Certificate of Deposit

Question: Certificate Of Deposit question?

DISCOVER BK GREENWOOD DEL 4.65000% 08/29/2011 CD
Quantity: 1000
Previous Price: 0.997
Most Recent Price: 0.997
Previous Value: $996.56
Most Recent Price: $996.56

WACHOVIA BK NA CHARLOTTE NC 5.05000% 09/30/2013 CD
Quantity: 4,000
Previous Price: 0.991
Most Recent Price: 0.991
Previous Value: $3,965.04
Most Recent Value: $3,965.04

I put 5,000 into 2 different CDs (see above) and my account value of my Roth is $4,963.54. Why is my value less than what I put in? Do CDs start building interest on a lower amount than the buying price? I’m really confused – any help would be great. Oh, it’s with Fidelity – if that makes any difference.

Answer: CDs as in Certificates of Deposit with Fidelity? I don’t think so. You may own shares of a Fidelity investment (such as a mutal fund) whose share price fluctuates (according to the markets) and since markets are way down, your value and per-share prices are dropping? I suspect you are confusing CDs with another form of investment. As far as I know, CDs are only available through banks (Fidelity is not a “bank” but is an investment company). CDs are not reflected in any statements such as what you seem to have typed above. What you offer above appears to be that you bought 1,000 shares at 0.997 per share, etc. Why not just call Fidelity and get an explanation from them?

Sandy Garey, Richwood Banking Company Loan Officer and Marysville Office Branch Manager