The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stepped up its campaign to unlock dormant investment assets and reduce the growing pool of unclaimed funds in Nigeria’s capital market, as the regulator moves to address gaps in estate planning, investor records and probate procedures that continue to prevent families from accessing inherited wealth.
The commission’s latest intervention came through a Probate/Unclaimed Monies Awareness and Investor Clinic organised in Abuja in partnership with Meristem recently, bringing together regulators, government agencies, probate officials and capital market registrars to help beneficiaries trace and recover investments belonging to deceased shareholders.
Speaking at the opening of the clinic, Emomotimi Agama, director-general of the SEC, said unclaimed funds and dormant assets represented a persistent investor-protection challenge, describing them as money belonging to families but remaining disconnected from those entitled to it.
“For many Nigerian families, the death of a loved one who held shares, dividends, or other investments marks the beginning of a long and often confusing journey,” Agama said.
He said the problem was compounded by limited knowledge of probate procedures, documentation requirements and registrar processes, leaving beneficiaries unable to access shares, dividends and other investments even when they had legitimate claims to them.
The SEC DG said the commission’s response was designed to bridge the gap between investors’ legal entitlements and their ability to access those assets after the death of a shareholder.
“This commission exists to protect your rights in the capital market, and that protection does not end when a shareholder passes on. It extends to ensuring their beneficiaries can access what is due to them without unnecessary hardship,” he said.
Billions trapped by awareness gap
The intervention highlights a less visible dimension of Nigeria’s capital market challenge: assets can remain dormant even after their owners have died because the next generation either does not know they exist or cannot satisfy the requirements for transferring ownership.
Unlike physical assets such as houses, land and vehicles, financial investments can be difficult for families to identify if records are outdated or relatives are unaware of the deceased investor’s portfolio.
Nkechinyelu Okoye, acting chief executive officer of Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited, said lack of awareness and inadequate estate planning were among the major factors responsible for the accumulation of unclaimed financial assets.
She identified several categories of beneficiaries who encounter difficulties when attempting to recover investments left behind by deceased relatives.
According to Okoye, some beneficiaries believe that only physical assets form part of an estate and are therefore unaware that shares, fixed-income investments and funds held through digital savings platforms can also be inherited.
“There are three categories of beneficiaries that we encounter quite often. The first are those who think only land, houses, and other physical assets can be transferred legally from deceased loved ones. They do not realise that financial assets such as shares, fixed income investments, and even money in savings apps also form part of an estate,” she said.
Another category, she explained, comprises beneficiaries who do not know that their deceased relatives owned financial investments in the first place.
The third consists of people who know investments exist but lack knowledge of the claims process or the documentation required to establish their entitlement.
Okoye added another category: investors who fail to provide or update their Know Your Customer information during their lifetime, leaving beneficiaries with little information to work with after their death.
“I dare add a fourth category. These are investors who do not provide or update their KYC documents and, as a result, when they pass on, their loved ones have no idea they have investments to claim,” she said.
The combination of these factors, she noted, continues to contribute to the volume of unclaimed dividends, dormant accounts and other abandoned financial assets within the financial system.
“All of these categories contribute to the several unclaimed assets lying all around. Ultimately, financial resources that could have been beneficial to these beneficiaries remain inaccessible,” Okoye said.
SEC shifts from awareness to intervention
The Abuja clinic represents an attempt by the capital market regulator to move beyond conventional investor education towards direct intervention in the process of recovering dormant assets.
Rather than simply informing investors about their rights, the programme brought together institutions with different responsibilities in estate administration and investment recovery.
The Federal Ministry of Justice, Probate Registry, National Population Commission and capital market registrars participated in the initiative, providing participants with information on probate procedures, documentation and investment recovery.
Agama described the event as a working clinic rather than a conventional awareness programme.
“Today is not simply an awareness session. It is a working clinic designed to equip you with practical knowledge: how probate works, how to obtain the right documentation, and how to recover what is rightfully yours,” he said.
Beyond recovering existing dormant assets, the initiative has also placed greater emphasis on preventing new investments from becoming inaccessible in the future.
Okoye urged investors to prepare valid wills, maintain accurate shareholder records and regularly update their KYC information.
For the capital market, such measures can reduce the administrative burden associated with identifying beneficiaries and transferring investments after an investor’s death.
“We want investors to appreciate the importance of preparing a valid will, maintaining accurate shareholder records, and ensuring that their affairs are properly organised. Taking these simple steps today can save families considerable stress and delay in the future,” she said.
Investor protection extends beyond shareholder
For the SEC, the issue goes beyond administrative efficiency and touches directly on its statutory responsibility to protect investors.
The commission’s position is that investor protection cannot stop at ensuring that a shareholder receives dividends or maintains accurate records while alive. It must also cover the orderly transfer of financial assets to legitimate beneficiaries after death.
This interpretation of investor protection could increase pressure on market institutions to improve systems for identifying dormant accounts, updating investor information and facilitating claims.
It also places greater responsibility on investors themselves to ensure that their records are accurate and that their families have sufficient information to establish legitimate claims.
Agama said the SEC remained committed to closing the gap between legal ownership and practical access through policy initiatives and direct engagement with investors.
The regulator’s intervention also highlights the economic significance of dormant financial assets.
Funds trapped in unclaimed dividends and other inactive investment accounts represent capital that is not being used by the families to whom it belongs. Unlocking those assets could provide beneficiaries with additional resources for consumption, investment, education, business expansion and other economic activities.
From a market perspective, improving the recovery process could also strengthen confidence among existing and prospective investors by demonstrating that ownership rights remain protected beyond the lifetime of an investor.
Registrars take centre stage
Capital market registrars are expected to play a central role in resolving the problem because they maintain critical records relating to shareholders and their investments.
Their ability to identify accounts, verify ownership information and process legitimate claims is essential to converting dormant assets into accessible financial resources.
However, the effectiveness of the recovery process depends heavily on the quality of investor information available to registrars.
Where shareholders have changed addresses, telephone numbers or other identification details without updating their records, contacting them during their lifetime or assisting their beneficiaries after death becomes more difficult.
The problem becomes more pronounced when families are unaware that investments exist.
This makes accurate KYC records and proper estate planning an important component of capital market infrastructure rather than merely personal administrative responsibilities.
The SEC-Meristem initiative consequently seeks to connect investors and beneficiaries directly with institutions capable of resolving these information and documentation gaps.
