UITs Still Flying High in May

July 2, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Deposits in unit investment trusts (UIT) savored a 22.3% hike in total assets in May to $911.4 million from April's $745.4 million total.

The strongest performers for the month were equity UITs, which enjoyed a 26.7% bump in assets to $662.1 million, up from $522.3 million in month before, and Tax-Free Debt UITs, which gained a similar 27% hike to May’s $168.3 million, from April’s $132.4 million, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Taxable Debt UITs continued a weak performance dropping to $80.9 million from April’s $90.5 million.

May recorded 55 new trusts issuing shares for the month.  Of that total, 18 were equity trusts, 32 were tax-free bond trusts, and five 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 May, with $175.7 million in shareholder deposits.

UITs offer fixed portfolios of selected stocks or bonds.

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