Reported by

Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith unclaimed money

579
accounts turned over to the state: $8.5M
total value: $5,800
median account: $403,122
largest single account

Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith reported 579 accounts to the state that it could not return to their owners, together worth $8,524,166. That is not an accusation — it is what the law requires. When a company cannot reach you for a dormancy period, usually around three years, it must stop holding your money and hand it to the state.

The state then becomes custodian. It holds the money in your name, indefinitely, and publishes the record publicly so you can find it. Nothing expires, and the state never takes ownership.

If you banked with, worked for, held a policy with or bought something from Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith and then moved, this is exactly how money gets stranded. The notice went to the address they had, which was the old one.

One reason to still contact Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith

They cannot give you the money — they no longer have it. But they usually still hold the underlying account records, and a written confirmation of your old account from Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith is often precisely the evidence the state asks for and that you no longer have. It is the highest-value phone call in a difficult claim.

What kind of accounts these are

Property type	Records
Shares of Stock (rtrned by Po)	232
Credit Balances	77
Mutual Fund Shares	53
Traditional IRA - Cash	52
Traditional IRA - Mutual Funds	46
Outstanding Official Checks	45

Where the owners were

The cities appearing most often on Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith records — these are the addresses the company had on file when the mail stopped arriving.

City	Records
Los Angeles, CA	52
San Francisco, CA	29
Brentwood, CA	22
Sacramento, CA	19
San Jose, CA	18
Escondido, CA	16
San Diego, CA	14
Irvine, CA	13

Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith unclaimed money: common questions

Does Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith owe me money?

Possibly, though it is no longer Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith holding it. Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith reported 579 accounts it could not reach the owner of, worth $8,524,166, and by law transferred that money to the state. The state holds it in the owner's name indefinitely. Searching your name is free and takes about ten seconds.

Why did Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith give my money to the state?

It had no choice. Escheat law requires a company holding money it cannot return — a dormant account, an uncashed cheque, an unclaimed refund or benefit — to hand it to the state after a dormancy period, usually around three years. Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith would have attempted to contact you at the address on file first; if that address was out of date, the notice never arrived.

Do I contact Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith to get it back?

No. Once the money has been escheated, Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith no longer holds it and cannot return it. The claim goes to the state unclaimed property office. Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith is still worth contacting for one thing: they often retain the underlying account records, which can be exactly the proof the state asks you for.

How much is a typical Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith record worth?

The median is $5,800 and the largest single record is $403,122. 193 of the 579 records — 33% — are worth over $10,000 each. These figures cover records of $2,500 and up with no claim activity against them.

Is claiming it free?

Yes. The state charges nothing to return your own property. Anyone who asks you to pay a fee before you receive the money is running a scam, without exception.

Did Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith lose track of you?

Search your name against every record in our database. Free, no account, and we do not ask for a Social Security number just to look.

Search your name — free

Counted from the California public unclaimed property file, refreshed weekly, covering records of $2,500 and above with no claim activity recorded. Records reported under several internal names for the same company are merged. Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith is named here solely because it appears as the reporting holder in public state records; nothing on this page implies any wrongdoing by Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith, and we are not affiliated with it.

Find My Unclaimed is a private company. We are not a government agency and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any state treasurer, controller, or unclaimed property office. You always have the right to file your own claim directly with the state for free.