All of Dave’s teachings are to keep things simple for people that never learned to handle money. It’s one size fits all, which is good because if it’s too complicated people won’t save for retirement at all. What Dave really wants is for people to just invest in something besides depreciating garbage they can’t afford to begin with.

In my opinion getting out of debt is the important thing , my wife and I paid off $122,000 of debt. Now we can invest any way we want and we do take Dave’s advice in investing but if I want to something differently in addition to Dave’s investing I CAN b/c we are DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

For starters, the difference between 10% and 12% is HUGE. Over 30 years it works out to a difference of something like an extra 30% more or less. The problem I have with your test is you filtered it out to only show funds that performed in the top 95 percentile. Then out of that you further picked the top 3. So what you proved is even if you lucked out and out of 66,000 funds managed to luckily pick the 3 very best ones you STILL would have only ended up with 10%. What would those returns woud have been if you didn't pick the absolutely best performers? What was the mean average of those three categories? Since the top 3 best only outperformed the S&P500 by about 1.5% over the test period I'd be willing to bet on average, the vast majority of combinations underperformed the overall market.

Dave has always said 8-12%! Atleast that’s what I’ve always heard the man say!!

The more I watch your channel the more I am impressed with your approach and how you are respectful to all levels of investors and other advisors.

Not going to lie I’ve started seeing your channel grow with subs and views and I’m very glad, because you definitely deserve them for everything you do. For the wisdom, teachings, and care you put into all the videos it’s amazing 😊👍

You were one of the first channels I found when I started seeking investment advice about a year ago. Unfortuntely I didn't sub and I couldn't find your channel again. Found it through a nondescript link on a new Chris Hogan video. Glad I found your channel again!

Well done. Thank you sir. I found several mutual funds that since inception have returned a bit over 12-percent and they are over 30 years old. I like that you took the time to dig through the categories.

Finally!!! I been waiting for this video for a long time now.... Dave and Dustin follower right here!

I appreciate how you research & approach putting info out to us. And also appreciate that you are respectful of others while having a good time running the numbers!

Very classy way of breaking down Dave’s investing strategy. He is a Icon in his industry. Love your channel. Been watching you for a year now. Great informative videos.

important point, no way to tell if the fund that performed the best in the last will outperform in the future.

Are the dividends just paid out, or are they reinvested? Makes a huge difference. I listened and heard you say "total returns including dividends", but that isn't clear on "reinvested or paid out".

Thank you. I totally agree your analysis. You did well‼️

I like listening to Dave Ramsey, but don't really follow his investing advice. Prefer to go Vanguarding instead. I do like Dave's lifestyle advice.

Outstanding work Dustin. I hope Dave sees this!

What a terrific video for a newbie like me. That was extremely informative and it was exactly the complement or supplement that I needed to the Dave Ramsey information! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

You did an excellent job of presenting facts in a non-argumentative, constructive, and transparent way. This video alone (the first of yours I’ve seen) inspired me to subscribe and follow your content. I learned financial basics through Larry Burkett many years ago, and find that Dave follows many of the same processes, but no one is above the math! People don’t like Dave telling them it’s their own fault when they’ve mismanaged their assets... such is the new millennium. I see no need to defend or accuse him, as you demonstrate here it’s close enough. The point is that if you save and invest, that alone will make more difference than any other factor. One or two percent, give or take, won’t matter on the money you never invested.

Came across this video I’m doing research learning all about stocks and the terminologies that come with the investing world and I appreciate and love this video. I think people like you and Ramsey are amazing giving this information that we would never get as we were all coming up and learning in school and now it’s right at our fingertips. There is truly no excuse why people today or not driving with information being out here. I am already 33 but it’s never too late to start learning. This video is two years old but I found it and I am now a subscriber so thanks. It’s a shame that this was never taught in public schools growing up and that’s because it was for the rich to stay rich and not have competition.

Great in depth look thanks for the hard work guys!!

Great honest review. Dave first gets you out of debt. He then constantly says with regards to investing "if I am half wrong". He gives people help and hope. The critics are wearing tinfoil hats.

The fact is you picked the best performing mutual funds out of 66,000 and it did slightly better than just the S&P500. I don't believe the reward of picking the right mutual fund out weighs the risk of picking the wrong one.

I appreciate the information you built here and stated it so clearly. Thank you!

Dave's baby steps do work as for getting out of debt but I do agree I've always thought his investments were very vague. I get hes not going to say his specific investments but this break down is more realistic. I'm not ready for this but doing research and gearing up for when the pandemic ends. Great channel. Subbed. Keep up the good work.

This was an absolutely amazing presentation. You were brilliant just like Mr. Ramsey. God bless you

Can you share the study on a Google Sheet so we can play around with it? That would be awesome!

The difference between you and Dave is he keeps it simpler. He's concise and to the point. All your graphs and visuals after a while are exhausting because the average person has a very shallow attention span. Too much info is just as bad as none at all. Make it short, usually 8 minutes or less. Hit your points hard, and the consumer will do it or not.

everyone's an expert when the markets rises

Well done! I think the big message Dave is trying to put out there is Save People!!

