Who Is Shah Gilani? Are His Services Legit or Scams?

Background

At the onset, we will be honest with you. Our extensive research has provided us with very little personal information about Shah Gilani. We want to set your expectations early on.

The truth is, we visited many leads and websites. However, most results only generated surface-level information about the man. It seems like he has curated his online persona to generate preferred content.

So a great majority of what we saw was only about his services and usual profile. In fact, we have almost the exact profile text across various websites.

We are not saying he did control such results through a program, for sure. But it's a common practice. 

Another reason for scant details about his personal life is that he has a similar name to more controversial political figures. As expected, they dominated online chatter.

But this is not to say that we got totally zero results. In fact, this allowed us to be more focused on usable information. We had to focus only on the most relevant details about Gilani.

Official bio notes

You know you're up for something extra when you read a profile that starts with this:

Shah Gilani boasts a financial pedigree unlike any other.

The editor seems to be particular on this. Even on different websites, his bio almost always starts with this. So what exactly makes him unique?

In 1982, he launched his first hedge fund from the very floor of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange.

Gilani also worked as a market maker in "the pit" when options on the Standard & Poor's 100 began trading on March 11, 1983. He contributed to the creation of the Volatility Index (VIX).

His profile states that it is still one of the most extensively utilized indicators in the world today.

Then, the editor went up to Roosevelt & Cross Inc., an old-line New York boutique firm. This, after leaving Chicago to lead the futures and options division of a leading British bank, Lloyd's TSB.

He founded and ran a bundled fixed-income trading desk there, as well as the company's "listed" and "over-the-counter" trading desks.

In 1999, Gilani established a second hedge fund. He led the team until he left in 2003.

The investor's extensive network of insiders includes some of Wall Street's and international finance's most powerful figures.

When others only believe what the mainstream investment banks want them to believe, he gets the genuine narrative from these contacts. Of course, this is his spin.

He also claims that he frequently appears on media shows due to his expertise. Among them are CNBC, Forbes, Marketwatch, and Fox Business's Varney & Co.

Some even call him the trader's trader. Others also refer to him as "one of the world's best experts on the credit crisis."

Gilani graduated with a degree in psychology and economics from the University of California Los Angeles.

On scams

To a certain extent, it is true. Even a Forbes commentary cites his article on scams. In Anatomy of a Scam, he talked about a "far-fetched but seemingly plausible investment opportunity."

According to Gilani, he knew it was a scam the moment he heard about it. Since he is a professional investor, he comes from a unique lens, so he spots such schemes easily.

This whole posturing is a bit ironic, in a sense. To know more about what we mean, read further as we will discuss why in the next sections of the article.

Going back, his article discusses relevant ideas on how to spot scammers. In the particular case, he found it odd that the opportunity did not require any collateral. They only wanted cash.

When you hear about secret platforms, run, he said. The scammer gave this pitch to the victims. They can get you in on the secret trading room so you can earn like the rich and famous. 

Further, you do not need to worry at all since it is also risk-free. As per Gilani, be careful when you hear this statement.

In addition, he cautions readers that if it's too good to be true, it probably is. So do not fall for returns that even you know are not possible. From his own words:

Don't be stupid. And don't be greedy.

Lifestyle

Well, he certainly does not seem to be stupid. Although we could not get credible sources on his net worth, he looks like he is living a comfortable life.

We know that photos are not a formal proof of wealth. People use attendance in these events for posturing.

But pictures in exclusive events also speak a lot. Maybe not necessarily in terms of wealth, but even influence and networks. So we opted to include this since we want to give you a holistic view of the editor.

These images are from posh get-togethers in New York, including The Hamptons. He seems to be a fixture of charity and art events in the area. After all, these are not just events to attend.

If you want to be seen as part of the "it" crowd, you have to be present in these.

Services

Currently, Gilani has five services under Money Map Press. We invite you to read through them. These give you a glimpse of what his priorities are as an editor and investor.

Money Map Report

He offers Money Map Report for those interested to get in on upcoming trends to get high profits. As per the editor, he and his team spend "hundreds of hours" looking for such opportunities.

Their goal is to give you breakthrough upon breakthrough. For $299 a month, Gilani promises a comprehensive approach. He claims to look at all sectors and countries in his world-class research.

Then, he will tell you which funds and stocks are at a "sale" price. You may also expect updates on other income opportunities. As long as you're a subscriber, he promises continuous portfolio guidance.

