Who has my investment?

[kindrea78]

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping someone on this site could give me ideas about tracking down investments that my father made and is receiving dividends. I have been appointed as a guardian of his financial affairs, but sadly because he has Alzheimer's, he cant remember who he invested with. I don't have a solicitor and I don't really want to go down that road if I can help it.
Today he received dividen payment and I don't know where it came from, or how often he receives them, the bank have been little help. He has not lodged a tax return in years because he's been on the pension, but is the ATO my best option at present?

Thank for your help.

 

[tech/a]

You should be able to find out who made the deposit.
Track from there.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping someone on this site could give me ideas about tracking down investments that my father made and is receiving dividends. I have been appointed as a guardian of his financial affairs, but sadly because he has Alzheimer's, he cant remember who he invested with. I don't have a solicitor and I don't really want to go down that road if I can help it.
Today he received dividen payment and I don't know where it came from, or how often he receives them, the bank have been little help. He has not lodged a tax return in years because he's been on the pension, but is the ATO my best option at present?

The Bank statement will include a 3-letter code which is the company.

With the PoA (assuming this is what you have) you should be able to contact the share registry for each holding. I suspect an accountant would be more use than a solicitor.

 

[qldfrog]

The Bank statement will include a 3-letter code which is the company.

With the PoA (assuming this is what you have) you should be able to contact the share registry for each holding. I suspect an accountant would be more use than a solicitor.

usually a dividend payment will be associated to an email or letter being send;
once you get one of these, you can find your dad HIN/SRN (a unique id for shares accounts), with this and a postcode you could try to get access/create an account with the main registries: link services, boardroom and compushare.
they probably cover 80% of shares in 0Z

 

[Smurf1976]

Do you know or can you find out the name of the broker used to buy the shares?

Buying shares in practice requires going through a broker who facilitates the transaction. Most ordinary investors would use the same broker for all their share purchases.

If you could identify the broker, and legitimately gain access to the account information, then that should confirm everything he owns and what they're presently worth.

There are numerous brokers. Many operate primarily or entirely online but full service "face to face" brokers with humans and physical offices also do exist.

There will also be a link between the broker and a cash account. This might be his normal bank account or it might be a completely separate bank account but there'll be a link to an account somewhere.

If his bank accounts are with one of the "big 4" banks then there's a reasonable chance he might have used their stockbroking service too. There's no obligation on anyone to do that but it's a common choice in practice. ANZ and Westpac use their normal name for their brokerage. Commonwealth Bank uses the name "CommSec" and NAB calls theirs "nabtrade".

 

[Dona Ferentes]

.... tracking down investments that my father made and is receiving dividends. I have been appointed as a guardian of his financial affairs, but sadly because he has Alzheimer's.
..... He has not lodged a tax return in years because he's been on the pension, but is the ATO my best option at present?

If there are dividends, there is a high probability of imputation credits. Depending on income, it is likely there would be refunds available. When there is an understanding of all the assets, it could be beneficial to do a tax return for every year.
If you don't feel capable, the professional assistance may be helpful.

 

[jbocker]

Tax Man knows all.
All aussie dividends are reported there to my understanding (check with your accountant) along with bank interest and very likely some other incomes.

 

[BlindSquirrel]

If the shares were provided as a part of an employee share scheme or something similar then they wouldn't have a HIN and would be issuer sponsored.
The Dividend statement that you've received will show it... unless he's moved away from the address that was registered when he acquired the shares and the statement isn't being forwarded.

I second the Accountant recommendation.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

There could either be a SRN or a HIN. SRN will have an I followed by a bunch of numbers; HIN will have an X with a bunch of numbers. Now it's all electronic, at dividend time, the numbers tend to be hidden with xxxx 's so you might have to find original documentation. But you'll learn the correct holding details, name and address.

 

[kindrea78]

Do you know or can you find out the name of the broker used to buy the shares?

Buying shares in practice requires going through a broker who facilitates the transaction. Most ordinary investors would use the same broker for all their share purchases.

If you could identify the broker, and legitimately gain access to the account information, then that should confirm everything he owns and what they're presently worth.

There are numerous brokers. Many operate primarily or entirely online but full service "face to face" brokers with humans and physical offices also do exist.

There will also be a link between the broker and a cash account. This might be his normal bank account or it might be a completely separate bank account but there'll be a link to an account somewhere.

If his bank accounts are with one of the "big 4" banks then there's a reasonable chance he might have used their stockbroking service too. There's no obligation on anyone to do that but it's a common choice in practice. ANZ and Westpac use their normal name for their brokerage. Commonwealth Bank uses the name "CommSec" and NAB calls theirs "nabtrade".

Hi Smurf1976,
I think mum bought the shares before she passed and dad hasn't a clue who helped her. I checked out a few things from previous recommendations and found that there have been two payments (2 years apart) NHF (NIB). Sadly no letters have followed these payment and all his other bank accounts have been closed.

 

[bsnews]

Hi Smurf1976,
I think mum bought the shares before she passed and dad hasn't a clue who helped her. I checked out a few things from previous recommendations and found that there have been two payments (2 years apart) NHF (NIB). Sadly no letters have followed these payment and all his other bank accounts have been closed.

First thing I would do is a search on the ASIC's website for lost unclaimed money both in you Mum and Dad's name and see what pops up.

 

[Belli]

Hi Smurf1976,
I think mum bought the shares before she passed and dad hasn't a clue who helped her. I checked out a few things from previous recommendations and found that there have been two payments (2 years apart) NHF (NIB). Sadly no letters have followed these payment and all his other bank accounts have been closed.

First, I am really sorry to read about your Dad. A very difficult time for both of you.

I do not wish to create even more worry but you say you have identified two payments from NIB and these payments are two years apart. If these payments are actually dividends, NIB has been paying a dividend twice a year for some time so there is likely to be more. If your Dad had changed bank accounts (and assuming he still has the share holding) then it is likely money is owed to him as many companies no longer issue cheques and withhold the dividend payments until the correct banking details are provided.

And he - or you in this case - may also need to lodge a tax return. He could actually get a refund of franking credits depending on his income for the particular tax year.

A very messy situation for you indeed. I know you do not wish to use the services of a solicitor but possibly contact Legal Aid in your State to see if they can offer anything to help you. You may feel you are under the pump now but it could get worse if it really gets messy and that is not good for you or your Dad and if push comes to shove, using a professional service could lighten the burden albeit at a monetary cost.

 

[macca]

If you have an accountant you could ask them to get a prefill report on your Fathers tax file number from the ATO.

As you have POA you should be able to access that.

It will list all payments to his TFN where tax was withheld so you will end up with a list of all places that paid interest or dividends

 

[qldfrog]

Nib is with computershare registry but I do not like thathttps://nib.com.au/shareholders/manage-your-shareholding/update-your-shareholding

There is a contact numberdo call them ASAP

 

[kindrea78]

Nib is with computershare registry but I do not like thathttps://nib.com.au/shareholders/manage-your-shareholding/update-your-shareholding

There is a contact numberdo call them ASAP

Im incredibly grateful for your help, thank you
I'll give them a holler in the morning.

 

[qldfrog]

Good luck, but they should be able to help you, if you then have an HIN number , you could then get access to a lot of info