Fixed-Rate Certificate of Deposit

A fixed-rate certificate of deposit (CD) is an investment instrument that has a set interest rate over its entire term. CDs generally offer terms in increments of three months up to one year, then they switch to 2-year, 3-year and 5-years. The longer the term of the fixed-rate CD, the higher the fixed interest rate. Large and small retail banks alike offer fixed-rate CDs.

Savers who are conservative with their investments are attracted to fixed-rate CDs, which give them known income streams until maturity. Furthermore, because the CDs are guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to $250,000 (per account holder, per issuer), investors who place their money in these instruments feel comfortable about the safety of the asset value. Fixed-rate CDs may not pay as much interest as other fixed income securities, but conservative savers accept the trade-off of lower interest and lower capital risk. There is typically a penalty for early withdrawal of funds from the CD, so almost always a CD holder leaves the money in the instrument until it matures. Upon maturity, depending on the individual's financial needs, he or she may roll over the matured CD into another one. The new fixed-rate, though, will likely be different from the one that just matured. The general interest rate environment in the economy determines how fixed-rate CDs are set by issuing banks.

A variable-rate CD has a fixed term like the fixed-rate CD, but interest payments can fluctuate, as the CD's rate is tied to a certain index such as the prime rate index, consumer price index or treasury bill rate. The amount paid out is based on a percentage difference between the beginning index value and the final index value. An investor in a variable-rate CD is less risk-averse than a fixed-rate CD buyer, and the individual, by putting money into a variable-rate CD, may express her belief that interest rates in the economy will rise over the term of the CD. If she is right, she will have earned more interest than if she bought a fixed-rate CD.