Mutual fund investments are often made for long-term goals. But when an investment remains untouched for several years, contact details change, paperwork gets misplaced, or the original investor passes away, the investment can sometimes be forgotten.

This is where MITRA, or the Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant, can help. Investors who hold mutual funds should also regularly review their records and understand processes such as KYC for mutual funds, since outdated KYC and contact details can make old investments harder to manage.

MITRA is an industry-level platform introduced under a SEBI framework to help investors, nominees and legal claimants trace inactive and unclaimed mutual fund folios. Instead of trying to remember which mutual fund company held an old investment, investors can use one platform to search for such folios.

SEBI introduced the MITRA framework through a circular dated February 12, 2025. The platform is jointly hosted by the two Qualified Registrar and Transfer Agents, CAMS and KFintech, and can be accessed through MF Central and links provided by SEBI, AMFI, mutual fund companies and RTAs.

What Is MITRA?

MITRA stands for Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant.

It provides a searchable database covering inactive and unclaimed mutual fund folios across the industry. Its main purpose is to help an investor identify investments that may no longer appear in their regular records or that they may have forgotten about altogether.

MITRA can also be useful when a person believes a deceased parent, spouse or another family member may have held mutual fund investments for which they are the nominee or rightful legal claimant.

The platform itself mainly helps with tracing the investment. Once the relevant mutual fund is identified, the investor or claimant may have to approach that mutual fund house or its Registrar and Transfer Agent to complete KYC, update details, redeem the units or complete a transmission claim.

What Is an Inactive Mutual Fund Folio?

Under SEBI’s MITRA framework, a mutual fund folio is considered inactive when:

No investor-initiated financial or non-financial transaction has taken place for the last 10 years, and
Units are still available in the folio.

A financial transaction could include activities such as investing more money or redeeming units. Non-financial transactions may include certain service requests or changes made to the folio.

Importantly, an inactive folio does not automatically mean that something is wrong with the investment.

For example, an investor may have purchased units of an open-ended mutual fund 12 years ago and deliberately decided to remain invested without making any changes. The folio may still meet the definition of inactive even though the investment is known to the investor.

MITRA is mainly intended to make genuinely forgotten investments easier to locate.

What Is Unclaimed Mutual Fund Money?

An inactive folio and an unclaimed amount are related concepts, but they are not exactly the same.

An inactive folio may still contain mutual fund units that continue to remain invested.

An unclaimed amount generally arises when money that was supposed to be paid to an investor could not be successfully delivered or credited.

This can happen when:

A redemption payment cannot be credited because the registered bank account has been closed.
Bank details in the folio are incorrect or outdated.
A payment instrument was issued but was not deposited.
The investor’s address has changed.
KYC or other investor records require updating.
An IDCW or other eligible payment remains unclaimed.

Investors should therefore periodically check both their mutual fund holdings and payment records rather than assuming that an old investment has automatically been closed.

Why Do Mutual Fund Investments Become Difficult to Trace?

Many investments made years ago were opened when mutual fund investing involved more physical paperwork than it does today.

An investor may have submitted an application using an old address, mobile number or bank account. Some older folios may also have incomplete digital records.

Over several years, the investor may:

Move to another city.
Change mobile numbers.
Change email addresses.
Close the registered bank account.
Lose physical statements.
Forget the name of the AMC.
Forget the folio number.

Another common situation occurs when the original investor passes away and family members do not know about all the investments held in their name.

This is why maintaining updated records and adding a nominee is useful. Investors can read more about how to add or change a nominee in a mutual fund.

How to Trace Unclaimed Mutual Funds Using MITRA

MITRA provides a central search facility to help locate old mutual fund folios.

Here is the general process.

Step 1: Access the MITRA Platform

Start from an official source such as MF Central, SEBI, AMFI, an AMC website or the website of an authorised RTA.

Avoid clicking unknown recovery links received through SMS, WhatsApp or email.

Old and forgotten investments can become targets for fraud, so investors should verify that they are using an official platform before entering PAN, mobile number or any other personal information.

Step 2: Complete Verification

The platform may ask for details such as:

PAN
Mobile number
Email ID

An OTP may be sent to the available mobile number or email address to verify the user.

Step 3: Provide Investor Details

You can then enter the information available for the person whose mutual fund investment you are searching for.

Depending on the records and search facility, useful details may include:

Investor name
PAN or PEKRN
Date of birth
Mobile number
Email ID
Address
PIN code
Bank account details
Nominee details

The more accurately the information matches the old folio, the easier it may be to locate a possible record.

