Where has my money gone?

Once upon a time, a very long time ago, people who bought shares would be sent a share certificate through the post, and their dividend cheques would be sent to them through the post as well.

Today your holdings are held in "nominee accounts" somewhere in hyperspace, guarded by goblins from Gringotts Bank, and the only place you will see a share certificate is in a museum.

It's all done by the Crest system:

Crest is an electronic settlement system, regulated by the Financial Services Authority, which removes the need for paperwork in share transactions. Typically, client funds, be they cash or shares, are held in the broker’s nominee account in Crest. The closure or bankruptcy of the broker does not affect shareholdings held in Crest, or the ability of Crest to transfer/sell the client’s shareholdings. Client money rules apply equally to funds managed by brokers or fund managers, such as investment trust companies.

So there you are. All your holdings assembled in one place, all your dividends collected together in one place, and all you have to do when you want to go to Costas or buy some caramel wafers is transfer a bit of cash electronically to your bank account . That's progress!