Lost track of old mutual fund investments? Sebi’s ‘Mitra’ is here to help.

The Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant (Mitra), launched by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), is designed to track down inactive and unclaimed mutual fund folios, helping investors reclaim money they may have forgotten.

These days, accessing mutual fund investments is as simple as logging into an online portal with a permanent account number (PAN). But before 2006, investors could open mutual fund accounts without one. Many of those older folios have since gone dormant, making it difficult to retrieve holdings.

Read this | How can you save tax on mutual funds by forming a Hindu Undivided Family unit?

Sebi defines an inactive folio as one where no investor-initiated transactions—financial or otherwise—have occurred in the past 10 years, yet a balance remains. With millions of such accounts left unclaimed, Mitra aims to bridge the gap and help investors recover their lost investments.

How Mitra works

To build and operate Mitra, Sebi has enlisted KFin Technologies and CAMS, two of the largest qualified registrar and transfer agents (QRTAs) in India. The platform allows investors to search for old mutual fund folios using multiple identifiers—not just PAN.

“The platform will search for inactive folios using a combination of the investor’s name and at least one primary parameter—PAN, registered phone number, email, or bank account number,” explains Vigneshkumaran, digital product head at KFin Tech Ltd. Additional details like address, PIN code, city, or nominee name will further refine the search and help verify ownership.

With over 7.5 million inactive folios across the industry—many created before PAN became mandatory in 2006—Mitra’s multi-parameter approach is crucial.

“For retrieving this data, PAN is not the only primary key,” says Vigneshkumaran. “The platform will use other identifiers to help investors recover their lost investments.”

By expanding the search criteria, Mitra ensures that even investors without PAN-linked folios have a way to reclaim their money—a significant relief for those who might otherwise struggle to access their forgotten holdings.

How to track lost mutual fund units using Mitra

Investors can track their inactive or unclaimed mutual fund folios through Sebi’s Mitra platform on MFcentral.com.

Read this | Managing finances across borders? Finding the right collaborators is crucial.

The process begins by visiting MFcentral.com and entering a PAN number. An OTP is sent to the registered mobile number or email for verification. Once verified, investors can refine their search by providing additional details such as email, phone number, address, date of birth, nominee details, bank account number, city, or PIN code. These filters help locate folios, especially those created before PAN became mandatory.

After entering the necessary information, clicking “Proceed” initiates a search for inactive or unclaimed folios linked to the provided details. If a match is found, investors can follow the platform’s instructions to update their KYC and reclaim their investments. 

Mitra allows up to 25 search attempts per user, ensuring ample opportunities to track down missing holdings.

Availability and challenges

Sebi officially launched Mitra on 21 February 2025, but the platform will roll out in phases. Initially, a two-month beta version will be available, allowing investors to test its features and provide feedback.

Abhishek Kumar, a Sebi-registered investment advisor and founder of SahajMoney, sees Mitra as a much-needed solution for investors struggling to track their inactive or unclaimed mutual fund folios. 

“A lot of these old physical folios were created before the days of online investing, making it cumbersome for people to keep track of them,” he says. Many investors have lost touch with small investments made years ago, and since PAN wasn’t mandatory back then, reclaiming these holdings could be tricky.

Despite this challenge, Kumar believes Mitra is a crucial step forward. “The idea is to consolidate all the data from different AMCs (asset management companies) into a central portal where people can check if they have any unclaimed folios in their name.”

Another challenge is ensuring that the right person claims these old investments. 

Amol Joshi, a mutual fund distributor and founder of PlanRupee Investment, points out that verification could be difficult for investors who opened accounts before PAN was mandatory. 

Tracking investments is especially difficult for those without a PAN or with outdated email IDs and phone numbers, Joshi says.

Mitra’s use of multiple identifiers will help improve accuracy. 

“Just using a name and date of birth isn’t always enough since those can be common. There should be more parameters, like a PIN code or something else unique, to help narrow down the search and accurately match people to their lost folios,” Joshi adds.

Also read | How a Lucknow-based jeweller streamlined his cluttered portfolio of 27 mutual funds and 9 insurance policies

The Mitra platform aligns with Sebi’s broader efforts to safeguard investor interests and modernize India’s financial ecosystem. It’s similar to how banks track unclaimed deposits, Joshi notes. “I think this new Sebi initiative will be a valuable tool for mutual fund investors.”

For those who suspect they might have unclaimed mutual fund investments, Mitra may finally provide a way to reconnect with their money.