Guided by the stars

At least one portfolio manager claims to be staying one step ahead of the market mayhem, thanks to the stars. Studying the "cosmic markets" is the primary investing strategy used by Henry Weingarten, managing director of The Astrologers Fund Inc. "There are three basic market factors: fundamentals, technicals and astrology," said Mr. Weingarten, who launched the private New York-based futures fund 20 years ago. He declined to disclose how much money the fund has in assets or discuss specific details of its record, but he said that the recent full moon was one of the signals that helped him avoid recent turbulence. That and other telltale signals, such as the changing direction of Mercury, Pluto moving into Capricorn, and something to do with Saturn and Uranus, directed Mr. Weingarten into the market ahead of the recent 936-point one-day gain. These same signals also alerted him to get his investors out of the market before the Dow Jones Industrial Average took a 733-point nose dive two days later. "Astrological factors are moving the market," Mr. Weingarten said. As for where the markets will head next year, he said that is too far out to predict. "We normally do our work in October for the whole year," Mr. Weingarten said. "Right now, I can't go beyond December." Mr. Weingarten's website lists his top forecasts for each of the past 10 years. This year, according to the website, much of his edge came from moving in and out of gold and oil by picking precise peaks and valleys for the two commodities.