Tax-exempt unit investment trusts issued shares in May representing deposits of $359.9 million, for a total of $2.15 billion so far in 1993, the Investment Company Institute reported last week.
The figure compares with $2.01 billion for the first five months of 1992.
For all unit investment trusts, which are fixed portfolios of selected bonds or stocks, deposits in May increased $732 million, for a total of $3.95 billion this year. That compares with $3.57 billion during the same period in 1992, the institute said.
Taxable bond trusts accounted for $134.8 million of the May total, for a total of $695.9 million in the first five months of 1993 compared with $944.6 million for the same period in 1992. Deposits to equity trusts totaled $237.2 million for the month, for a year-to-date total of $1.1 billion, compared with $615.4 million through May of last year.
There were 62 new tax-free bond trusts issuing shares in May, five new taxable bond trusts, and nine new equity trusts.
Long-term bond trusts with an average weighted maturity of more than 15 years were the most commonly offered in May, with $349.6 million in shareholder deposits, according to the institute.
The institute also said the value of the 13,598 unit trusts outstanding at the end of 1992 was $97.9 billion. By category, that figure breaks down to 12,623 tax-exempt bond trusts valued at $81.47 billion, 745 taxable bond trusts valued at $9.98 billion, and 230 equity unit trusts valued at $6.48 billion.
