Dave Ramsey prefers a commission-based planner?

[DebbieL]

Well, if this is Dave's official position, then he's lost a screw or two and my respect has gone down for him.

There are plenty of good no load funds with a good track record, index or actively managed.

The only possible advantage to loaded funds is they are less volatile as people won't move in and out of them on a dime because of the loads. But people who usually do that anyway use ETF's.

I don't see any advantage of a loaded fund - not 1.

It's a horrible product and the least effective way to use an advisor.

I've never had any respect for him to begin with. I guess if someone is absolutely hopeless, then they're probably better off with him than without him (although I think they'd probably be even better with someone more sensible), but IMO much of his advice is idiotic. I don't tend to like people that spout off in "absolutes" and extremes such as Dave, and develop weird almost "cult" type followings.

[dczech09]

What needs to be addressed here is that you do not need to lose 100% of your investment in order to lose money on a "take out a mortgage and invest cash" strategy.

If you take on a mortgage and invest your free cash flow in say mutual funds, you could generate a gain for the year, but still come out under. All you need to do is produce a gain that is less than the cost of debt plus taxes. So if your mortgage is 5% per year (after taking your taxes and tax deduction into consideration) and you produce a 4% gain, you lost money.

Of course, mathematically we should be considering inflation and risk as well. It is hard to quantity risk, and inflation comes in so many variations that it can be difficult to quantify as well (the best we have is CPI).

I certainly do not agree that buying from a commission-based planner is a good idea. I am a huge proponent of financial literacy and doing things yourself. The only case in which purchasing a financial product through an intermediary is beneficial is when we are talking about insurance. If your agent is good, he/she is worth the money. However paying a load on a mutual fund makes about as much sense as asking a wolverine to give you a massage. The costs of mutual fund loads (commissions) are outrageous and hinder the returns. I buy my mutual funds directly through T Rowe Price and my costs are dirt cheap.

[littleroc02us]

I've never had any respect for him to begin with. I guess if someone is absolutely hopeless, then they're probably better off with him than without him (although I think they'd probably be even better with someone more sensible), but IMO much of his advice is idiotic. I don't tend to like people that spout off in "absolutes" and extremes such as Dave, and develop weird almost "cult" type followings.

I don't know but after following Dave's advice I have become quite successful and changed my life completely.

[thomsoad]

I've never had any respect for him to begin with. I guess if someone is absolutely hopeless, then they're probably better off with him than without him (although I think they'd probably be even better with someone more sensible), but IMO much of his advice is idiotic. I don't tend to like people that spout off in "absolutes" and extremes such as Dave, and develop weird almost "cult" type followings.

While I dont agree with everything he says ... I think this is way too far on the other side of the spectrum. I think millions of people would disagree with you. Quite a few people on these boards wouldnt even be here if it wasnt for DR.

[disneysteve]

I've never had any respect for him to begin with. I guess if someone is absolutely hopeless, then they're probably better off with him than without him (although I think they'd probably be even better with someone more sensible), but IMO much of his advice is idiotic. I don't tend to like people that spout off in "absolutes" and extremes such as Dave, and develop weird almost "cult" type followings.

While I dont agree with everything he says ... I think this is way too far on the other side of the spectrum. I think millions of people would disagree with you. Quite a few people on these boards wouldnt even be here if it wasnt for DR.

I agree with thomsoad. I'm kind of a reformed anti-Dave guy. The more I listened to his show, the more I came to appreciate what he does. I don't listen because I need his financial guidance - I don't. I don't listen because I agree with everything he says - I don't. But I find his show very informative and I've definitely incorporated some of his stuff into the advice I give around here.

Also Debbie, there are an awful lot of "absolutely hopeless" folks out there, any many more not far from it. I think Dave Ramsey provides a valuable service to many, many people. Again, I most definitely do not agree with everything he says, but I don't think that makes him any less worthwhile. I don't think I've found any financial "guru" with whom I agree 100% of the time.