Reviving Dormant Mutual Fund Investments: Sebi's New Initiative

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed a new service platform to help investors trace inactive mutual fund folios. This initiative aims to reduce unclaimed investments, improve transparency, and safeguard against fraudulent redemptions. Public comments are invited until January 7.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is taking significant steps to address the issue of inactive and unclaimed mutual fund (MF) folios. On Tuesday, they proposed the development of the Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant (MITR), a service platform aimed at helping investors regain control of forgotten investments.

This proposed platform, to be developed by the Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs), aims to encourage investors to search for and update inactive MF investments. It would also incorporate features to prevent fraudulent redemptions, contributing to a more transparent financial ecosystem.

The initiative is part of a broader effort to manage the challenges arising from investments in open-ended growth option mutual fund schemes, which can remain unattended due to incomplete KYC information. Stakeholders are invited to submit their comments on this proposal by January 7.

(With inputs from agencies.)