Dave Ramsey was the first financial “guru” that I listened too and he really got me intrigued with personal finance in general! However now that I am learning more and more I realized his advice is mainly used as a wake up call to the people who never even bothered to worry about money management. Without him however I do not think I would be majoring in Finance!

Great video! Like how you guys looked into everything and broke it down step by step...

S&P seems to be a good go to, forget all the BS and just keep buying every major drop

Here's what I think you're missing: Since these are actively managed funds, cherry picking the funds that had good historical returns is misleading. You're right that someone COULD HAVE picked those funds 20 years ago, but the odds are that a given person would have picked within the 82 percent of funds that didn't beat the market in that time period. Likewise looking forward, there's an 82 percent chance that the active funds you pick today will underperform the market over the next 20 years, AND you're paying higher expenses and fees.

I’m clueless about investing but I’m found Ramsey, and in turn found you. Great video!

This was a great video! The only other thing to mention would be adjustments for inflation which I don’t think you mentioned. We definitely don’t touch 12% when factoring for inflation. GREAT JOB! 👍🏻😎

Thank you, this helps a lot!

Good video, but I think this highlights exactly why Dave's advice is spotty more than demonstrate that he deserves a pass. You picked THE BEST mutual funds and even those didn't hit his 12% mark. I would have preferred to see how some of the median funds performed over the same period.

what software are you using to find all these mutual funds? I really like the breakdown and filters available.

Jazz thanks for this Content. Appreciate what you do.

Instantly subscribed. Cool video love it

if you’re just starting, it may not be a bad idea to begin with an ETF since it gives you such broad exposure out of the gates, but remember that you can buy multiple funds to build a portfolio that fits you, I've put in quite an effort into vanguard and ARK ETF my portfolio has grown over 270% this year just hit the 7 figure mark...

The long term return on the market is 9%, including dividends. The reason Dave Ramsey and many others have exceeded 9% in the last 20 years is because of 0% or near 0% interest rates. This has had two effects. First, people have invested an inordinate percentage of their money in the market because alternatives such as CDs have terrible returns. The increased demand for stocks has driven up prices. Second, companies have used cheap money to do buybacks, which also drives up prices. Prices are no longer tied to fundamentals.

One suggestion would be to balance the distribution on a regular basis -vs- buy and hold the entire time, keeping the value of each category roughly 25% throughout the holding period.

Awesome video Dustin. You always give the truthful information to us. Thank you

I think the other investments to compare or outearn this setup would be an awesome and interesting video

Does something escapes me or: 1) Survivor bias isn't addressed at all. I'm no Ramsey expert, but I've heard him repeat that you don't have to be that smart to identify a good fund, yet only a handful of them - carefully selected after the fact - can beat a broad large cap index like the S&P 500. 2) There is a word about it by the end of the video, but there is no risk performance adjustment. That's ironic, because Dave Ramsey seems adamant on factoring in risk (and rightfully so).

I absolutely loved this breakdown. I hate figuring out investments, but always felt Ramsey's numbers were a bit high. At least it's not TOO far off.

Loved the breakdown.Been curious what funds he talked about, but I understand the due to legal and non-fiduciary reasons, he can't personally tell you his exact portfolio investments. but this video definitely helps. I'm investing the way he teaches, however I started during the worst year (2022) so I am far from seeing those numbers on my ROI, even though all my funds personally are up for YTD >15%. Loved your channel, definitely subscribing.

First time viewing your channel, GREAT presentation, I am sure this was a lot of work. Thank you! sub'd

An incredible amount of work to try to prove something that could be instantly proved or disproved by Ramsey himself, if he would just be open and honest.

Best thing ever happened to me from a financial stand point is clicking on this guy named Dave Ramsey on youtube! My wife and i are baby step 6 and finale debt(home) will be paid off in about 4 years! We have more money saved up that we never thought was possible. Good video you have here and thanks!

I liked the way you presented these points. I definitely need to look into doing this for my future.Thanks

Dave is a huge contributor in my ability to pay off my Lowes grill in 1 month instead of 3. I was able to do a Weber 310 debt free scream because of that man, and for that....I'll always be grateful.

Since we're looking at a 20 year horizon, wouldn't it have been prudent to go back 20 years ago and find the funds that would have met the criteria and see what their performance would be today.?

Thanks Dustin great breakdown 👍 love the charts.

I think the problem people have with Dave Ramsey is that he never says what actual funds he's talking about and it seems everything he recommends is something he has a financial interest in. In general his idea of growth mutual funds is fine but so is simply buying an index fund that he is so dead set against

I love Dave Ramsey. He provides a great public service. I don't judge him on the 12%, even though I think it is high. He is trying to get people excited about investing. However, I would never use a "Smart Investor Pro" to buy loaded mutual funds and additionally pay for financial planning. Dave most likely gets a commission cut on each of these funds sold as well as a 'finders fee' when people use these services. It would be interesting to know what standards he has for these Smart Investor Pros beyond making their payments to Papa Dave on time in cash!

