Investing April 16, 2003

ICI: Equity UITs Shine in March

April 16, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Unit investment trusts (UIT) enjoyed a bang-up March with a 20% growth in total deposits to $784.8 million from February's $651.4 million
Reported by

March’s strongest deposit growth into UITs, investment companies that hold fixed portfolios of selected stocks or bonds, were from equity UITs, according to statistics compiled by the Investment Company Institute (ICI). The March equity deposits were $508.1 million, up a whopping 47% from February’s $345.5 million.

Losing ground in March were Taxable Debt UITs, which fell to $118.8 million from $123.8 million the month before, and Tax-Free Debt, which dropped to $157.9 million in March from $181.9 million in February.

March recorded 57 new trusts issuing shares for the month.  Of that total, 22 were equity trusts, 28 were tax-free bond trusts, and seven were taxable bond trusts.

In terms of maturity, long-term bond trusts having an average weighted maturity of more than 15 years were the most commonly offered in March, with $187.8 million in shareholder deposits. March’s overall deposit gain represented the second such monthly advance ( See UITs Gain Deposits in February ).

«