Plenty of Australians own shares with no paperwork to show for it. The holding statements were filed away decades ago and lost in a move, the dividend cheques stopped when a bank account closed, and the shares themselves – often from a float, a demutualisation or an inheritance – have sat untouched ever since. For older shareholders in particular, the holdings are real but the trail has gone cold.
There is a formal way back in, and it does not require you to find a single document.
What is an A12 search?
An A12 search (sometimes written 12A) is a request a stockbroker lodges through the ASX’s CHESS system asking a company’s share registry to locate an issuer-sponsored holding and confirm its Securityholder Reference Number (SRN). The broker submits the holder’s details, the registry matches them against its records, and the SRN comes back through the system. It is effectively a blind search: you do not need a statement, a certificate or the SRN itself – the search is how you get it.
Not every broker offers this service – and discount and online brokers have been scaling these services back, leaving shareholders to write to the registry themselves and wait for the post. As a full-service broking firm, iInvest has an experienced administration team that handles these searches day in, day out. It is a routine part of what we do, and we can run the search for you from start to finish.
All we need is three things
- The name of the company you hold (or believe you hold) shares in.
- The name the shares are registered in – exactly as it would have been written at the time, so it is worth thinking about middle names, maiden names or initials.
- The address the holding would be registered to – even if it is an old address you have long since left.
With those three details, and identification to verify you are the holder, we can lodge the search. Once the registry confirms the holding and the SRN, you are back in control: you can update the registered details, have statements reissued, or sell the parcel through our One-Off Sale of Shares service – no ongoing trading account required.
Made for the paper-statement generation
This service suits anyone who bought or received shares in the era of paper statements and cheque dividends – and their families helping them sort things out. There is no website to log into and nothing to print: we can handle the whole process in person at our Burleigh Heads office or over the phone. If the search is part of tidying up a deceased estate, our Deceased Estates service covers the additional steps involved.
For the full picture on tracking down forgotten holdings and unclaimed dividends – including the free searches you can run yourself – see our guide to finding lost shares and unclaimed dividends in Australia.
Think there might be shares in your name?
Send us an enquiry and we will take it from there – or call our Burleigh Heads office on 07 5520 8788 and talk it through with the team.
The information in this article is general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances before acting on it. iInvest Trading & Advisory is a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR 431611) of Zodiac Securities Pty Ltd (AFSL 398350).
