March UITs Roar Back to Life

UITs, investment companies that hold fixed portfolios of selected stocks or bonds, had total deposits of $1.35 billion in March, up a whopping 20.1% from February’s $1.12 billion (See  UIT Deposits Down in February), according to data complied by the Investment Company Institute (ICI). February’s performance represented a decrease from the $1.91 billion in January deposits

Leading the charge in March were tax-free debt UITs, which ended the month with $189.2 million in assets, up 29% from February. Following closely behind were equity UITs, which pulled in $1.08 billion, up 24.1% from February. The only declining category was taxable debt UITs, which ended March with $75 million, down 26.4%.

March recorded 59 new trusts issuing shares for the month.  Of that total, 30 were equity trusts, 28 were tax-free bond trusts and one was taxable bond trusts.

In terms of maturity, intermediate bond trusts having an average weighted maturity between five and 15 years were the most commonly offered in March, with $141.8 million in shareholder deposits.