Unit Investment Trust Data
March 2003

Washington, DC, April 15, 2003 - Unit investment trusts, investment companies that hold fixed portfolios of selected stocks or bonds, had total deposits of $784.8 million in March, according to statistics compiled by the Investment Company Institute. For comparison, deposits were $651.4 million in February 2003 and $1.0 billion in March 2002.

Total Deposits by Trust Type (millions of dollars)
		March 2003	February 2003	March 2002
Equity		508,037	345,560	904,325
Taxable Debt		118,820	123,892	52,897
Tax-Free Debt		157,905	181,952	44,041
Total		784,762	651,404	1,001,263

There were 57 new trusts issuing shares in March 2003. Of that total, 22 were equity trusts, 28 tax-free bond trusts, and seven 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 2003, with $187.8 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.