Step 4: Search for Matching Folios

MITRA checks available records for inactive or unclaimed mutual fund folios that match the information provided.

This makes the platform particularly useful if you remember making an investment but cannot remember:

Which AMC you invested with.
Which scheme you selected.
Your folio number.
Whether the investment still exists.

Step 5: Identify the Mutual Fund House

If a possible matching investment is located, MITRA can help identify the relevant mutual fund company.

This is an important point: MITRA primarily helps you trace the investment.

It does not mean that the money will immediately be transferred to your bank account.

You may still need to contact the relevant AMC or its RTA and complete the required verification.

How to Claim Mutual Fund Money After Finding the Folio

Once you identify the mutual fund, the next process depends on who is making the claim.

You may be:

The original investor.
A surviving joint holder.
A registered nominee.
A legal heir.

Each situation can involve different documentation.

If You Are the Original Investor

The AMC or RTA may ask you to update records such as:

PAN
KYC
Mobile number
Email address
Residential address
Bank account details
Signature

This is especially relevant for very old folios where the information was recorded years ago.

Once the required records are verified and updated, you can decide whether you want to continue holding the investment or submit an eligible redemption request.

If you are redeeming an old mutual fund investment, remember that taxation may apply depending on the scheme type and holding period. You can understand this better through Alice Blue’s guide on mutual fund taxation in India.

If You Are a Nominee or Legal Heir

If the original investor has passed away, the units generally need to go through a transmission process.

Transmission means transferring the mutual fund units from the deceased investor to an eligible claimant.

The required documents can vary depending on factors such as:

Whether a nominee was registered.
Whether the investment was jointly held.
The value of the holdings.
Whether there are multiple legal heirs.
The documents available to establish the claim.

Documents can include:

Death certificate
Claimant’s PAN
Claimant’s KYC
Bank account proof
Nomination records
Other legal or succession-related documents, where applicable

Having a nominee already registered usually makes it easier for the AMC to establish whom to contact after the investor’s death.

Example of How MITRA Can Help

Consider an example.

Ramesh invested ₹75,000 in an equity mutual fund in 2012 using a physical application form.

Over the next several years:

He changed his mobile number.
He closed his old bank account.
He moved to another city.
He lost the original mutual fund statement.
He forgot which AMC managed the fund.

He has not made any transactions in the folio for more than 10 years.

Years later, while checking old financial documents, Ramesh finds a bank entry showing that he had made a mutual fund investment.

But he does not know where the investment is held.

Instead of approaching different fund houses one by one, he can search for the old folio through MITRA using the available identifying information.

If a matching folio is identified, he can contact the relevant AMC or RTA, update his records and obtain the current investment details.

The current value of the investment will depend on factors such as:

The number of units held.
The current NAV.
Any applicable corporate or scheme-level changes.
Whether any earlier redemption took place.

The original ₹75,000 investment does not automatically remain worth ₹75,000.

Can You Search for a Family Member's Mutual Fund Investment?

MITRA can also help when family members believe that a deceased investor had mutual fund investments but they do not have complete records.

For example, a son may find old bank statements showing that his father had made payments to a mutual fund company.

However, he may not know:

The folio number.
The scheme.
The AMC.
The number of units held.

MITRA can help identify possible inactive investments.

Finding the folio, however, does not mean the claimant automatically receives the money.

The nominee or legal heir will still have to complete the required transmission and verification process.

This is another reason investors should keep nominations updated instead of leaving investments without clear succession instructions.

What Should You Do If MITRA Does Not Find the Investment?

A zero search result does not necessarily prove that no old investment exists.

Old folios can contain information that differs from your current records.

For example, the folio may have:

An old spelling of your name.
A previous residential address.
A different mobile number.
An old email ID.
An old bank account.
No PAN linked to the original record.

If your first search does not identify anything, check whatever old records you still have.

You can look at:

Old mutual fund account statements.
Bank statements showing investments.
Emails received from AMCs.
Consolidated Account Statements.
CAMS records.
KFintech records.
Individual AMC websites.

You can also search your old bank transactions for names of mutual fund companies or RTAs.

MITRA vs Consolidated Account Statement

MITRA and a Consolidated Account Statement serve different purposes.

