- Initial deposit
- The amount of money you choose to open your CD with.
- Months
- The term of the CD, expressed in months.
- Interest rate
- The published Annual Percentage Rate (APY) rate for this CD. Since APY measures your actual interest earned per year, including compounding, it can be used to compare CDs that have different interest rates and compounding frequencies.
- Total percentage yield
- This is the total yield, or percentage, your CD will produce by the end of its term. If your term is less than one year interest is added at maturity and will produce a yield less than the APY. If your term is more than one year it will reflect annual compounding of interest and be higher than your APY. The total percentage yeild calculation assumes that no additions or withdrawals occur before the CD's term ends.
