SEC Extends Hunt for Lost Investors: Double the Search Effort
Published Date: 9/8/2025
Notice
Summary
The SEC is asking to keep a rule that makes certain financial companies search for lost investors’ addresses and notify them for free. About 3,500 companies spend lots of time and money—over 228,000 hours and $6.6 million yearly—doing these searches and keeping records for at least three years. This helps protect investors and keeps things fair, with no big changes or new costs coming.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Compliance burden and costs on covered entities
The Commission estimates Rule 17Ad-17 applies to about 489 broker-dealers and transfer agents and about 3,106 paying-agent entities and that covered entities incur an aggregate annual burden of approximately 228,694 hours and annual costs of about $6,617,298 (mainly payments to third-party database providers). Entities must also retain related records for not less than three years.
Free address searches for lost investors
Certain transfer agents and broker-dealers must perform two searches of an information database to find the correct address for lost securityholders and must provide those searches without charge to the lost securityholders. Paying agents must attempt to notify lost payees at least once. These requirements are intended to help lost investors be found and informed about payments or holdings.
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