A certificate of deposit (CD) that is bought from a brokerage firm rather than from a bank or savings and loan. Brokerage firms choose CDs from many banks around the country and as a result the CDs they offer often pay higher interest rates than CDs issued by banks. Brokered CDs tend to be easier to sell than CDs bought from a bank directly because they can be sold on the open market. Unlike a bank CD, there is no penalty for selling a brokered CD before it matures. Because brokered CDs are originally issued by banks, they are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) for up to $100,000.