According to the website, 105,000 subscribe to Gilani's Money Map Report. That's an impressive number. The firm says these individuals treat its editor as their "profit guide."

What do you think about this service so far? Though nothing out-of-the-ordinary, it sounds promising, right?

Scammer?

Interestingly, Gilani also does something peculiar. The company addresses online chatter that has come to its attention:

So why are there Shah Gilani scam rumors floating around?

Shah Gilani scam rumors have no basis in reality. It’s possible that current or past subscribers failed to make money based on Shah’s suggestions, but that doesn’t mean Shah did anything wrong.

This might be the first time this writer has encountered such a direct disclaimer. Usually, these companies do not use the word "scam." They consider this a dirty word and will not even address or even mention it.

This is because it's suggestive if it comes from them. Seeing the word on the sales pages has a psychological effect on readers. Copywriters tend to keep the angle positive and enticing.

But Shah Gilani faces it head-on. Could it be that the rumors have already gained such traction that they had no other choice? Or are they just naturally casual about it?

Either way, one thing is clear. Gilani and his publisher know about his online image. Given this, our initial suspicion that they are "sanitizing" web results may have a logical basis.

In fact, this headline appears in bold letters on top of the Money Map Report page:

Is There Really a Shah Gilani Scam?

So, what does the disclaimer say?

The publisher asserts that thousands of subscribers have doubled and even tripled their net worth because of the editor's money management advice. This is proof that there is no scam.

There is just no way that this is possible. Money Map Press says that all services and products have detractors. However, this does not automatically mean that malicious schemes are happening behind the scenes.

Proof of Gilani's commitment to genuine customer service is his approachability. You may just reach the team at their numbers, and they will address your concerns.

Is this a typical move of a scammer, he asks?

If he meant to fool people, he would not have such a setup for subscribers' grievances. Real scam artists usually ignore negative comments as if such does not exist. But he and his team address any complaint, he adds.

What do you think about his justification so far? Does it make sense to you? More importantly, do you believe him? Tell us what you think and comment below.

Hyperdrive Portfolio

The website says that Gilani's most significant strength is making forecasts.

Proof of this is his prediction of retail's demise and e-commerce's rise. He also saw early Alibaba's dominance and Microsoft's doubling. Of course, these are his claims.

So now he says he's applying his unique ability in determining billion-dollar-worth significant paradigm shifts.

Gilani's Hyperdrive Portfolio uses his process called "Profit Stacking." He claims that this will dramatically increase your profit potential. All you need to do is pay $5,000 annually for your subscription.

Extreme Profit Hunters

In this service, Gilani claims to do exactly what the name suggests. He will hunt for companies that are only under $5 per share. But these are no ordinary small firms.

They are the ones pinpointed by his research that will boom soon. You can get profits of up to "10X, 50X, and rare and exceptional 100X."

The subscription fee for this advisory is $5,000. Yes, it is quite an investment. But Gilani believes it is worth it because of the value it can bring you. You just need to trust him and his instincts.

Gunslingers Trading Alliance

This newsletter is all about the "unprecedented rush of new wealth about to penetrate the markets." Gilani says the way to do it is through "a brand-new investment vehicle: what we call 'pre-IPO rights.'"

You may already trade these from the more than 500 companies that are about to go public. The best thing about it is that most are just under $1.

So you can definitely cash in big when they rise, he claims. Well, you would need to see high profits indeed. The cost of one year of service is $5,500.

Shah Gilani's Total Wealth

From three expensive services, we now talk about a free newsletter.

This will update you with current trends and tiny stocks with great profit potential. Gilani will also demonstrate how to wring the maximum profit from each trade and reduce risks.

In some bit of irony, he also says he will guide readers against fake narratives and media hype. Gilani will uncover the truth with the newsletter.

In general, you can see that a lot of his services are expensive, aside from the free one, of course. Even the cheapest is at $299. With other publishers, you get less than offers less than that.

Logically, this could be the main reason why Gilani had to address scam rumors. If true, it would also be reasonable to believe that the publisher does clean search results about him.

Feedback

As of this writing, Gilani's Hyperdrive Portfolio has 2.4/5 stars from Stock Gumshoe. This is the summary rating from less than 30 subscribers on the website.

His other service did not fare better. Money Map Report only got 2.2/5 from around 430 reviewers. To be fair to him, though, he took over as editor from Keith Fitz-Gerald.

