The securities held in a UIT are typically selected by investment advisors to meet a particular objective, such as growth, income, or capital appreciation. Once these selections are made, the securities held in the UIT are generally not traded, except in the case where securities lose their worth. UITs are, therefore, relatively fixed portfolios of securities which are held with little or no change for the life of the UIT. 

A UIT will typically make a one-time offering of a specific number of units (similar to closed-end funds) to the public. Many UIT sponsors allow the owners of UIT units to sell those units back to the sponsors, which allows the sponsors to sell those units to other investors at times during the lifetime of the UIT. Unlike mutual funds, UITs have a specified lifetime with a termination date on which the assets of the trust are liquidated and distributed to the investors.

A UIT typically does not have a board of directors, corporate officers, or advisors to render advice throughout the life of the trust, so it is an investment vehicle intended as a long-term investment strategy.