Movies
These movies are not necessarily about trading. Some of these movies have a theme or an aspect of competitiveness that is important for a trader’s attitude or vision. The idea here is that you will gain alignment with “being in the trading zone”.
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This movie is based on a true story. This is an analogy to trading but using baseball as the game. Just like in trading, it is not about hitting the ball out of the park. It is about doing whatever it takes to get to the next base. You want to invest your energy and time into those things that give you small hits while reducing your risk. This is the path towards mastery and then the bigger swings will come in time. The statistical and managerial approach expressed in the movie is outstanding and is a direct reflection of what trading is about.
Another movie based on the events that took place into the collapse of the housing and debt markets in 2008. This shows how risk must be known and accounted for at all times.
One man’s ambition causes one of the greatest financial disasters in history. This is the ultimate movie on trading futures. The scenes in this movie when Nick Leeson feels sick to his stomach as he internalizes the large losses he is taking actually made me sick to my stomach. I know that feeling well. This movie is a must-see for traders.
A down-and-out golfer attempts to recover his game and his life with help from a mystical caddy. Pay attention in this movie to the scenes where Bagger Vance helps Rannulph Junuh regain his attitude and perspective on the field in front of him before driving the ball. He tells him to “see the field with soft eyes”. Bagger Vance is essentially trying to help Junuh get into the zone.
A documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34. Senna would have been a stellar trader. Also, see this short interview with him on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko94oniszuA
A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing. This movie is not necessarily trading-related. However, it is about the stock market and gives us an idea of how some big deals are done. It is also a good prelude for the sequel, which is much more trading related.
To take down a merciless finance executive, a young trader agrees to a disgraced Wall street legend’s proposal in exchange for the man to be reunited with his daughter, the trader’s fiancee. I loved this movie. It goes into some of the mechanics of the crash of Lehman Brothers and goes into a trader’s balance between life, money and power.
A college dropout gets a job as a broker for a suburban investment firm, which puts him on the fast track to success, but the job might not be as legitimate as it sounds. This movie took place right when I started trading. The stuff covered in this movie really did happen. The characters and their interaction is very similar to when I was in equities as a prop trader. Great movie just for the action.
A comedy. A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires. This is a classic. Billy Ray Valentine trades futures for a large firm and teams up with Winthorpe to take down the main owners of the firm using commodities trading.
A bank manager with a gambling problem and access to a multi-million dollar account gets into a messy situation. Based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history. This is a great example of what happens to a trader when a loss is not accepted and addictive behavior takes over.
A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall. I like the inside look at what was happening with Enron’s gas trading operation. This is a piece of history.
“Based on the true story of four outsiders who saw what the big banks, media and government refused to: the global collapse of the economy. A bold investment leads them into the dark underbelly of banking, where everyone and everything is in question.”
This movie had me at the edge of my seat as I remember trading the 2008 correction. Top notch actors and an ingenious way of breaking down what happened to cause the housing collapse.
A paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature. Are you a systems trader? If so, this movie is for you.
The Bank is a thriller about banking, corruption and alchemy. A fantastic movie about the banking system, trading and how value is created from nothing.
Mixed feelings about this one. A movie documenting the decline of floor trading and the demise of many floor traders who didn’t adapt to a shift in the industry to electronic trading.
This is a classic video showing PTJ’s activity before the 87 crash. Inspiring video.
Matt Damon narrates this documentary about the 2008 financial crisis. Really interesting.
A great YouTube video about futures trading. Transcript can be found here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2704stockmarket.html