locating shares

Kellyoreilly

Can I get some advice please to help a widow find her late husband shares? she does not know where any of the paper work is, or who the investment was with, she just knows he had them. what can she do? thankyou.

eskbanker

There are three companies who act as share registrars for UK companies, so contacting each of them may yield results:

You can trace other lost shares by contacting the three main share registrars: Link Asset Services (Linkgroup.eu or 0371664 0300); Computershare (Computershare.com/uk); and Equiniti (Equiniti.com or 0371 384 2030).

She should check for records of dividend payments as well, which may help identify shares or who they were registered through.

Kellyoreilly

Oh thank you so much, that’s really kind of you.  

Thrugelmir

Shares held in any particular company directly or via a platform? 

Kellyoreilly

I don't know the answer to that question sorry, I just know the lady needs advice on how to locate them.

Thrugelmir

Kellyoreilly said:

I don't know the answer to that question sorry, I just know the lady needs advice on how to locate them.

To locate something, some basic details will be required first. 

maxsteam

She should go through bank statements looking for dividend payments and transfers to or from investment firms. She should also look through correspondence, including (if possible) emails, for anything relating to shares.

The old systems of share certificates and dividend cheques would favour someone in her situation. I suspect that a lot of valuable share holdings are "lost" with the current system. If you open an account with a broker today, you might get a welcome letter in the post but, apart from that, almost everything is done online.

If she has access to the deceased's phone or computer, it's definitely worth spending time reviewing what is on it.