As soon as we read the comments, we learned why its rating was low.

The comment above was the same sentiment from an overwhelming majority of readers. It was disheartening to read because it appears that they were "scammed." Most wish they never subscribed to it at all.

There were stories about making consistent losses on the recommendations. Some said there were times when losses were even reported as wins in the ads and reports that the advisory sends out.

Moreover, people said it was impossible to do so when they wanted to get out. The company was not responsive to them on all channels. 

As mentioned, Gilani only inherited the newsletter. Maybe the reason why he stepped in is to reform it and make improvements. So was he able to turn it around?

Well, as of now, there was only one comment that finally mentioned his name. It seems like it remains to be the same:

Gilani pulls you in saying no more stocks and seldom did S & P 500 trades. Big waste of money!!

This is just one comment, though, so it could be too early to tell.

As of now, these are the only Gilani services on Stock Gumshoe. But we will also talk about his previous services. Though not in circulation anymore, they still provide insights on the editor. 

Zenith Trading Circle got a low rating of 1.6/5 from around 320 votes on Stock Gumshoe. People didn't like it. In fact, the comments section was wild as well.

Subscribers complained that they had a hard time canceling their subscriptions. The process was not as easy as Gilani claimed it would be. 

They were angry because a lot of them lost money on his services. You could see that a majority really believed this advisory was a scam and a ripoff. His recommendations were primarily losers, they said.

Some even said that this was the worst newsletter he had ever encountered. 

Meanwhile, Gilani's other service, Capital Wave Forecast, got a 2.6/5 from the same website. A comment mentioned that the editor discontinued this to focus on other advisories.

Another discontinued service is Short Side Fortunes. Gilani's newsletter on shorting stocks got 1.6/5 stars from 16 votes as of this writing.

One comment had such a bad experience with it that he gave up on advisories in general:

This guy has the gift of gab, er, I mean bull****. Tried him out for one year and lost a ton of money doing exactly what he said. Big mistake. Stay away from him and his associates. No more newsletters for me except the Gumshoe.

Meanwhile, the whole publishing house received 2.4/5 stars from around 250 reviewers on Pissed Consumer. As expected, there were tons of negative comments. People passionately hated Money Map Press.

But we specifically looked at comments about Shah Gilani. We want to be fair; maybe he is different from the rest. One statement about him said this:

I spent $1950 18 weeks ago feeling good about the "hype" the Shah was putting out, i.e. 93% accuracy. 

Unfortunately hype was all that it was. The fact is the Shah was wrong, or decided not to play, 16 of the 18 weeks. Ironically a losing 89% record!

So it seems like he does not do a better job at this. For those who were not fans of Fitz-Gerald, maybe they were hopeful the new editor would give excellent services. After all, he has 40 years of experience, right?

Well, check the comment below:

Shah’s communication is terrible. Whatever he picks, take the opposite position. He clearly front-runs every recommendation. He will give you a limit price, but 9 out of 10 times, the option is above the limit.

As you can see, it is pretty ironic that he was once an expert on spotting scams in the market. Now, we see comments accusing him of being one.

We're not saying he is actually one. The subscribers and readers themselves say these things based on their experience.

While comments con be subjective and each user can have different experiences, they also expose a trend. So consider that when you decide if he is trustworthy or not.

Conclusion - Should You Avail His Services?

Gilani wants to consistently communicate that he is head and shoulders above the rest. He claims that he has over 40 years of track record. As a result, you can trust his recommendations, predictions, and advice.

Currently, he lends his expertise to his five services under Money Map Press. These are Money Map Report, Hyperdrive Portfolio, Extreme Profit Hunters, Gunslingers Trading Alliance, and Shah Gilani's Total Wealth.

The first one's annual fee is $299, while the last is a free newsletter. The three in between costs $5,000, $5,000, and $5,500, respectively. Quite expensive.

But are they worth the price? 

You have seen with your own eyes the ratings of these newsletters. Most of the feedback was negative. Subscribers also complained about the publisher as they were not responsive to complaints.

Some said the advisories under it are not legit. The words they used were "scam" and "ripoff," among others. 

As we always emphasize, reviews are always subjective. You may not necessarily experience what the others have. But if they do come from reliable sources, they tell you a pattern.

However, in the end, it will still be you who gets to decide after knowing who Shah Gilani is.