SEBI: ₹3,811 crore unclaimed in mutual funds in FY26

When you put money in a mutual fund, it is like a big piggy bank that invests your money in stocks and bonds.

When you want your money back, the fund is supposed to send it to your bank account.

Sometimes the payment fails, maybe because you moved houses or changed banks, and the money gets stuck.

Stuck money like this is called unclaimed money.

A report from India's stock market watchdog, SEBI, found that 3,811 crore rupees of investor money is sitting unclaimed in mutual funds.

That is more than last year, mostly because more dividends went unclaimed.

The good news is that investors can find and recover this money.

They can check online through their fund company or MF Central, which even has a tool called MITRA to trace old investments.

Once a claim form is submitted, the money is usually paid back within a few days, and it even earns a little extra while it waits.

Keep your address and bank details up to date so your money never gets stuck in the first place.