system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Is a PhD advisor with no funding for the past few years automatically a bad advisor?

I have a PhD advisor in mind who did not have grant for past few years. This is what I hear from his past/current students. But he is a nice person, and is responsive and gives feedback fairly and promptly. He also spends a lot of time, and advises many masters students, but not many PhD students. Is this kind of professor with no funding automatically a bad advisor? Or is it just a reflection that his science (he is still rigorous and thinks critically) is not in fashion?

Edit: To clarify, for myself I get funding from an external source, so the problem that I won't have stipend because of advisor funding does not apply to me.
gpt
I don't think it means they're a "bad advisor" but if they haven't or are unable to bring in funding it may create some challenges for you. How are they currently funding their research? Have you discussed how you would be funded as their student? You may have to TA more in that lab than you otherwise would, and you may be limited on the type of experiments you can run. If they lack funding for too long the lab could be shut down, and that would be a big challenge in the middle of a PhD.