The turmoil spreading across the banking sector is pushing everyday investors to take another look at certificates of deposit.

With the yield on 10-year Treasuries falling in recent days, and investors debating whether the Federal Reserve will pause its rate hikes, there’s growing concern that the return on high-yield savings accounts and cash-like securities people have embraced this year will drop.

That’s putting a spotlight on certificates of deposit, a savings vehicle that offers a guaranteed rate of return over a specific period of time. For people betting on rates going down, CDs are one way to lock in a predictable return, assuming you don’t need the cash right now.

“If you have your eye on a multiyear certificate of deposit, now is a nice time to lock that in,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. “Yields may not get that much higher.”

Marcus by Goldman Sachs currently offers a range of CD options, with a 4.75% annual percentage yield for 18 months. The rate on the standard high-yield savings account at Marcus is 3.75%, up from 0.5% in February 2022, when the 10-year topped 2% for the first time since 2019.

Capital One also has some of the best rates among CDs, according to Bankrate.com. Its one-year CD has a 4.15% return, while the two-year is at 4.3%. They also offer a 3.4% rate on high-yield savings accounts.

CDs are basically agreements that investors enter into with financial institutions, locking up their cash in exchange for higher interest rates. They are insured up to $250,000 by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and are considered a safe and predictable investment, with a guaranteed return. But there are some downsides.

Investors should be clear about their short-term liquidity needs before stashing their money away in a CD. Early withdrawals are generally subject to penalties, which often involves forfeiting some of the interest.

“Liquidity is super important and locking it up even for a week or three months in this environment feels nervous, especially when banks might not be around in a week or two and all these products are banking products,” said Sam Nofzinger, general manager of brokerage and crypto at investing platform Public.com.

While Wall Street traders are now betting the Fed will cut rates later this year, there’s always a chance that rates will continue to go higher amid the ongoing inflation fight. At the same time, locking up the cash could hamper purchasing power, especially as household costs continue to rise, according to Howard Dvorkin, CPA and chairman of financial services site Debt.com.

Over the past year, Americans purchased billions of dollars worth of Series I savings bonds, which offered high yields and outperformed major stock indexes and bond markets at a time of extreme market volatility. For those willing to lock up their cash a bit longer, I bonds currently offer a rate of 6.89%. But if you’re betting on what the Federal Reserve plans to do, there’s a catch.

Their interest rate is variable, set by the Treasury Department on the first business day of May and November. It’s made up of two components: a fixed rate, which remains constant, and a variable rate that rises and falls with the consumer price index.  If inflation decreases before then — which is the primary goal of the Federal Reserve right now — the rate will almost certainly be lower when it resets in May.

Additionally, you need to be willing to lock up your money for a while: I bonds must be held for at least a year, and cashing them before five years means forfeiting interest from the previous three months.

One option for keeping cash liquid is money market funds, which are structured like mutual funds and invest in cash or short-term debt securities that carry little risk. You can also buy Treasuries. While the yields are lagging CDs right now, it might not take long for that gap to close.

“There may be some opportunities for people that are a little bit slower to put their finger on the trigger,” said Nofzinger. “But I would expect the rates for CDs to soon be more more in line with Treasury rates.”

This article was provided by Bloomberg News.