KATHY KRISTOF, AUTHOR, 'INVESTING 101':
Anyone who thinks that certificates of deposit are boring hasn`t seen the world currency CDs offered by Jacksonville, Florida-based Everbank. Most CDs are the essence of risk-free investing. You put money in, earn a set rate of interest and know exactly how much you`re going to pull out at the end of the term. Not Everbank CDs. These CDs could pay a fortune or cause you to lose a fortune, virtually overnight. That`s because the CDs are bets on the value of the dollar. You plop down an amount ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 and you pick the currency or blend of currencies, that you want to invest in. The bank then buys government bonds issued by the country of your choice. These bonds pay a set rate of interest, but the real return or loss comes from the exchange rate. If the currency the investor bought is comparatively stronger than the dollar when the investment is cashed in, the investor can win big. Some world currency CDs have paid 20 and 30 percent annual returns. On the other hand, if the value of the dollar rises, it takes more foreign currency to buy one dollar, so you could end up with less than what you started with. Like most potentially high-return investments, this one is high risk. It`s worth noting that many experts believe investors should always have some exposure to foreign markets in their investment portfolios, but there are also other potentially less risky ways to do that, like buying global mutual funds.
http://www.nightlybusiness.org/trans...ipt110205.html
http://www.everbank.com/
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World Currency CDs
