SmartTrust

Name

SmartTrust

Legal name

Hennion & Walsh Inc.

Website

https://smarttrustuit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Unit Investment Trusts (UITs)

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Trust & Fiduciary Advisory for HNW/UHNW (Trust Structuring & Trustee Oversight) (FSAAABAF)

Keywords

• Unit investment trusts
• UIT sponsor
• Investment products
• Portfolio strategies
• Financial advisors

Headquarters

HQ city

Parsippany

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. UIT Sales Charges: Revenue generated from sales charges on Unit Investment Trust products. Maximum sales charge of 2.75% disclosed on trust offerings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SmartTrust sponsors Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) — unmanaged, fixed-income portfolios that hold securities for a set period. Offerings span Taxable Income, Tax-Free Income, Taxable Equity & Income, Equity Income, and Equity Oriented/Theme Based portfolios. The platform is distributed exclusively through financial advisors across the United States, supported by the Proposal Builder selection tool and SmartTrust University educational content.

Product overview

SmartTrust® is a Unit Investment Trust (UIT) sponsor and product platform offered through Hennion & Walsh Asset Management. The SmartTrust® brand encompasses a suite of UIT offerings spanning multiple strategy categories: Taxable Income, Tax-Free Income, Taxable Equity & Income, Equity Income, and Equity Oriented/Theme Based portfolios. The first SmartTrust was launched in 2003, and the platform has grown to include dozens of trust series across these categories. Core platform tools include the Proposal Builder (for searching and selecting UITs by Ticker, CUSIP, or keyword) and SmartTrust University (educational video content). Individual UIT products are organized into named series (e.g., CEFA Select BDC, Preferreds Plus, 60/40 Quality Allocation, Premier Banking Opportunities, Tax Free Income), each typically structured as 2-year term trusts. Securities are offered through Hennion & Walsh Inc., Member of FINRA, SIPC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SmartTrust® Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) Unmanaged, fixed-income portfolios that invest in securities for a set period, offered across Taxable Income, Tax-Free Income, Taxable Equity & Income, Equity Income, and Equity Oriented/Theme Based categories. Securities are offered through Hennion & Walsh Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC, and distributed exclusively through financial advisors.
• Proposal Builder Web-based tool enabling financial advisors to search SmartTrust UITs by Ticker, CUSIP, or specific keywords and construct proposed UIT selections for client portfolios.
• CEFA Select BDC, 37 UIT seeking total return through current income and capital appreciation via Business Development Companies (BDCs), managed by Closed-End Fund Advisors (CEFA). 2-year term, max sales charge 2.75%, initial offer price $10.00 per unit.
• Preferreds Plus, 31 UIT focused on preferred securities, seeking current income and capital appreciation. Termination date 06-29-2028.
• 60/40 Quality Allocation, 15 UIT seeking total return through capital appreciation and dividend income with a 60/40 equity/fixed income allocation.
• Premier Banking Opportunities, 10 UIT seeking total return through capital appreciation and dividend income, focused on banking sector opportunities. 2-year term.
• Tax Free Income, 57 UIT seeking income generally exempt from regular federal income tax, with secondary capital growth objective. 2-year term.
• Dynamic Sector Income, 45 UIT focused on dynamic sector income strategy, providing current income through sector rotation.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Argus ResearchcoreTechnology or IntegrationPortfolio consultant providing independent research for UIT products. Jim Kelleher serves as Director of Research, bringing expertise in stock analysis and valuation.
• Closed-End Fund Advisors (CEFA)coreTechnology or IntegrationPortfolio consultant specializing in closed-end funds since 1989. John Cole Scott serves as CIO with over 17 years of experience. Provides CEFA Select BDC UIT series.
• Dorsey Wright & AssociatescoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical analysis research firm founded in 1987, acquired by Nasdaq in 2015. Provides Relative Strength Analysis and Point & Figure methodology for portfolio consulting.
• Ingalls & SnydercoreTechnology or IntegrationInvestment advisory firm where Marshall Kaplan serves as Senior Vice President, managing Fundamental All-Cap Equity portfolios.
• MorningstarcoreTechnology or IntegrationIndex License Provider offering rules-based, transparent indexes rooted in proprietary research for portfolio benchmarking and construction.
• NASDAQcoreTechnology or IntegrationIndex License Provider creating innovative, market-leading transparent indexes since 1971. Offers diverse index families including Global, Dividend and Income, Fixed Income, Nordic, Green Economy indexes.
• Syntax LLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationIndex provider and financial analytics company with Stratified Indices providing rules-based, diversified exposure to business risks. Reweights S&P 500, MSCI EAFE, and Wilshire 5000 using Stratified Weight methodology.
• JUST CapitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationResearch provider co-founded in 2013 by Paul Tudor Jones II, Deepak Chopra, and others. Provides data-driven research and rankings on corporate stakeholder behavior to support ESG-aligned UIT strategies.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• American Century Investments: American Century is a large diversified asset manager with a UIT product line distributed through advisors, providing overlapping product categories with SmartTrust but as part of a much broader firm.
• Invesco: Invesco is a large global asset manager that sponsors UITs alongside a much broader product set (ETFs, mutual funds, SMAs). UIT is a smaller product line for Invesco but overlaps directly with SmartTrust's offerings.

Direct peers

• Virtus Investment Partners: Virtus offers UIT products as part of a multi-boutique product platform, competing in the same advisor channel with defined-maturity trust structures similar to SmartTrust's suite.
• Guggenheim Investments: Guggenheim is one of the largest UIT sponsors in the U.S., offering a broad lineup of defined-maturity unit investment trusts across income, equity, and thematic strategies, directly comparable to SmartTrust's UIT platform.
• Cohen & Steers: Cohen & Steers sponsors UITs and closed-end funds with a specialization in income-oriented and real-asset strategies, closely paralleling SmartTrust's advisor-distributed income and BDC UIT offerings.
• Advisors Asset Management: Advisors Asset Management is a UIT sponsor focused on the independent advisor channel, with defined-maturity trust products and specialty income strategies comparable to SmartTrust's positioning.
• First Trust Portfolios: First Trust is a top-tier UIT sponsor with a large advisor-distributed UIT catalog and proprietary index research partnerships (FT-Nasdaq, Dorsey Wright), competing head-to-head with SmartTrust for financial advisor wallet share.
• Destra Capital: Destra Capital is a specialist sponsor of UITs and closed-end funds, with a thematic and income-oriented focus that overlaps SmartTrust's preferred securities, BDC, and sector-income UIT series.
• Nationwide Funds: Nationwide sponsors a meaningful lineup of UITs distributed through financial advisors, including fixed income and equity strategies, and competes with SmartTrust in the same advisor channel and product categories.

Others

• Hennion & Walsh (parent context): Hennion & Walsh is the parent broker-dealer (FINRA, SIPC) that distributes SmartTrust UIT securities; included as ecosystem context for the distribution infrastructure underlying the SmartTrust platform.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SmartTrustUIT
• Facebookfacebook.com/smarttrustuit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SmartTrust