Charles Schwab & Co. of San Francisco is offering investors a means of participating in some of the potentially high returns of Internet stocks while taking little risk. Schwab is offering two equity-linked certificates of deposit that are federally insured. One of the new CDs has a maturity value linked to the return of the Chicago Board Options Exchange Internet index, said Leslie L. Durschinger, Schwab vice president. The other CD's maturity value is linked to the return of the S&P 500, Durschinger said.
The CDs have a $10,000 minimum initial investment, a maturity of approximately five years and are available through Sept. 30.
Schwab began offering equity-linked CDs in March. This marks the first time the company has offered a CD linked to returns based on Internet stocks, Durschinger said.
