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Your bank's advice is bad

I want to roll over a 401(k), and my bank is encouraging me to roll it over to fixed annuities. Is this a good investment?

Dear Dave,

I want to roll over a 401(k), and my bank is encouraging me to roll it over to fixed annuities. Is this a good investment?

-John

Dear John,

More times than not, when you go to a bank for investment advice, what you'll get in the bargain is bad advice. And that's the case here.

I'd move toward a traditional IRA, in a series of good growth stock mutual funds. Put it across four types of accounts: growth, growth and income, aggressive growth and international. What you're looking for, John, is a great track record for your investments. You want a track record so ridiculously good that it gives you a great sense of comfort, even though there's no guarantee of what's to come. And there are mutual funds out there that can do just that for you. I own one that's over 70 years old, and it has averaged nearly 12 percent over that time.

Lots of people talk in "what ifs" when it comes to investing. Well, you can play that little game all day. But if the economy goes completely down the tubes, and the government destroys things like mutual funds and real estate completely, your little bank-recommended annuity isn't going to make it, either. The banking system as a whole will fail if all the mutual funds close because they're all based in publicly traded companies. And that means virtually every business you drive by on your way to work would be out of business. A bank's not going to survive that kind of thing.

If you're looking for things to help you survive the apocalypse, you're talking about food and water. But if you want rational, well-reasoned investments, you need to look at growth stock mutual funds and paid-for real estate. That's what I do!

-Dave

Dave Ramsey is America's trusted voice on money and business. He's authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. His newest book, written with his daughter Rachel Cruze, is titled Smart Money Smart Kids. It will be released April 22nd. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.