Unit Investment Trust Data
February 2003

Washington, DC, March 18, 2003 - Unit investment trusts, investment companies that hold fixed portfolios of selected stocks or bonds, had total deposits of $651.4 million in February, according to statistics compiled by the Investment Company Institute. For comparison, deposits were $1.15 billion in January 2003 and $1.17 billion in February 2002.

Total Deposits by Trust Type (millions of dollars)
		February 2003	January 2003	February 2002
Equity		345.6	906.3	1,004.5
Taxable Debt		123.9	60.6	73.4
Tax-Free Debt		182.0	184.8	87.2
Total		651.4	1,151.7	1,165.1

There were 56 new trusts issuing shares in February 2003. Of that total, 19 were equity trusts, 31 tax-free bond trusts, and six 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 February 2003, with $207.3 million in shareholder deposits.

Data on the market value of unit investment trusts issued and outstanding as of year-end 2001 indicate a total of 7,880 trusts with a value of $49.39 billion. According to reports of sponsors, at year-end 2001 there were 6,296 tax-free bond trusts, with a market value of $19.00 billion; 174 taxable bond trusts, with a market value of $3.78 billion; and 1,410 equity trusts, with a market value of $26.60 billion. Data for year-end 2002 is not yet available.