first mark. That is expected, not a bug.
Adding a holding#
- 1
Add holding
Do this after the deal closes. Closing the deal records the decision; this records the asset.
- 2
Enter what you actually invested
The closed amount, not the amount originally asked for.
- 3
Add a valuation if you have one
Usually the round price you invested at. Without it the holding shows as worth nothing.
Tip: The 'valuation at entry' field on the form is descriptive - it is stored for reference and is not what the multiple is calculated from. The mark is.
Keeping it current#
Valuation marks
Record a new mark whenever there is a reason to - a new round, a secondary, a material change. Each one is kept, so you get a history rather than just a latest figure.
Follow-ons
Additional money into a company you already hold. It increases Deployed, which means it lowers your multiple unless the value rises with it.
Exits
Record the proceeds and the date. The holding moves to Exited and its return becomes realised rather than paper.
Write-offs
Unpleasant but necessary. A dead company carried at its last mark flatters the whole portfolio.
Good to know
Follow-ons count towards deployed capital everywhere - the holding, the list and the dashboard. A ₹25L position that took a ₹10L follow-on and is worth ₹32L is 0.91×, not 1.28×.
Statuses#
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active | Held, no marks or changes since entry. |
| Marked up | Latest valuation is above the previous one. |
| Marked down | Latest valuation is below the previous one. |
| Follow-on | You have put in additional money. |
| Partially exited | Some of the position has been sold. |
| Exited | Fully realised. |
| Written off | Treated as a total loss. |
Tip
Active and Marked up mean different things. A portfolio where everything is still Active has never been revalued, which is worth knowing before anyone quotes its multiple.
A workable discipline#
Mark on events, not on dates
A new round, a secondary, a down round, a shutdown. Marking quarterly for the sake of it produces made-up numbers.
Record exits immediately
An exit that is not recorded leaves realised money looking like paper value.
Write off honestly
The uncomfortable one, and the one that decides whether anybody can trust the total.
Common questions#
None of them have a valuation mark. Add one to each - until then the portal will not assert a value on your behalf.
Almost always a follow-on. More money in against the same value is a lower multiple.
IRR needs evidence - a mark or a realised exit. With neither, there is nothing to compute a return from and the field stays empty rather than guessing.
It is the sensible order, and it keeps the pipeline honest. The portfolio does not enforce it.
If their role grants the Portfolio module. Reading and writing are separate permissions - an analyst may see it and not be able to post a valuation.
