Personal Finance Use MITRA to Recover Forgotten Mutual Fund Investments

Sheela has a habit of forgetting things. During the monsoons, it’s umbrellas. In winter, it’s shawls and socks. And all year round, it's keychains and her mobile phone. Her friends affectionately call her AMS — Absent-Minded Sheela. To help her keep track of important dates, her two daughters mark them on the calendar at the beginning of every year: red for birthdays, blue for other special days.

In contrast, Sheela’s husband is the meticulous type. He tracks every event and appointment religiously, often using his mobile calendar. All his investments are neatly recorded and stored in a physical file in the top drawer of his almirah. Like a responsible husband and father, he’s organised everything for the benefit of the next generation.

Yet, even he isn’t immune to human error. Years ago, he invested in two mutual fund schemes. Though he recalls making the investments over 15 years ago, the documents have since gone missing. As it turns out, many of his friends and colleagues also invested in those same funds — and most of them have lost track of their paperwork too.

And they’re not alone. According to SEBI, as of 2022–23, nearly Rs. 2,600 crore lies unclaimed across various mutual fund houses in India. These investments have remained inactive for over a decade — no redemptions, no additional investments, and no contact from investors. It’s likely that many simply forgot about them.

This was more common in the era of physical forms, when KYC documentation was minimal. Many investors didn’t have mobile numbers back then, and email addresses or residential addresses have often changed, leaving AMCs (Asset Management Companies) unable to reach them. Meanwhile, these dormant investments continue to grow — some significantly over the years — but remain unclaimed. Unless the investor or their nominee contacts the respective AMC, the funds will stay untouched. Worse, such idle investments are vulnerable to fraud, much like an unattended bag in a crowded mall.

To help investors reclaim their forgotten mutual fund assets, SEBI has introduced MITRA — the Mutual Fund Investment Tracking and Retrieval Assistant. It is designed to help both investors and legal heirs trace lost investments, update KYC information, and initiate claims or transfers.

How to Use MITRA

1. Visit [www.mfcentral.com] and register.

2. Provide PAN details. If PAN isn’t available, you can use the PEKRN (PAN Exempt KYC Reference Number).

3. Access the MITRA Section to begin the search for lost investments — whether your own or of a deceased relative.

4. Minimal Information Required – The system is designed to retrieve investment records even when very limited information is available.

5. Centralized Search – MITRA checks across all mutual fund companies to locate any matching investment.

6. Next Steps – If a match is found, the platform guides you through the required steps. These may involve visiting the concerned AMC with the necessary documents, the list of which is available on the site.

Sheela’s husband eventually found his missing mutual fund investments through MITRA. To his astonishment, the Rs. 10,000 he had invested had grown to Rs. 7 lakh over 15 years. With a smile, he told Sheela, “Sometimes, forgetting things can turn out to be quite pleasant.”

Email: dipankar.jakharia@gmail.com