Feature	MITRA	Consolidated Account Statement
Main purpose	Find inactive or unclaimed mutual fund folios	View consolidated investment records
Useful for forgotten investments	Yes	Yes, if records are properly linked
Useful if AMC is unknown	Yes	Depends on available records
Directly processes claims	No	No
Useful for nominees/legal heirs	Yes	Depends on investor records

MITRA is therefore more useful as a tracing tool, particularly when the investor no longer has enough information to identify the original mutual fund.

What Happens to Returns on an Inactive Mutual Fund?

An important question investors may have is whether an investment stops growing simply because the folio has become inactive.

The answer is generally no.

If mutual fund units continue to exist in the folio, their value will continue to depend on the scheme’s NAV.

For example:

Suppose an investor holds 5,000 units of a mutual fund.

If the NAV is ₹20, the holding is worth:

5,000 × ₹20 = ₹1,00,000

If the NAV later rises to ₹32, the value becomes:

5,000 × ₹32 = ₹1,60,000

The folio being inactive does not itself freeze the NAV.

The scheme can still rise or fall depending on its underlying investments.

Investors who rediscover an old fund should therefore evaluate it based on their present financial goals rather than redeeming it automatically. Alice Blue’s guide on how to use Value Research to pick mutual funds explains some of the factors investors can examine while reviewing a fund.

Should You Redeem a Mutual Fund After Finding It Through MITRA?

Not necessarily.

Finding an old mutual fund does not mean you have to sell it.

First examine:

What scheme you own.
Its current value.
Its risk level.
Its portfolio.
Its expense ratio.
Its long-term performance.
Whether it still suits your financial goal.
The possible tax impact of redemption.

If the fund still suits your investment objective, you may choose to continue holding it after updating your records.

If it no longer fits your goal, you may consider redemption or switching, subject to the applicable scheme rules and tax implications.

Investors who are unfamiliar with different mutual fund categories can also explore Alice Blue’s mutual fund learning resources before making a decision.

Benefits of MITRA

MITRA can make the process of searching for old mutual fund investments easier.

One Place to Start the Search

You do not necessarily need to remember which AMC held the investment.

Helps Locate Old Folios

It can be useful when investments were made several years ago and records have been lost.

Useful for Families

Nominees and legal heirs may be able to identify investments that were not documented clearly by the original investor.

Encourages Record Updates

After finding an old folio, investors can update:

KYC
Bank details
Mobile number
Email address
Nominee details

Helps Bring Forgotten Investments Back Into View

Once an investor becomes aware of the folio, they can decide whether to hold, redeem or otherwise manage the investment.

How to Prevent Mutual Funds From Becoming Difficult to Trace

Tracing an old investment is useful, but maintaining good financial records is easier.

Investors should periodically:

Review mutual fund account statements.
Keep PAN and KYC information updated.
Update mobile numbers and email addresses.
Change bank details after closing an old account.
Add or update nominees.
Inform close family members that investments exist.
Maintain a list of mutual fund folio numbers.
Review Consolidated Account Statements.

Even long-term investments that you do not intend to redeem for many years should still be reviewed occasionally.

The purpose is not necessarily to change the investment, but to ensure that all contact, banking and nomination details remain accurate.

Important Safety Tips While Tracing Mutual Funds

Forgotten financial assets can attract fraud attempts.

Keep these precautions in mind:

Use only official SEBI, AMFI, MF Central, AMC or RTA websites.
Never share OTPs with another person.
Do not disclose passwords.
Do not pay unknown agents who promise guaranteed recovery.
Verify emails before opening links.
Check website domains carefully.
Contact the AMC directly if you receive a suspicious request.

MITRA should be used as a tracing facility, not through an unofficial intermediary claiming special access.

Conclusion

Mutual fund investments can become difficult to locate when investors change phone numbers, addresses or bank accounts, lose old paperwork or simply forget about investments made many years ago.

MITRA gives investors a central mechanism to search for inactive and unclaimed mutual fund folios.

If an investment is found, the next step is usually to contact the relevant mutual fund house or its RTA, update the required records and complete the applicable redemption or transmission procedure.

The platform can also help nominees and legal heirs search for investments belonging to deceased family members.

However, the easiest way to avoid such problems is to maintain accurate records from the beginning. Keep KYC, bank details, mobile numbers, email IDs and nominations updated, and periodically review your mutual fund holdings.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is MITRA in mutual funds?

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2. What is an inactive mutual fund folio?

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3. Does an inactive mutual fund stop earning returns?

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4. Can MITRA help locate mutual funds belonging to a deceased parent?

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5. Does MITRA directly transfer unclaimed money?

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