Fund Structure
What is Investment Period?
The investment period is the window — usually 3–5 years — during which a fund can make new investments using LP capital. After it closes, the fund enters the harvesting phase and can only do follow-ons.
During the investment period, the GP actively deploys committed capital into new portfolio companies. Once the investment period ends, the fund generally cannot make new investments — only follow-on investments into existing portfolio companies.
The investment period is closely tied to the management fee schedule: most funds charge fees on committed capital during this window, then switch to charging on invested capital (or a lower base) afterward.
Also known as: deployment period, commitment period