Unclaimed stock and securities in California
Updated
Shares, mutual fund holdings, dividends and bond interest are reported to the California State Controller when a broker or transfer agent cannot reach the holder.
How much is held for businesses
For business-type owners owed $10,000 or more, the Controller holds $179.2M in securities-related property, across 4,615 owners.
| Category | Amount | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Underlying shares | $62.1M | the shares themselves, not just their dividends, after the account went dormant |
| Mutual fund shares | $34.8M | mutual fund shares |
| Dividends | $18.3M | dividends that were declared but never reached the shareholder |
| Stock returned by the post office | $12.8M | share certificates or statements returned by the post office as undeliverable |
| Funds for liquidation | $11.1M | cash from a fund or company that was liquidated |
| Bond interest | $5.0M | interest payments on bonds |
| Unexchanged stock of a successor company | $2.8M | stock in a company that was acquired, where the old shares were never exchanged for the successor's |
Common ways a company loses track of shares
- Shares received in an acquisition or as payment, held at a transfer agent nobody monitored.
- A brokerage account opened by a former officer.
- Shares of a company that was later acquired, never exchanged for the successor's shares.
Claiming securities
Every securities claim must be notarized, whatever its value. Brokerage or transfer-agent statements and deal documents help show ownership. The record lists the security's name and number of shares.
Sources
- California State Controller - Unclaimed Property Investigator Handbook (January 2023) - linked from the Controller's unclaimed property pages
- RecoverOwed analysis of the Controller's unclaimed property file (November 4, 2026)