SEBI Launches 'MITRA' to Help Investors Trace Inactive Mutual Fund Folios

Imagine discovering a forgotten treasure chest of investments, money that has been lying idle, waiting to be reclaimed. In a groundbreaking step toward enhancing investor protection and financial inclusion, SEBI has unveiled MITRA (Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant), a powerful platform designed to help investors track down inactive and unclaimed mutual fund investments. With billions of rupees locked away in forgotten folios, SEBI MITRA promises to unlock new opportunities for investors to rediscover and recover their lost wealth.

Objective of MITRA

• To help investors trace overlooked or forgotten mutual fund investments using MITRA.
• To encourage investors to update their Know Your Customer (KYC) details, helping reduce non-compliant folios through the mutual fund KYC update process.
• To enhance transparency and mitigate fraud risks related to unclaimed MF assets via the SEBI MITRA initiative.

Background

Over time, many mutual fund investors, especially those with physical folios or incomplete KYC details, lose track of their investments. In some cases, investments remain active in open-ended growth schemes but see no transactions for years. Such inactivity increases the potential for fraud, especially if the original investor is unaware of the folio or has passed away without informing legal heirs. To resolve this, SEBI introduced MITRA, a centralized solution to help investors recover such inactive folios through a secure and verified process.

What are inactive folios?

A folio is considered inactive if no transactions (financial or non-financial) have occurred for the last 10 years, but there is still a unit balance in the folio.

Platform features of SEBI MITRA

• MITRA is hosted by CAMS and KFin Technologies, both of which are Qualified Registrar and Transfer Agents (QRTAs).
• The platform enables industry-level searches for inactive or unclaimed mutual fund folios.
• Users can make up to 25 search attempts per person during the beta phase.

How to use the MITRA platform

It is accessible via MF Central, as well as through the websites of SEBI, AMFI, and various Asset Management Companies (AMCs).

• Visit MFcentral.com, click on MITRA and enter your Permanent Account Number (PAN).

• Register your phone number or e-mail ID and authenticate using an OTP.

• You can refine your search by entering optional details such as email ID, mobile number, address, date of birth, nominee information, bank account number, city, or PIN code.

• Click ‘Proceed’ to initiate a search for any unclaimed or inactive mutual fund folios linked to your credentials.

• If matching folios are found, the platform will guide you through the necessary steps to update KYC and reclaim your investments.

Benefits of MITRA

MITRA acts as a consolidated, investor-friendly portal, offering a transparent and hassle-free experience for tracing and reclaiming unclaimed investments. It plays a vital role in:

• Strengthening investor awareness
• Efficient financial recovery mechanisms
• Seamless mutual fund KYC update options
• Enhancing transparency in the mutual fund ecosystem
• Stronger investor protection and fraud prevention

The MITRA platform aims to provide a transparent and secure method for investors to trace and reclaim inactive or unclaimed MF investments, ensuring better investor protection and reducing fraud risks in the mutual fund industry.