Unit investment trusts, a cross-breed of mutual funds and ETFs were unpopular in 2008, but now they're back — and doing much better than stock funds, Wall Street Journal reporter Jason Zweig writes.

Total assets have tripled, rising last year by 20 percent to $72 billion. They're not necessarily a great deal for investors, however, unless they rely on brokers to do most of the work, in which case they're cheaper than a mutual fund, Zweig explains.

Zweig interviewed Dominick Cogliandro, head of DWS Investments [profile] Guggenheim's UIT operations, who, as expected, does not agree that cost is the most important factor in making an investment. "Cheaper is not always better," he said. "UITs offer a more disciplined approach."

Some PMs also argued that the appeal of UITs lies in diversification and outperformance rather than the tracking of an index.

To read more, click here. 

Edited by: Casey Quinlan


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