Recruiter's Glossary

Examples: Seed Round • Pro-rata Rights • Liquidation Preference

MOIC

Term from Venture Capital industry explained for recruiters

MOIC (Multiple on Invested Capital) is a key measurement tool used in venture capital and private equity to show how much value an investment has created. It's like measuring how many times you've multiplied the original money invested. For example, if you invested $1 million and later sold the investment for $3 million, that would be a 3.0x MOIC. People in investing often use this alongside other terms like IRR or ROI, but MOIC is preferred because it's simpler to understand - it just shows how many times you multiplied the original investment.

Examples in Resumes

Achieved 4.5x MOIC across portfolio of early-stage technology investments

Generated average MOIC of 3.2x on exited investments

Lead investor in Series A round resulting in 5.0x Multiple on Invested Capital

Typical job title: "Investment Professionals"

Also try searching for:

Investment Analyst Venture Capital Associate Private Equity Associate Investment Manager Portfolio Manager Investment Professional Fund Manager

Where to Find Investment Professionals

Professional Networks

Industry Resources

Job Boards

Example Interview Questions

Senior Level Questions

Q: How do you evaluate if a 2.5x MOIC is good or bad for an investment?

Expected Answer: A senior professional should discuss how the assessment depends on factors like investment holding period, industry standards, fund strategy, and risk level. They should also mention comparing it to other metrics like IRR and benchmark returns.

Q: How would you explain the relationship between MOIC and IRR to limited partners?

Expected Answer: Should be able to clearly explain that MOIC shows total return multiple regardless of time, while IRR accounts for time value of money, using simple examples to illustrate when each metric is most relevant.

Mid Level Questions

Q: Can you walk through how you calculate MOIC for a complex investment with multiple funding rounds?

Expected Answer: Should explain how to account for different investment tranches, include any distributions or partial exits, and arrive at a blended MOIC across all investments in the company.

Q: What are the limitations of using MOIC as a performance metric?

Expected Answer: Should discuss how MOIC doesn't account for time value of money, risk levels, or market conditions, and explain why it needs to be used alongside other metrics.

Junior Level Questions

Q: How do you calculate MOIC?

Expected Answer: Should be able to explain that MOIC is calculated by dividing the total value returned to investors by the total amount invested, providing a simple example calculation.

Q: What's the difference between realized and unrealized MOIC?

Expected Answer: Should explain that realized MOIC is from actual exits/cash returns, while unrealized MOIC includes current valuations of investments still held in the portfolio.