SEBI

How to Trace Lost Mutual Fund Investments?

Before Dematerialisation, the mutual fund investments are kept in physical form, or they have invested d at a time when linking PAN is not mandatory. Hence, the chances of them getting lost or misplaced are high. It becomes challenging for the holder to retrieve the folio number of the lost mutual fund investment. Due to this, the mutual fund investment remained unclaimed for years and was transferred to the unclaimed Account of the company. Currently, it becomes mandatory to link Aadhaar and Pan card when registering for a mutual fund so that it becomes easy for the investor to track their mutual fund investments.

What is Mutual Fund?

A mutual fund (MF) is a trust that pools money from an investor and invests it in equities, securities, money market instruments, bonds and short-term debt. The consolidated holding of the mutual funds is known as Portfolio. Each share denotes the ownership of the investor in the fund. Any income generated from the collective investment in the mutual fund shall be distributed proportionately between the investors. In general, it is collective money invested by many investors. The types of mutual funds can be categorised as:

1. Equity Schemes
2. Liquid Funds
3. Debt Funds
4. Balanced Funds
5. Income Funds
6. Index Funds

How to Trace lost Mutual Fund Investment?

It becomes challenging for the investor to retrieve the folio number of their lost mutual fund investments. Since there is no consolidated law on the recovery of a lost mutual fund, the government authorities have constantly tried to protect the interests of the investors. There are ways through which we can still retrieve the folio number of lost mutual funds and redeem them at the time of maturity.

Some possible substitutes through which the investor can trace lost mutual fund investment include:

1. Visit the RTA office if PAN is not linked

The investor can visit the office of RTA if they have lost mutual fund investment or their PAN is not linked with the investment. The RTA or Registrar and Transfer Agent are the companies that manage the operations of Mutual Funds houses.

Mutual fund houses are burdened with many activities; therefore, to improve their efficiency, they transfer some of their operational activities to the RTA. As a result, it allows the investors to recover their lost mutual fund investment by making an application to RTA. The investor must go to RTA and provide the following information: name, Photo ID proof, PAN card, address and mobile number. The application shall be supported by a self-attested PAN card copy and address proof. After that, the RTA will verify all the documents and contact the investor.

2. Old Transactions

The investor can track the folio number of the lost mutual fund investment by tracking old payment transactions. The investor can trace the mutual funds through the payment receipt he received when payment is intended against the fund. There may be chances when the PAN of the investor is not linked, or there are mistakes in the details of the mutual fund; in that case, the investor has to visit the Fund house along with the correct details and payment receipt.

3. CAS (Consolidated Account Statement)

The investor can retrieve the folio number of the lost mutual fund investment through the Consolidated Account Statement. The CAS is provided to the investor on his registered E-mail ID; hence it is essential that the investor should register their E-mail id with the mutual fund house. The investor can visit the portal of K-Fin or CAMS and retrieve the Consolidated Account Statement on filing the required details. If the investor has registered more than one E-mail, they can use them and generate CAS. The CAS can be generated for a particular date or period. The CAS will list all the folio numbers attached to the E-mail.

4. CAS, if Account is in DEMAT From

Generally, the investor with their Account in DEMAT^[1] form will receive a monthly consolidated Annual statement on their registered E-mail ID. They can visit their E-mail ID and trace the folio number of their lost Mutual fund Investment.

5. Visit the Asset Management Company Office

If the investor cannot retrieve the folio number of his lost mutual fund investment, he has the option to recover it from the Asset Management Office. The investor has to share PAN details with AMC, who will, after examining the details will, share duplicate CAS with the investor.

However, if the investor has updated his PAN with AMC, they would receive a half-yearly CAS at the end of every year. They can check and retrieve the folio number from their registered E-Mail ID.

Note: An asset management company is a company that invests the pooled money of investor in a strategic way and bring out returns for the investors.

6. MF Central

The MF Central is an online platform developed by KFintech and CAMS to provide investors access to their holdings at an industry level. It can be used to track all the investments that are linked with PAN. The investor can log in with their mobile number & PAN and retrieve the folio number of their lost mutual fund investment.

Conclusion

The age of digitalisation has made a significant impact on the financial structure of the country. The constant efforts of the authorities in protecting the interest of the investor have proven efficient. The investor can trace the folio number of their lost mutual fund investment through alternate means. It is made compulsory for investors to have their PAN card linked with their investment so that it can be tracked at any place or time. It not only reduces the chances of getting the mutual investment misplaced but also helps track all the investments in one place.

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