NEWS – The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently introduced a new digital platform called MITRA to help investors track and reclaim inactive or unclaimed mutual fund folios.

ABOUT MITRA PLATFORM

Full Form: Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant (MITRA)

Objective:

• Assist investors in locating and reclaiming their inactive or unclaimed mutual fund investments.
• Enhance investor awareness and encourage KYC compliance.

Key Features of MITRA

1. Addressing the Issue of Unclaimed Investments

• Many investors lose track of their mutual fund holdings due to outdated contact details or lack of awareness.
• MITRA helps identify forgotten investments, including those made in an investor’s name by others.

2. Industry-Wide Searchable Database

• Developed by Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs) to provide a comprehensive industry-level database.
• Investors can search for inactive and unclaimed folios in one place.

3. Criteria for Inactive Folios

• A folio is classified as inactive if there have been no investor-initiated transactions (financial or non-financial) for 10 years, while still holding units.

4. Encouraging KYC Compliance

• Investors will be prompted to update their KYC details as per the latest regulations.
• This will help reduce the number of non-KYC compliant folios.

Role of Unit Holder Protection Committee (UHPC)

• SEBI has expanded the mandate of the Unit Holder Protection Committee (UHPC) under mutual fund rules.
• The UHPC will now:
  • Review inactive folios, unclaimed dividends, and redemptions.
  • Ensure proactive measures are taken to minimize unclaimed investments.