Capital Commitment

A capital commitment is the projected capital expenditure a company commits to spend on long-term assets over a period of time.

It also refers to the securities inventory carried by a market maker. Capital commitment may also refer to investments in blind pool funds by venture capital investors, which they contribute over time when requested by the fund manager.

In the business world, capital commitment revolves around the designation of funds for a particular purpose including any future liability. Most commonly, this includes regular operating expenses such as property-related costs, equipment, and production materials. Regardless of the circumstances in which the term is used, it relates to funds being held or directed in a particular manner.

Capital commitments may also include future business ventures such as the beginning of an expansion project. Capital commitments are generally higher for companies in capital-intensive industries such as power generation.

Capital commitments are not contingencies, which represent conditions or situations that cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty by the company.

Capital commitments may come with a variety of risks, even if the funds have not been released as payment. A company has to exercise care to structure its capital commitments since an inordinately high amount puts undue strain on the company’s finances.

Proper planning requires the company to ensure operating cash flow is sufficient to meet capital expenditures, and if it is not, to make arrangements to ensure it can raise the additional funds on the capital markets. If a company overcommits and experiences a sudden unexpected decline in capital, it may have to direct a higher portion of the profits toward these commitments than originally intended. If it doesn't, it may be unable to meet all of its obligations in their entirety.

Due to these risks, these forms of commitments are disclosed within the released financial statements, often listed as a footnote in regards to the balance sheet.

[Important: Being able to access a company's capital commitment through its balance sheet allows investors to asses the risk involved with their investment.]

From a stock market perspective, capital commitments can refer to the shares held by a financial organization that is currently available for sale. They represent stock inventory in its entirety and may be considered a form of risk as the associated values of the shares vary with market conditions.

In private equity, capital commitment—or committed capital—is the amount of money an investor promises to a venture capital fund. Under most agreements, the investor usually has a certain timeframe in which to supply this capital. This commitment is generally used to fund investments or fees by fund managers.

This market comes with much more risk than that of public equity. That's because private equity returns have a higher dispersion of returns than the public market.