There remains a great deal of confusion and misinformation about US trusts and how to value these securities.

This misunderstanding often leads to mispricing, giving savvy investors opportunities to buy high-quality royalty trusts at attractive valuations and elevated yields. No two royalty trusts are alike, so investors who sort through filings and quarterly reports can identify the best values.

At the same time, unwary investors who gravitate toward the highest-yielding names with little regard for underlying fundamentals can and will get burned.