‘Power Of Equity’: Man Finds Grandparents’ Forgotten SBI Shares From 1994. Here’s What They Are Worth Now

Dr Tanmay Motiwala, a paediatric surgeon, stumbled upon the shares while organising the family’s assets. His X post on the discovery has gone viral.

In a tweet Dr Tanmay Motiwala shared the story as an example of the ‘power of equity’.

A doctor is going viral on X with his post on the “power of equity” after he chanced upon his grandparents’ “forgotten” share purchase from three decades ago.   

In 1994, Dr Tanmay Motiwala’s grandparents bought SBI shares worth Rs 500. The shares have since grown 750 times to Rs 3.75 lakh. 

The paediatric surgeon stumbled upon the shares while organising the family’s assets.

“My Grand parents had purchased SBI shares worth 500 Rs in 1994. They had forgotten about it. Infact they had no idea why they purchased it and if they even hold it (sic),” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “I found some such certificates while consolidating family’s holdings in a place. (Already had sent for converting them to Demat)”.
“So many people asked about its valuation currently? It is around 3.75L excluding dividends,” he said on X. “Not a big amount but yeah 750x in 30 years. Indeed is big.”

The power of holding equity 😊

My Grand parents had purchased SBI shares worth 500 Rs in 1994.
They had forgotten about it. Infact they had no idea why they purchased it and if they even hold it.

I found some such certificates while consolidating family's holdings in a… pic.twitter.com/GdO7qAJXXL

— Dr. Tanmay Motiwala (@Least_ordinary) March 28, 2024

Asked by other users about the demat conversion — converting the physical share papers to the digital format — he said it was a lengthy process even with the help of an adviser/consultant.

“We actually took the help of an advisor/consultant. Because the process itself is very painful and long (There may be spelling errors in name, address, signature mismatch etc etc) Even with an adviser it took time but we have been able to do for majority of certificates,” he added. “Charges? They are variable for different advisors. We chose it based on his availability in our home town.” 

The doctor said he was planning to hold the shares for now instead of selling them. “No need of cash right now,” he added.

So many people asked about its valuation currently?

It is around 3.75L excluding dividends. Not a big amount but yeah 750x in 30 years. Indeed is big.

How did I convert my family stock certificates into demat?

Seems like so many people are facing this issue. We actually took…

— Dr. Tanmay Motiwala (@Least_ordinary) March 29, 2024

The viral video has resonated with many people, and several X users shared similar stories. 

One user wrote, “My mom holds SBI shares since IPO. 50 shares means an investment of Rs 5000 and not Rs 500 as the face value was Rs 10 but allotment was at Rs 100. Decent returns though.5K in Infosys for the same period would have turned into Rs 3 cr&Presidency shoes to0.neither best nor worst (sic).”

Another wrote, "I know 😌 my father too bought shares of SBI and reliance back then in 1995-1996 ... And now it’s just 😱 that’s the power of compounding.......and yes SBI and reliance pays you good dividend as well… (sic)”