Stars do not foretell stock windfall, Sebi counsels investors - Deccan Herald

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“Do not be guided by astrological predictions on share prices and market movements,” Securities & Exchange Board of India has said in its latest caution message to investors.

Those engaged in the business of stock market astrology, however, do not buy the cautionary words but believe it would be business as usual for them.  “Investors come to us because our predictions have proven true. Our clients would not come back, if our predictions prove wrong,” said an eminent astrologist.

There are hundreds of astrologists advising investors with their stock market predictions in India for a fee and about a dozen of them also have full-fledged websites, detailing their past record and future predictions.

Many of these astrologers and websites charge an average of about Rs 1 lakh a year for their generalised predictions, but even the monthly fees run into such levels in case of customised predictions and for high-networth clients. Satish Sharma, who also runs a website AstroStockTips.in, told PTI that people invest their money in the stock market for future returns and “only astrology can tell about the future.”

Better than analysts

“It’s a science. It’s a better technical analysis than many of the so-called technical analysts do. If your luck and stars are not on your side, you cannot get success and stock market is no exception,” Sharma said.

“Many hedge funds and FIIs are our clients and invest on the basis of astrology. There are also some designated astro funds across the world,” he added. Jyotish Acharaya Shailendra Sharma said on his website, AstroToday, that his predictions on stock market were to guide people/investors “so that they can have better fiscal management and can be saved from financial disasters.”

Sharma further advises the people “not to invest their money in stock markets until unless they have combinations to gain through stocks in their own horoscopes. ... it is strongly recommended that one must get the birth chart (horoscope) analysed for gain from stock markets before making investments. It has been observed that people not having combinations of gains through stocks in their horoscopes suffer losses even if accurate predictions are given to them as they happen to pick up wrong scrips/stocks.”

Satish Gupta of AstroStockTips says that most of the fundamental and technical analysts fell flat with their predictions in the recent meltdown, but many of the astrological predictions were proven true. “There are many websites in the US too. In fact, there are more books and websites on the stock market astrology in the US as compared to India” Gupta says, while debunking the myth that only Indians consult the astrology for market tips.

Most of these websites provide real-time advise to the investors through means such as emails, SMSs and online forums.

Besides specific stock tips, they also offer general advices. ShareAstrology advises those seeking profit from stock market not to “keep leather purse in pocket,” not to drink milk in night and “feed cow with green fodder every Wednesday.” However, almost all these astrologers and websites have a disclaimer: “we shall not be responsible for any loss by our predictions.”

Ashok Motiani, advises investors in India from the US. Motiani claims that the accuracy rate of his predictions have improved to 90 per cent from 80 per cent initially.

“I started ten years back and 85 per cent of my daily predictions for stocks and indices have proven true and about 95 per cent of my predictions for sectoral trends have been true,” AstroStockTips’ Gupta said.

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