On this page, we show the peak 6-month certificate of deposit (CD) rate during previous rate hiking cycles and the subsequent 12-month total returns of CDs, Treasuries, investment grade corporate bonds and U.S. high yield bonds. Following the Fed's aggressive tightening campaign, CD yields have risen considerably and now look very attractive. However, investing at peak CD rates in the past has resulted in underperformance relative to other fixed income instruments and investors must realize that there may be better options for deploying excess capital outside of CDs.