SEBI has launched the Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant (MITRA) to help investors track inactive and unclaimed mutual fund folios. As per . inactive folios may become susceptible to fraudulent redemptions. This initiative aims to enhance investor protection, reduce fraud risks, and build a transparent financial ecosystem.
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐?
Over the years, many investors have lost track of their mutual fund investments, particularly those made in physical form with minimal KYC details. Changes in PAN, email ID, or address often prevent these folios from appearing in Consolidated Account Statements, making them susceptible to fraudulent redemptions. MITRA will provide a centralized industry-wide database to help investors identify and retrieve such investments.
๐๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
(a) ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ-๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก: A single platform to search for unclaimed folios across all AMCs.
(b) ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: Encourages investors to update KYC, reducing non-compliant folios.
(c) ๐
๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: Prevents unauthorized redemptions from long-inactive accounts.
(d) ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฒ: Brings forgotten investments back into circulation, strengthening financial security.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐
๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ?
An inactive folio shall be defined as โ๐๐ถ๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ฐ(๐ด) ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ/๐ด (๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฏ-๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ) ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต 10 ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ท๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆโ.
MITRA platform will be available via:
(a) MF Central
(b) Websites of AMCs, AMFI, SEBI
(c) Qualified Registrar and Transfer Agents (CAMS Computer Age Management Services & KFin Technologies Ltd.)
๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐: MITRA will be operational within 15 working days from the issuance of SEBIโs circular. A Beta version will run for two months before full rollout.
AMCs, RTAs, RIAs, and Mutual Fund Distributors should actively create awareness about MITRA.
UHPCs (Unit Holder Protection Committees) must review inactive folios and unclaimed amounts to enhance investor security and transparency.
A copy of the circular is enclosed.
Readers are welcome to send their views to Regstreet Law Advisors at info@regstreetlaw.com