Unclaimed Investments: If you want to avoid loss due to unclaimed investment, then you should update it in the financial institution when the address or contact information changes. You should keep the documents related to all your investments like physical shares, mutual funds, bank deposits and insurance policies.
Unclaimed Investments: The financial sector of the country is witnessing continuous growth. But amidst this growth, unclaimed investments remain a challenge. Under unclaimed investments, lakhs of rupees remain idle in shares, mutual funds, provident funds and other financial instruments due to many reasons. Many times it becomes difficult for common investors to get back these assets due to lack of information or due to complex process. In such a situation, it is important that a system should be created for the recovery of unclaimed investments, which ensures that the property of the common man is not lost in oblivion.
How much is Unclaimed Investments?
According to the data, assets worth Rs 5,79,788 crore are unclaimed in the country. This includes ₹3,78,000 crore in physical shares, ₹35,770 crore in mutual funds, ₹5454 crore in unclaimed dividends, ₹28,800 crore in IEPF holdings, ₹62,225 crore in bank deposits, ₹48,000 crore in unclaimed provident funds and ₹21,539 crore in unclaimed insurance policies.
According to Abhay Chandalia, Managing Director of Share Samadhan, “There are usually many reasons behind unclaimed investments. Many times investors forget their investments due to lack of awareness. Apart from this, change of home address, inoperative account and death of the investor are some other reasons due to which the hard earned money of common investors remains unclaimed. Many times the documents related to the investment are lost. Due to this negligence, investments made many years ago remain unclaimed with the passage of time.”
What to do to avoid losses due to unclaimed investments?
If you want to avoid losses due to unclaimed investments, then you should update it in the financial institution when the address or contact information changes. You should keep the documents related to all your investments like physical shares, mutual funds, bank deposits and insurance policies safe. Apart from this, definitely tell your family members about your investments. Share the necessary details with them and if possible, provide access to your financial records. This will also avoid the situation of unclaimed investments in the event of someone’s death.
Investors should use online tools and portals of regulatory bodies and financial institutions to track their investments. The IEPF Authority in India has set up an online database to recover unclaimed dividends and shares. IRDAI has also provided tools to check unclaimed insurance amounts. Another way to avoid unclaimed investments is to set reminders for this. Using digital reminders or calendar alerts, you will be able to check your investments from time to time.
What to do to recover unclaimed investments?
Recovering unclaimed investments can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Investors often have to face legal procedures and paperwork. You can take professional help to recover your old forgotten investments. For example, firms like Share Samadhan are working on the recovery of unclaimed investments. According to the company’s managing director Abhay Chandalia and strategy head Chaman Chandalia, the firm has recovered assets worth more than ₹600 crore under this. Share Samadhan provides specialist advice to ensure that your investments are safe and accounted for.
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