In most cases, shares don’t become unclaimed because of bad decisions or negligence. Life simply gets in the way. People change cities, switch jobs, update phone numbers, or move bank accounts. Old email IDs stop working. Physical share certificates get misplaced. Over time, companies lose touch with investors, dividends remain undelivered, and what started as a small communication gap slowly turns into an unclaimed investment.

Another common reason is that many investments are made with a long-term mindset. You buy shares, forget about them, and assume they’ll always stay safe in the background. But if dividends linked to those shares remain unclaimed for several years, companies are legally required to transfer them to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF). The good news? The money is not lost. It’s simply parked safely until the rightful owner or their family comes forward to claim it.

Why Do Shares Become Unclaimed?

Shares become unclaimed and are transferred to the IEPF for various reasons. A few of the most common reasons are listed below:

1. Life Gets In The Way
   The most common reason shares become unclaimed is simply because life moves on faster than paperwork.
   Think about it: you might have bought shares years ago, switched jobs, changed your phone number or email, moved to a new city, and never updated your contact details with the company or your broker. When dividend cheques or communications get sent to an old address, they never reach you. Over time, the company sees no claim activity and flags the shares as unclaimed.
   
   
   2. Dividends Were Never Collected
   Another major reason why shares go unclaimed is uncollected dividends.
   When a company declares a dividend, it tries to send the payment to the shareholder. But if your bank details aren’t updated, or you ignore a small dividend because it’s “not worth it,” that dividend remains unpaid. Over several years, this unpaid amount stays in the company’s books. Eventually, they classify those shares as inactive, and they end up moving to the IEPF (Investor Education and Protection Fund).
   
   
   3. Misplaced Paperwork or Share Certificates
   In India, older investors often received physical share certificates before dematerialisation became standard. Many of these certificates are now lost in cupboards, safes, or old files. The person forgets they ever owned those shares, and because dividends never reached them, the shares start piling up in “inactive” status until they become unclaimed shares.
   
   
   4. No Demat Conversion or Updates
   If your shares were never dematerialised, they stayed in physical form. When you change bank or demat accounts and forget to transfer or update, brokers and companies lose track of where those shares should go. Eventually, they remain unclaimed.
   
   
   5. Corporate Actions You Didn’t Follow Up On
   Sometimes companies merge, restructure, or issue bonus shares. These changes require actions like updating folio numbers or providing fresh details. If you weren’t aware or didn’t follow up, dividends or new shares may never have been credited, leaving them in unclaimed status.

Final Word – Awareness Is Key

Unclaimed shares don’t mean lost shares, they mean forgotten ones. In India, these often end up with the IEPF, but you still have every right to reclaim them. A quick check on the IEPF portal or with your broker can reveal surprising assets lying unclaimed.

Staying on top of contact details and dividend notices is all it takes to keep your investments active and working for you. Don’t let small oversights turn into long-term unclaimed wealth.

Jeevantika Finserv