Saturday, May 20, 2000
Psychic gives stock advice
Would-be wealthy say sometimes she's right
By Amy Higgins
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Using tarot cards, Rhonda Mathers ponders what Tim Kinman should do with his investments.
(Dick Swaim photo)
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Rhonda Mathers will be the first to tell you: She doesn't know anything about stocks. But that doesn't stop people from asking her about them — or the Covington psychic from doling out financial advice.
“If you ask a specific question, I can almost always tell you which way to go,” said Ms. Mathers, co-owner of the White Raven specialty shop in Main Strasse Village.
No longer just advisers for the lovelorn, psychics and tarot card readers like Ms. Mathers are increasingly seeing clients asking for true “fortune” telling. And nowadays, fortunes are made in the stock market.
Just ask Tim Kinman. He listened to Ms. Mathers' suggestion to buy biotechnology stocks last summer, before the sector gained 89.7 percent to its January peak.
It has retreated, but the signs are telling her it will come back.
Still, Mr. Kinman was skeptical enough not to listen when she told him not to sell a technology stock before going on vacation in February.
“I told him, "Leave your stuff where it is, hang on,'” Ms. Mathers said.
When he came back from vacation, the 2,000 shares he bought and sold for about $1 apiece had spiked to above $20 at one point. The company, eConnect Inc., then had legal problems that sent the stock price back to less than $1. But the potential to have made $40,000 made him a believer.
“Men are not great believers in the intuitive sciences,” Ms. Mathers said.
He is now, he said. Mr. Kinman still gets information from online sources and financial professionals and makes up his own mind — but he confirms his decisions with Ms. Mathers.
“It didn't take me long because she was right in a lot of things,” Mr. Kinman said.
Most of her believers are middle-aged women. They usually will have large sums from settlements or divorces and are deciding how they want to invest it.
Mostly, they already have ideas of what they want to do, such as starting their own business, and are coming to Ms. Mathers for confirmation and emotional support.
“They are out of relationships for the first time in their lives, and are looking for answers as to how to be strong, powerful, financially independent women and not get sucked back into a relationship for monetary reasons,” Ms. Mathers said.
Still, she never advises her clients to rely solely on her readings. If someone has emotional problems, he should see a qualified therapist. For stock market problems, consult a stockbroker or financial adviser.
“Nothing is more certain in life than change,” she said. “Get the best advice you can from everywhere you can with your money.”
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