The
yield on an
investment in one year, taking into account the effects of
compounding. For example, if one has a
fixed-income investment such as
certificate of deposit that pays 3% in
interest each month, the annual percentage yield is more than 3% because compounding the interest results in a (slightly) higher
return each month. In this example, the annual effective yield is calculated thus:
Annual percentage yield = (1.03)^12 - 1 = .43 = 43%, where 1.03 is 1 plus the monthly interest and 12 is the number of times in a year interest is compounded. It is also known as the annual effective yield.