Unclaimed Investment Recovery Services: Addressing Forgotten Securities in India
Around 1-1.5% of shares in the securities market are still held in physical form through paper share certificates.
Unclaimed investment recovery services are professional services that help investors recover their lost or forgotten investments. This is useful when investors are unable to track their investments or when they are unaware of their investments’ existence.
Before the Demat system became the norm, people commonly bought, sold, and stored securities in paper form.
However, some of these securities were never converted to digital form and still exist as physical paper certificates.
Over time, due to wear and tear, being forgotten, or the passing of the original holder, these securities can get damaged or lost, never making their way into the system again.
Share recovery is the process of reclaiming these securities and restoring rightful ownership. This can involve transferring unclaimed assets, recovering company shares, claiming unclaimed dividends, and issuing bonuses.
According to recent reports, there are over 3.3 million unclaimed demat accounts in India with a total value of more than Rs. 15,000 crores. Additionally, there are over 8.5 million unclaimed fixed deposits with a total value of more than Rs. 25,000 crores.
Also Read: What is Investor Education and Protection fund and why shares are transferred to IEPF?