Prelude:\u00a0<\/strong>If you recall I wrote this article earlier,\u00a0Are You Storing Financial And Other Documents Wisely?<\/a>, explaining the importance of keeping financial documents safe and handy for family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But is it only for family members that one should keep documents organised and safe? Well honestly speaking, it’s a part of it. All the mundane documentation done while investing is essential for our own benefit…<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2713<\/strong>\u00a0To\u00a0keep track of our investments<\/a>;<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2713<\/strong>\u00a0To\u00a0review the performance<\/a>\u00a0of investments;<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2713<\/strong>\u00a0Change of nominations;<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2713<\/strong>\u00a0Update personal details (address, telephone number, bank details, etc.);<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2713<\/strong>\u00a0Serves as a valid proof in terms of making redemptions\/ renewals;<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2713<\/strong>\u00a0To\u00a0increase the monthly investment amount<\/a>;<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2713<\/strong>\u00a0And, in case of our absence, helps family members in\u00a0making claims<\/a>\u00a0on our behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The plot:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me tell you what happened to my cousin, Tanmay, who had asked me about what would happen if he has missed a SIP instalment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tanmay called me last weekend to ask how he could retrieve information about his dad’s investment, which was invested 15 years ago into a mutual fund.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n I listened intently to what Tanmay had to say, “My father had invested in an equity scheme<\/a> for retirement, and now in 5 years he is about to retire. He wants to reduce the holdings from equity to something less volatile. But he just doesn’t remember where he kept the investment documents.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I inquired, “Has he maintained a record of all his documents in an organizer?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tanmay responded, “No! What’s an organizer required for?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I explained, “Getting organized is an important step towards leading a financially fit lifestyle. Collect important documents and create a filing system to keep yourself organized. Creating an organizer that mentions the location of the other important documents helps locate them. “<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n “Did your dad, receive any updates of fund information via emails?” <\/em>I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Well yes, he did say he used to receive some investment statements in emails”, <\/em>Tanmay said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Great!” <\/em>I continued to explain further…<\/p>\n\n\n\n With IT advancement, using online platforms or investment trackers that are freely available helps you to keep a record of the investments. Such trackers can provide an updated\/latest valuation of all investments you hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A\u00a0Consolidated Account Statement (CAS)<\/a>\u00a0provides a consolidated view and valuation of your mutual fund investments of various fund houses under your PAN number. You can request for a copy from CAMs or KARVY to issue this statement either as an email or hard copy once in six months if there were no transactions during the month.\u00a0Click here to get your statement.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n If a part or entire of your father’s mutual holdings are in demat form, you can request for a CAS from the Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) or National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL). Through this CAS, holdings in demat account(s) held with NSDL and CDSL as well as in units of Mutual Funds held in the Statement of Account (SOA) form will be consolidated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also request for a statement by accessing the links below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n CDSL\u00a0–<\/strong>\u00a0https:\/\/www.cdslindia.com\/cas\/logincas.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n