Municipal Investment Trust

Municipal investment trusts are a type of unit investment trust (UIT) that invests solely in municipal securities. They allow individuals to invest in a diversified pool of municipal bonds, which passes through tax-free income. Municipal investment trusts are designed for higher-income investors seeking tax-free income.

Municipal investment trusts allow individuals to invest in a diversified portfolio of muni bonds with a low initial investment requirement. As with all UITs, municipal investment trusts are sold by investment advisors and an owner can redeem the units to the fund or trust, rather than placing a trade in the secondary market. Investors can redeem municipal investment trust shares, or units, at  net asset value (NAV) to the trust either directly or with the help of an investment advisor.

There are both similarities and differences between mutual investment trusts and municipal bond mutual funds. One difference is that investments in a mutual investment trust typically are not traded. Rather, they are held until maturity, and some even have a maturity date.

Typically, the management fees of a municipal investment trusts are lower in comparison, partly because there is not as much active management involved, relative to a muni mutual fund.

Mutual investment trusts are available through brokers and usually have a sales charge and a minimum investment requirement. However, municipal investment trust do not charge a commission to execute a sell order.

There’s a lot to like about municipal investment trusts, in that they can offer muni-bond diversification at a fairly low price. One of the primary advantages that this type of trust offers is a monthly payout of income, as opposed to the quarterly or semiannual payment of interest common with most individual municipal issues. Also, some investors prefer to do their homework about individual bond holdings ahead of time, and like that the holdings in a municipal investment trust will not change.

In comparison, the inability to buy or sell prior to maturity limits some investment strategies that municipal investment trusts employ. A mutual bond fund likely costs more. Yet many muni bond funds employ tactical techniques to take advantage of shorter-term market conditions. For example, some municipal bond funds will sell bonds just prior to maturity if there is a profit incentive to do so. They also can quickly move to new opportunities. Say bonds of municipal hospitals recently took a hit because of proposed legislation, but the manager thinks the market has significantly overreacted. A mutual fund bond manager can take advantage of that situation, where managers of a municipal investment trust may not be able to do the same.