Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.
I tried an app that recommends stock picks based on your astrological sign. Here's what it's like to discover your investment portfolio match made in the heavens.
I tried an app that recommends stock picks based on your astrological sign. Here's what it's like to discover your investment portfolio match made in the heavens.
Daniel StraussNov 13, 2019, 21:13 IST
Shutterstock.com
Advertisement
For fans of astrology, there's now a mobile app that applies the study of the stars to stock investments.
MSCHF, a Brooklyn-based creative label, created an app called Bull & Moon that suggests an investment portfolio of six stocks based on astrological compatibility.
Bull & Moon simply asks for your name, birthday, and investment experience.
From there, it will pair you with companies by using their founding dates as birthdays to determine the stocks with astrological signs that are most compatible with your own.
Here's what it was like to discover my investment portfolio match made in the heavens.
There are countless established strategies for both the enterprising and passive investor.
With the advent of robo-advisers, it's easier than ever for investors to set their portfolios on autopilot. Aspiring day-traders and options connoisseurs have found a haven in commission-free Robinhood.
Now, a group of Brooklyn-based developers are pushing the bounds of investment strategy and establishing a new frontier: portfolio construction based on astrological compatibility.
Bull & Moon, an app developed by MSCHF, pairs users with stock picks based on their astrological sign, which is determined by your date of birth. The app then uses companies' founding dates as birthdays to find stocks with astrological signs that are most compatible with your own.
Advertisement
MSCHF is a creative label that releases monthly product drops. One of the studio's most viral was its October launch of "Jesus Shoes" that supposedly contained holy water from the Jordan River in the soles of the sneakers.
Markets Insider spoke with Daniel Greenberg, the head of commerce at MSCHF - the studio and developer behind Bull & Moon.
According to Greenberg, the origins of the app can be traced back to when he saw a coworker dipping french fries in a milkshake, an unusual yet common combination. He said the occurrence motivated him and his team to continue exploring the intersection of sectors of the market that aren't typically associated with each other.
Greenberg and his team also noticed the proliferation of both astrology apps and financial technology platforms, leading them to the idea of matching people with stocks based on astrological compatibility.
In a white paper published by MSCHF, the studio said it tested a portfolio of six stocks recommended by its algorithm during the third quarter. The test portfolio returned 7.47% compared to the meager 1.7% gain in the S&P 500.
Advertisement
It's important to note that Bull & Moon's database of companies was rather limited during this trial. Greenberg said it included about 500 stocks at the time because MSCHF has been manually adding new stocks every day. The database now has several thousand stocks, Greenberg said.
MSCHF acknowledged the limited samples size of its test, but said it "considers the current level of uncertainty to be acceptable, particularly in light of the magnitude of difference we observed between these two portfolios."
Here's what it was like discovering the stock investments I'm most compatible with, according to the powers of astrology:
The first page you see upon opening the app bestows a bit of wisdom underlying the unexplored field of astrological investment strategy.
It then tells you exactly what the app can do for you. Wouldn't it be great if all apps did that?
On the last screen before moving on to complete your profile, Bull & Moon promises to provide your portfolio match made in the stars.
You're then asked to input some basic information so an algorithm can determine your astrological sign, and thus, pair you with some stocks you'll hopefully get along with.
After inputting my information, the app quickly identified that I'm a Gemini.
When I clicked the "see matches" button, it returned the six stocks I'd be most compatible with and additional information about each company.
Average: 13.47%, compared to the S&P 500's 20% gain
According to Greenberg, the app uses an astrology application programming interface (API) to determine the compatibility rating, which is scored out of 100.
As seen in the pictures above, there are two tabs on the top of the screen titled "Best" and "Random."
Your suggested portfolio can be found on the "Best" tab by swiping left and right, while the "Random" tab cycles you through a seemingly endless list of stocks with their respective compatibility ratings.
By scrolling down a bit, users can stumble upon some data on the stocks they've just been matched with.
A supplementary factor that's grounded in just a bit more of technical financial analysis is provided in the form of an average analyst rating.
According to the app, the analyst rating is scored out of 100 and based on earnings prospects, valuations, and fluctuations in the company's share price. It also provides an average price target from analysts covering the stock.
Greenberg said this information is pulled into the app through another API.
Bull & Moon includes data from six analysts covering the Nasdaq, resulting in an average price target of $107.33. According to Bloomberg data, 18 analysts cover Nasdaq and the average price target is $105.11.
For International Paper, the app includes data from three analysts, bringing its average price target to $40.50. As of Tuesday, 15 analysts covered International Paper with an average price target of $46.23, according to Bloomberg data.
Once you've gone through the app once, the interface is pretty straight forward. A small yellow icon in the top of left of the screen will bring you to the page seen below, which describes the trials and triumphs of "investing as a Gemini."
While I currently don't invest to avoid a conflict of interest with my profession as a financial journalist, I have traded and owned stocks in the past.
The Bull & Moon app says as a Gemini investor I have "two different personalities in one and you will never be sure which one you should trust." I'm not sure I feel that way, but let's continue anyway.
The description of investing as a Gemini carries on to say: "Their investment style is sociable, communicative and fun, with a tendency to suddenly get serious, thoughtful and restless. They are fascinated with the market and are extremely curious, with a constant feeling there is not enough time to invest in everything they want to."
It's unclear how this description was created, but I can admit that I do indeed identify with some of the traits mentioned above. However, I would use almost none of them to describe how I would invest, if I did invest.
MSCHF, the studio behind Bull & Moon, communicates with its customers over text message. A representative from MSCHF shared this text with Markets Insider:
According to the message above, a devoted MSCHF fan dumped $100,000 into the portfolio recommended by the Bull & Moon algorithm.
A representative from the studio said in an email to Markets Insider, "Who knows if they really did it ... but this is the text we got."
Greenberg estimated that at least a few hundred people have texted MSCHF saying they invested in the stocks suggested by Bull & Moon.
