財.印

You may feel it slightly inappropriate for an academic to be interested in finance and investment.

That my be right. Friends with some background knowledge on the traditional Four Pillars of Destiny (子平術, more commonly known as the Eight Characters - 八字) may have heard of the orthodox sayings: Too much money would damage academic study (財多壞印).

But no. The traditional teaching of Chinese astrology is actually a piece of wisdom. It says: 先財後印，反成其福；先印後財，反成其辱。《三命通會：四言獨步》

Translating into modern English, it means: If you start with a lot of money, it is very well to pursue on academic study. On the other hand, if you start with serious academic study, it is unlikely to make a lot of money - you just make a fool of yourself.

How true.