shing tat chung: the superstitious fund project

‘the superstitious fund project’ by shing tat chung images by diego trujillo

london based designer shing tat chung designed a trading algorithm that operates superstitiously. the superstitious fund project is a live experiment in which an algorithm trades based on superstitious beliefs. the autonomous algorithm makes decisions based on lunar cycles and numerology. for instance, it has the fear of the number 13. the robot also develops its own form of superstitious logic, creating lucky and unlucky values that influences its behaviour. 144 people from around the world have currently invested a total of £4828.88 in the fund, who’s balance will be returned at the end of the project. the algorithm is online for the one year and trades monday to friday 8am – 9pm. now trading, the stock market board shows the current performance of the superstitious fund in real time. it uses spread betting as financial instruments on the ftse 100 index.

the algorithm’s concept and rules were created by shing tat chung and implemented onto metatrader (a online trading platform) by jim l. hunt. the stock market board uses arduinios to collect the live data and stream them onto the board. the accompanying book documents the creation of the fund, which was developed with the assistance of finance professionals, fortune tellers, programmers and lawyers.

location of investors

‘how I made a superstitious fund book’

current superstitious algorithmic performace

compilation of publications including the design research platform

visiting a fortune teller in the isle of wight

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions’ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.