Shares are the ways with the help of which you can gain a percentage of ownership in the financial assets and the corporations. These institutions help in adequately distributing the profits in the forms of dividends. This means that if you buy the shares of a particular company, you get dividends which are a part of the profit that the company makes. There are two types of shares, one is the common share, and the other is called the preferred share. These days the stock certificates and the physical papers are replaced with the electronic recordings. This is true for mutual funds as well. Today when you are trying to deal with shares, you will find that the brokers mainly tend to focus on the de-materialized shares. To de-materialize your shares, all that you will have to do is to open a Demat account. Then you will have to get into an agreement with the depository participant. You will also have to surrender all the physical copies of the share certificates of the company and also let them know that you had an agreement with a depository participant. You will also have to give a copy of the agreement to the company.
This is a debt security that is issued by the government to support government obligations and the spendings. In most cases, these government bonds pay periodic interest payments. These are called coupon payments. The Government bonds that are issued by the National governments are low-risk investments as they are backed by the issuing government. These government bonds are also referred to as sovereign debts. But these fixed-rate government bonds can have risks associated with the rates of the interests. This happens when the rates of the interests rise in the market, but the investors hold bonds that have lower rates of interests. There are only very few bands that can keep up with inflation. Inflation is the price increase in the economy.
This is quite a popular investment scheme among investors. This is because it has several features that can well be regarded as being quite an investor-friendly. This is a long term investment scheme. It is popular among those investors who are interested in earning a good and stable return and are ready to wait for a longer time to get their returns. This keeps your principal amount safe and this is the primary target of the investors investing in PPF. This is for the low-risk takers. The returns here are not linked to the market. The investors will be able to get stable returns annually as well with this kind of an investment. You can go through the below-mentioned points to understand the features well:
- The PPF account has a lock-in period of 15 years. You cannot withdraw funds before the completion of the lock-in period. The investor can also extend the period by another 5 years.
- A minimum of Rs. 500 and a maximum of Rs. 1,50,000 can be invested in this scheme annually.
- The investor can either invest a lump sum amount or can invest in installments but the number of installments cannot be more than 12.
- A minimum of Rs. 500 has to be invested each year to ensure that the account is active.
- The investors can also take a loan against a PPF after a certain period.
This is a debt security that is issued by the government to support government obligations and the spending. In most cases, these government bonds pay periodic interest payments. These are called coupon payments. The Government bonds that are issued by the National governments are low-risk investments as they are backed by the issuing government. These government bonds are also referred to as sovereign debts. But these fixed-rate government bonds can have risks associated with the rates of the interests. This happens when the rates of the interests rise in the market, but the investors hold bonds that have lower rates of interests. There are only very few bands that can keep up with inflation. Inflation is the price increase in the economy.
Most people opt for life insurance to manage the risks associated with life. It is due to the death benefit hedge that allows the family members to get a lump sum amount of money in case of the death of the insured. Moreover, this amount also helps to pay off all the debt and generate an income for the survivors. Today, life insurance companies also provide tax benefits, and it is for this reason that several people prefer investing in life insurance. If a rich family has an insurance plan, then it tends to save millions arising due to the tax benefit it provides. Life insurance is also a great solution for the GST tax exemption. This is a product that pays you exactly at a time when you need it the most when a family member passes away. It pays you the money that is tax-free as well.
Some people want to invest but do not have access to the bank. The post office savings is mainly meant for all such investors. Some investors have operated the banking systems and have involved the post offices in promoting the habit of savings among the poor people. Post office savings have a variable rate of interest and allow you to withdraw money whenever required. The interest rates for senior citizens are much higher.
If you want to invest your money for a fixed tenure and earn a high return on your investments, then investing in a corporate FD is certainly a very good option. There are various schemes available, and you can choose the scheme as per your needs. These have different tenures like quarterly, half-yearly, monthly, annually, etc. You also get greater liquidity, and the locking period is much lesser as compared to the fixed deposit rates. The risk involved is much lesser as your investments are with highly rated companies.
