Jasmine Birtles
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How to Make Money by Finding Lost Investments
Ruby Layram
8th Aug 2024
Wouldn’t it be great to wake up one day and find thousands of pounds that you didn’t know existed? Well, for some people, this isn’t far from the truth!
According to a recent report from Hargreaves Lansdown, £880 million pounds worth of lost investments will be given to charity this year. And some of that could be yours!
In the UK, it is possible to claim lost investments that are registered under your name or under than name of a deceased relative. Even if the investments are given to charity, you still have the right to get your money back.
Some of the most popular types of lost investments include Child Trust Funds, Workplace Pensions, Premium Bonds, and lost Savings accounts.
In this guide, we will shed light on how to make money by finding these lost investments.
- How do I know if I have lost investments?
- How to claim lost investments
- Top tips for keeping your investments safe
How do I know if I have lost investments?
Making money through lost investments sounds great but, how do you know if you’re eligible to make a claim?
As we mentioned above, you can claim lost investments that are registered under your name or the names of deceased relatives.
To find out whether you have any investments out there, you will need to do a bit of digging!
The best way to start your search is to write down every type of investment account that you have opened over the years. Think about:
- Workplace pensions for part-time work
- Savings accounts that you opened years ago
- Child Trust Funds that you never claimed
- Investments that you forgot about
To name just a few!
Once you have racked your brain, you can use tools such as the My Lost Account website to hunt for anything you might have missed.
Do my relatives have any lost investments?
If you want to know whether a deceased relative has left behind any lost investments, you can use tools such as Gretel to find them.
To do this, you will need to hold Power of Attorney or Administrator of an Estate. If you are legally entitled to search for a relative’s lost investments, the process is very similar to finding your own.
How to claim lost investments
If you find a lost investment account that was opened years ago, chances are you won’t remember your login details.
That’s okay! You can claim your money back by going straight to the account provider and proving your identity.
Once you have discovered whether or not you have any investments to claim, you can start the process of getting your money back.
To do this you will need:
- The name of the investment provider
- Your account number or any other details that can be used to identify your account
- Proof of ID
- Key dates (such as when the account was opened)
You can then start the claiming process by phoning up the account provider and asking for access to your account.
The exact process of accessing the lost account will differ depending on the type of investment that you are claiming and the provider that you used.
If you are unsure, consider speaking to a financial advisor who will be able to guide you in the right direction.
Top tips for keeping your investments safe
After going through the hassle of finding lost investment accounts, you probably won’t want to lose them again!
Here are some top tips for keeping your investments safe and saving yourself a lot of time in the future:
Write down all of your details
This may seem obvious but you would be surprised at how many people (including myself) forget to document the details of accounts that they open.
Every time that you open a new type of investing account, make a habit of noting it down!
Keep everything in one place
Where possible, try to keep your investments in one place. Many brokerages offer various types of investment accounts to cater to all of your needs.
If you already have accounts with multiple providers, consider moving your funds over to the most competitive one. Transfering your investments to a different provider usually comes with a fee. However, it is worth doing in the long run!
Keep your details updated
Investment providers deem accounts as ‘dormant’ if they are unable to contact you at your registered address.
What’s more, if your provider doesn’t have your correct address, you will not receive any paper statements or updates.
Therefore, it is important that you update your address on all of your accounts each time that it changes.
Although it might seem like a bit of work, finding lost investments is a great way to get some extra cash!
You can transfer funds into your bank account or reinvest them back into the stock market to grow your portfolio.
A good place to start is by visiting My Lost Account and entering your details.
Are you interested in learning more about investing? Why not sign up to the MoneyMagpie bi-weekly Investing Newsletter? It’s free and you can unsubscribe at any time if you find it isn’t for you.
Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence. When investing your capital is at risk.
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