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Sons Of Anarchy Body Count Stock Market Indicator

Invest on Down the Highway

Investors, get ready to don your helmet, crawl into your favorite leather jacket and twist the throttle. The 2011 investing season is about to begin and it's going to be a good one in the stock market, according to the Sons of Anarchy Body Count Stock Market Indicator.

Like the Super Bowl Stock Market Indicator and the Butter in Bangladesh Stock Market Indicator, the Sons of Anarchy Body Count indicator isn't based on solid investing advice. But like those two indicators, this is a tongue-in-cheek, fun to look at indicator that just happens to be correct.

The Super Bowl Stock Market Indicator basically says that when an old NFL or NFC team wins the Super Bowl, the stock market trends up for the next year. The opposite is true when an AFL or AFC team wins.

The Butter in Bangladesh Stock Market Indicator says that when butter production in Bangladesh is up 1 percent, the S&P 500 is up 2 percent the next year, according to The Motley Fool.

How Does the Sons on Anarchy Indicator Work?

Well, first of all, Americans enjoy violence. In fact, we thrive on it. Our nation was born during the violence of the Revolutionary War. We matured during the War of 1812. We became adults during the hardship we experienced during the Civil War. Finally, we matured into a world leader during World War I and World War II.

The Sons of Anarchy Body Count Stock Market Indicator works in the following manner. The greater the number of main or influential characters that die, the higher the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbs the following year. During the FX television series' three-year run, the decline and rebound of the stock market has mirrored the body count on Sons of Anarchy.

For those who haven't seen Sons of Anarchy, the series is loosely based on the activities of the 1-Percent motorcycle gangs made famous by groups such as the Sons of Silence, Mongols, Warlocks, Pagans, and the Hell's Angels.

The series deals with the workings, family struggles and personal dramas of the Sons of Anarchy's founding charter's daily operations. Consider it a "Sopranos" on two wheels with a lot of beards, leather and body art.

For a main character, you must consider the Sons of Anarchy's main club members along with the characters who have direct interaction and a direct impact on their lives. So in the first season, Donna Lerner, played by Sprague Grayden, was a main member because she interacted with her husband, Opie. Therefore, she had a direct influence on the club. Her death, a club mistake in the first season's second-to-last episode, counts toward the economic indicator.

However, the people gunned down in the first-year Mayans' assassination attempt on Sons President Clay Morrow don't count. That's because they never appeared in the series for any other reason than to get gunned down in that episode.

To count against the Sons of Anarchy Body Count Stock Market Indicator, a character had to appear in at least four episodes.

2008-09: Market Collapse

Surprisingly, the first season of the Sons of Anarchy featured little bloodshed among the show's core cast members. Though the rapist of a 16-year-old paid the ultimate price for his crime, he didn't count against the indicator because he wasn't a core member.

Counting against the stock market indicator in the first year were the death of Donna, and the shooting death of ATF Agent Scott Kohn, played by Scott Carnes. He was the former boyfriend of Dr. Tara Knowles, and was the main reason she returned to Charming and hooked back up with her former boyfriend and bad boy biker Jackson Teller.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average responded to the lack of a notable body count with a 15-month freefall from 12, 400 on Jan. 1, 2008 to 6, 544 on March 3, 2009, according to CNBC . During that time, Harley-Davidson's stock plummeted to a low of nearly $12 a share, according to The Street.Com .

Worldwide economic markets crumbled and the world economy seemed ready for a complete collapse.

2009-10: A Better Year

However, bodies starting falling as quickly as kickstands do on Sons of Anarchy in 2009 and the economy improved as a results. In 2009, we saw the deaths of Polly Zobell, A.J. Weston, Edward Hayes, club prospect Kip "Half Sack" Epps, and Luanne, who was married to the incarcerated Otto. Their last names were never revealed. It also appeared that rival gang member Earnest Darby was killed in a fire that destroyed the Sons of Anarchy's warehouse where Luanne operated her adult entertainment filming enterprise. Officer Vic Trammel also appeared to have died of a gunshot wound when a set-up drug bust went bad.

Armed with the knowledge of what appeared to be seven deaths in the series, investors seemed as eager to get back into the stock market as the Sons are to ride their motorcycles. According to CNBC, the stock market rose to more than $10, 000 during 2009 and continued with strong advance until the Sons of Anarchy's third season began in September 2010.

2010-11: Good Times Ahead

Midway through the Sons of Anarchy's third season, Darby reappears like a phoenix, causing more concerns for the bikers and for investors. His undead status actually corresponds to a hiccup in the stock market rebound that occurred in July and August, 2010, according to CNBC , as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped from 11, 000 to 10, 000.

However, investor sentiment improved with the deaths of influential characters Deputy Chief David Hale, Jimmy O'Phelan, Cameron Hayes, Agent June Stahl, Liam O'Neill, Keith McGee, Father Kellan Ashby, and rival Hector Salazar and his girlfriend. Since the 2010 season of Sons of Anarchy began on Sept. 7, the stock market has increased from 10, 446 to 11, 559 on Dec. 22, as reported by CNBC . That increase is a jump of 10.55 percent in 106 days or an annual increase of about 36.32 percent.

Disclaimer

As with any type of investment advice, individuals are encouraged to seek the recommendations of professionals who spend their careers monitoring the ups and downs of the world's financial markets. It may or may not be sound advice to invest your hard-earned money on the number of deaths on a hit television show.

However, it sure is fun.