Unclaimed mutual fund dividends climb 15.7% to Rs 2,689 crore in FY26

Unclaimed dividend payouts sitting with mutual funds swelled to Rs 2,689 crore by the end of 2025-26, a 15.7 per cent jump from the Rs 2,324 crore recorded a year earlier, according to data in SEBI's annual report for the fiscal year.

The increase of Rs 365 crore came alongside a marginal 0.5 per cent dip in unclaimed redemption proceeds, which stood at Rs 1,122 crore as of March 31, 2026, down from Rs 1,128 crore at the end of the previous financial year.

Combined, unclaimed dividend and redemption amounts in the mutual fund industry reached Rs 3,811 crore at the end of FY26, compared with Rs 3,452 crore a year prior.

The rise in unclaimed amounts comes as the market regulator has been pushing to reduce the pile of financial assets that investors or their heirs fail to claim. Among the measures highlighted in the report is the integration of holdings with DigiLocker, which lets investors view demat and mutual fund details in one place.

SEBI has also put in place a centralised mechanism allowing nominees to report an investor's death once with a KYC Registration Agency, after which the information is shared across intermediaries.

Separately, SEBI and the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority launched the Niveshak Shivir initiative to help investors track down unclaimed shares and dividends from listed companies. The programme assists with filing Form IEPF-5, dematerialising securities, and updating KYC and nomination details. Six such camps were held during the year in Pune, Hyderabad, Amritsar, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar, with dedicated seva kendras operating in six states.

The Rs 2,689 crore figure pertains specifically to unclaimed dividends within mutual funds and does not include unclaimed dividends from listed companies.