Unit Trusts

IN ADDITION TO MUTUAL funds, closed-end funds and ETFs, you might hear about a fourth type of fund: unit investment trusts, or UITs. These are unmanaged baskets of securities sold by brokers during a onetime public offering period, with investors paying perhaps a 4% sales commission. Each UIT has a maturity date, though some sponsors of UITs will redeem the funds from investors before maturity.

Are UITs a good investment? Investors don’t appear wildly excited about them. Assets have been dwindling in recent years, according to data from the Investment Company Institute.

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