I was going to thumbs down this video and I watched him go through multiple examples. I give you a thumbs up.

Thank you for all the work you did! You really helped clarify a complicated subject!😏

I think that this is a great video for a beginner in investing in mutual funds (like me) because it provides specific examples of performance that you can measure against the S & P. He did the heavy lifting to give an introduction for specific analysis. Thanks!

I team Buffett/Munger, by the way. Listen to billionaires. They are smarter than millionaires. Index all day.

Where did you get that data set from and what software are you using? Wonderful video, thanks!

Glad you finished your presentation the way you did. Volatility is an important factor that must be noted as a part of the risk/return discussion. Also, investing should be based on, as you note, their goals......timeframe, use of funds, risk comfort, etc. Very good analysis. Yes, Dave does give good info to help people manage their money, but as with any advice, some will like and some won’t.......I am sure you deal with that, too.

Absolutely great break down thank you. I like a lot of his views but not everything. Thank you for breaking this down.

I’ll give you a like just for the Bruce Williams mention.

if "what-ifs" were easy and worth a damn, everyone would be rich.

When I used to work for UPS at first I tried just basic investment through 401K . A year later I decided to follow my husband's advice to listen to Dave Ramsey and took notes on how to invest, called the investment department and requested the change based on the notes I took after listening to Dave Ramsey's video... at the end of the year I was blown away with the huge positive difference in return. So based on my own personal experience, utilizing Dave Ramsey's suggestions put me in a much better financial situation. Just came across this channel and look forward to get vital financial advise as well.

Subscribed. Thank you for putting all of that together.

He's said before that he invests in one that is over 80 years old, how many are that old? I invest in one that's 85+ so I kinda assumed it's the same one

Good work! Your result matches what matches what makes sense. I've always thought Dave's advice was good for pre-retirement investors where volatility is second to ease of investment.

Very informative. Thanks for your time

Thankful that you share information with numbers and facts!

Dave Ramsey always says to people if you save for from age 27 to 67, in a Roth IRA you'll end up with 5 to 6 million dollars and if I'm half wrong, 2 to 3 million. The stock market has returned around 7 percent since ww II. I think that's what he means. He's trying to get you excited about investing.

It amazes me that Dave gets so many other things right and yet gets mutual funds so wrong.

You deserved my like and subscribe, buddy. Great video - objective, information-based and honest!

Nice work young man. Thanks!

Just to add. During these times. No Debt. Thanks Dave.

I'm going for 8% with a little less risk. But Dave does a good job of increasing awareness and financial education.

Well done sir. Thanks for walking me through that. new Subb here. you earned it.

Again, awesome work Dustin!

Doesn't Dave Ramsey also suggest using an ELP? If so, then wouldn't it be prudent to include the ELPs fees on top of the portfolio returns? Wouldn't that show true returns after ALL fees vs market returns?

Doesn't this analysis fall short because of survivor ship bias and look ahead bias? You filtered out funds based on performance, but the top performing funds of the past 20 years won't necessarily be the top performing funds over the next 20.

Thank you. Nice work

Great Analysis, really appreciate it

Great video, what is the tool you used?

I would like to point out that when Ramsey refers to 12% return, he is referring to an average return, not an annualized return. You can find that in a footnote on his website somewhere. So his target annualized returns are probably about in line with the market or slightly better. I think most of these fund mixes would meet what he is striving for.

Subscribed, like your style

Nice work here Jazz! Great homework!

How do i find the actual names of the funds & how do i go about investing in them ???

Good video. Dave has mentioned American funds several times that it's this one fund that's been returning 12% since the 1930s, most point to AIVSX as the fund he's referring too. I am curious with international funds being stagnant for the past 15yrs I wonder what would happen if you re-ran without international? Ramsey has lamented about possibly not recommending international funds but ultimately concluded to stay the course. Also of interest, this is directly from his website "When Dave says you can expect to make a 12% return on your investments, he’s using a real number that’s based on the historical average annual return of the S&P 500." And I have to call BS on that...when Dave talks about 12% he always mentions picking funds with long track records that consistently beat the market aka not index funds.

Thank you for this great analysis.

Excellent evaluation!

What program or website did you use to pull up all the mutal funds? Please let me know, thanks

Well I invest through my job (which is a state job so I'm in my state's investment system) and have limited options in investing. But I do follow Dave's advice. 25% in low, mid and high cap, then 25% in international. Right now my rate of return is around 25%. Now that's just 2 years in but I'm happy with the results so far.

Reminds me of when he is helping callers and does math for their budget off Gross income instead of net.

Just found your page. Thanks for explaining this. On bs4. Need to learn how to use fidelity.

I found all what Dave recommended without no problem honestly

Dave’s funds looking good!

Great video and thank you for sharing

At the end of the day, do not delay and get your money working for you.