what is a guaranteed investment certificate in the u s 
in the u s guaranteed investment contracts are savings vehicles issued by insurance companies not banks otherwise they work much like their canadian counterparts paying a set amount of interest for a deposit for a set length of time most of the purchasers of gics in the u s are pension funds or retirement savings plans if you have a 401 k account guaranteed investment contracts may be one of your investment choices confusingly certificates of deposit cds are more like canadian guaranteed investment certificates than u s guaranteed investment contracts since cds are available primarily at banks and credit unions in the u s 