Investments when risk free and safe can be of great benefit. However much of the investment options are subjective to certain risks, especially if they promise high returns. One of the rare exceptions to this are CD accounts. 

CD accounts also called as Certificate of Deposit accounts are a good investment option. They are extremely beneficial when the term is over two to three years. This is because, as a general trend the interest rates for CD accounts grow with time. Almost all banks do provide FDIC coverage to avoid risks as far as possible. Insurances upto 250,000$ are available.

It may not be a good idea to stick to only one bank for a long term. Rather a strategy can be devised by which one would divide the large sum into small amounts and invest across banks and across schemes. There are different systematic methods to perform this task. Below we can discuss few.

Bullet strategy is one where the target is a certain maturity month or date. Irrespective of the number of investments, all plans should be chosen to have a common maturity date or month. By this all rates would get summed up and a good return is possible after the deposit term.

Barbell strategy is one where investments are equally divided between long term and short term deposits. While some amount would be invested for a very short duration of say three to six months the other investments would be for a prolonged period of say three to four years. This sort of mixing can ensure good returns in conditions where markets fluctuate a lot. 

Major benefits can be reaped if one could get returns periodically. Consistency in returns can be helpful in many respects. This is ensured by ladder strategy. Range of maturity periods would be chooses for different accounts so that they mature in different times. By this one could get a constant inflow of money.