Initial Public Offer or IPO is away with the help of which the company can raise money from investors to use them for their future projects and then get listed in the stock exchange. The IPO will allow you to buy the company shares directly from the company at a price that has been fixed by the company itself. At times, there are also differences between the processes that are fixed by the company and the prices in which the investors are will to buy. This difference gives a good listing gain to the shares that have been allocated to the investor in the IPO.
In fact, no one can say that confidently because the IEPF authority has never released any report on these grounds. However, based on my personal experience and helping people retrieve over 100 crores, I believe a lot of money stuck in IEPF belongs to the wealthy class.
It is important to understand the historical context of the issue.
The issue of unclaimed shares and dividends dates back to the stock market boom of 1984-95. During the subsequent bear phase, many investors lost interest as companies shut down and vanished, rendering investments worthless. Even shares in reputable companies were often forgotten as shareholders either moved on or passed away without informing their successors, leading to a significant amount of unclaimed assets. Most of the people who took the risk of trading in the stock market during 1984-95 were from well-to-do families with spare money to risk, and over the years, they have grown in wealth.
Based on my experience, having retrieved 100 Crs ++, I can say that out of all the families active in the stock market in the 1980s, 20% have unclaimed shares.
The reason being the following:
- 1. Stock Market Decline: After the boom period of 1984-1995, the stock market experienced a significant decline. Many investors lost interest in the market as their investments lost value.
- 2. Company Failures: During the bear phase, numerous companies shut down or vanished. This made many shares effectively worthless, causing investors to abandon them.
- 3. Lack of Communication: Shareholders who moved or passed away often did not inform their successors or update their contact information with the companies or brokers. As a result, dividends and other communications were not received.
- 4. Record-Keeping Practices: Poor record-keeping practices by both investors and companies led to shares being overlooked. Paper-based share certificates were more prone to being misplaced or forgotten.
- 5. Regulatory Changes: Changes in regulations and the introduction of dematerialization (conversion of physical shares to electronic form) added complexity. Some investors may not have completed the process, leading to their shares being forgotten.
- 6. Low Awareness: Many investors lacked awareness of the processes needed to claim or transfer shares and dividends, especially in the event of the original shareholder's death.
- 7. Search Functionality issue: The search function filter on the IEPF site was initially buggy, and people weren't adequately trained to use the filter correctly to get results. Over time, the filter functionality has improved, but people haven't returned to check again, assuming they have no money stuck in IEPF.
- 8. Address Disruptions: During that time, many people were relocating to metro areas, building homes, or moving overseas. This led to missed share-related documents from companies, causing a halt in communication.
The idea that the funds trapped in the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) are insignificant is a misconception. Consider the case of Reliance Industries shares. In 1980, the share price was around ₹10 per share. Fast forward to 2024, the share price of Reliance Industries has skyrocketed to approximately ₹2870 per share. This significant increase in value demonstrates the potential wealth that could be waiting for you in the IEPF.
Let's break this down with a hypothetical example:
- • Initial Investment: If someone purchased 1000 shares of Reliance Industries in 1980 at ₹10 per share, the total investment would have been ₹10,000.
- • Current Value: As of 2024, with each share valued at ₹2870, the total value of these 1000 shares would now be ₹2,870,000.
I have encountered numerous cases exactly like this. It's not just one or two, but many.
Given this context, your involvement in researching and recovering these potentially valuable assets is crucial. The assumption that the amount might be too small to warrant the effort is often incorrect. Your participation could lead to the discovery of significant wealth.
Rest assured, we will handle all the necessary research, making the process of recovering your potentially valuable assets almost effortless for you. We are committed to taking care of everything required, so you can focus on other important matters.
Asking if clients remember having money stuck in IEPF isn't very effective, as most people won't know or recall. Instead, it's better to ask if their parents were trading in the 1980s. The main issue with IEPF is that many don't realize they might have unclaimed funds. If they had pursued it, some cases might have been resolved. People often aren't aware they have money stuck in IEPF, but we can start researching with minimal documents, such as a simple family tree and basic information.
Absolutely. I invite you to visit our "About Us" page, where we have provided detailed descriptions of each team member to help you learn more about us.