With the decline of the economy over the last few years, experts are not predicting a great return if any on 2012 CDs. It is expected that savers interested in CDs online will continue to struggle in reducing their risk and at the same time produce an adequate return.

If you are interested in investing in CDs online it is suggested that savers invest in long term CDs. In purchasing long term online CDs investors are able to cash them out early. Although there will be an early withdrawal penalty it is still possible to come out a little further ahead.

Senior financial analyst Greg McBride at Bankrate.com predicts that it is better to purchase long term CDs that have are expected to have flat rates for a long period of time. Once the rates begin to move upward savers will have the flexibility to reinvest.

Of course other experts are suggesting to avoid 2012 CDs altogether due to not having as much flexibility and further claim that investors can receive a better return on anything other than CDs. However, they say if you are still set on purchasing online CDs be sure that they have a maturity of less than five years.

If you decide to take your chances and invest in CDs in 2012 be sure to do your research. There are many scammers out there ready to take your money for an uninsured CD and they are growing at an exponential rate. Bankrate.com suggests that you not be fooled by high interest rates. Make sure that your potential CD is being issued by and institution that is FDIC insured. Or if the issuing institution is a credit union it should be insured by the National Credit Union Administration. Almost all banks and credit unions are required to carry NCUA or FDIC insurance. Also, if you decide to purchase CDs from a bank you will want to research how safe the bank is. You wouldn’t want them going bankrupt and taking your investment with them.

No one can say when the Federal Reserve will move on raising interest rates at this time. However, economists say that until the economy becomes more active and unemployment and labor improves inflation is not a concern. Unfortunately it is expected that investors will not see any type of improvement on yields for the next several years.

You can keep a leg up on interest rates through watching Treasury yields. Treasury yields are said to indicate inflation prospects, how well the economy is doing and Federal Reserve expectations. In 2012 you can hope for a meek return however, even this is greatly dependent upon the economy continuing to improve.