SEC Unveils Steps to Recover Deceased Investors’ Unclaimed Dividends and Assets
- SEC has launched an initiative to help families recover unclaimed dividends and dormant investment accounts of deceased investors
- An awareness clinic educates beneficiaries on probate processes and documentation needed for asset recovery.
- The SEC said that Limited awareness hinders recovery; proper estate planning is critical for claiming deceased relatives' investments
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Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled a new initiative to help families recover unclaimed dividends, dormant investment accounts and other capital market assets belonging to deceased investors.
The initiative is designed to address the difficulties beneficiaries often face after the death of a shareholder, particularly challenges involving probate, documentation and outdated investor records.
Source: Getty Images
The Commission said many families remain unaware that deceased relatives may have shares, dividends and other investments that are still held in the capital market but remain inaccessible to their rightful beneficiaries.
SEC explains how beneficiaries can claim assets
Speaking at a Probate/Unclaimed Monies Awareness and Investor Clinic organised by the SEC in partnership with Meristem in Abuja, SEC Director-General, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, said investor protection should continue even after the death of a shareholder.
Agama said the death of a loved one who owned shares or other investments could leave families facing a complicated process of identifying and recovering those assets.
He explained that the SEC’s initiative was intended to provide practical guidance on probate procedures, required documentation and the steps beneficiaries must take to establish their entitlement.
According to him, the awareness clinic was more than an educational programme, as it was designed to help beneficiaries understand how to navigate the recovery process and claim assets legally belonging to them.
Probate remains a major hurdle
The SEC DG noted that unclaimed funds and dormant assets remained a persistent issue in Nigeria’s capital market, with significant amounts effectively disconnected from the families entitled to them.
He said the regulator’s responsibility to protect investors did not end when a shareholder died.
Instead, the SEC must also ensure that beneficiaries can access inherited investments without being subjected to unnecessary hardship.
The initiative therefore places greater emphasis on educating investors and their families about estate planning, probate and proper documentation while investors are still alive.
Poor awareness worsens unclaimed assets problem
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited, Ms Nkechinyelu Okoye, identified limited awareness and inadequate estate planning as major contributors to the problem.
For many families, discovering that a deceased relative owned shares or had accumulated dividends can come years after the person’s death, making the recovery process more difficult.
Proper documentation and estate planning can help reduce such complications and make it easier for beneficiaries to establish their rights.
What should beneficiaries know?
Families seeking to recover investments belonging to deceased shareholders will generally need to establish their legal entitlement through the appropriate estate and probate process, obtain relevant documentation and engage the appropriate registrars or capital market institutions.
Source: UGC
The SEC’s latest initiative is expected to improve awareness of these requirements and help more beneficiaries unlock assets that have remained dormant or unclaimed.
For families, the message is clear: a relative’s death does not necessarily mean their investments are lost. With the right documentation and legal process, those assets may still be recovered by the rightful beneficiaries.
SEC launches campaign to recover unclaimed dividends
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has kicked off a nationwide campaign to help Nigerian investors reclaim approximately N270 billion in unclaimed dividends and other outstanding capital market funds.
The exercise was launched with a town hall meeting in Lagos and is designed to raise awareness about how investors can verify and recover their entitlements, including funds held under the National Investor Protection Fund (NIPF).
Source: Legit.ng
