TV show about trading

[Mr. Charts]

Simon,
If you hadn't left the show earlier would you have joined the voluntary departees, or would you have stayed ?
What do you think about their walk out?
Just curious.
If you'd rather not say publicly, but are happy to answer privately, drop me an email.
Richard

 

[foredog]

Simon,
If you hadn't left the show earlier would you have joined the voluntary departees, or would you have stayed ?
What do you think about their walk out?
Just curious.
If you'd rather not say publicly, but are happy to answer privately, drop me an email.
Richard

Depends if he'd finished his Alpen when they all walked....

 

[Atilla]

Depends if he'd finished his Alpen when they all walked....

:clap::clap::clap:

 

[trendie]

Do you think that new terms will come out of that program?

How about an indecisive range-bound stock be called "Cleo-ing"?

 

[Skill Leverage]

How about one for when someone completely forgets that they're in a professional environment, and that firing someone for being crap at their job isn't 'inhuman behaviour', no matter how much that person may cry and/or how much you might want to stick it in them...

'Jesus, he's only gone and done an Emile...'

 

[MrGecko]

I can only think that the producers of the show will regret that Cleo was selected... I think all can accept that she was not emotionally stable enough to survive (let alone compete) in that kind of environment.

A shame, because it clearly put her in an environment that she wasn't prepared for, and equally was the culmination of the show.

 

[trendie]

I can only think that the producers of the show will regret that Cleo was selected... I think all can accept that she was not emotionally stable enough to survive (let alone compete) in that kind of environment.

A shame, because it clearly put her in an environment that she wasn't prepared for, and equally was the culmination of the show.

I think someone has already made the point that the screen-time was focussed on Emile and Cleo, ie, the emotive bits.

the eventually successful traders, soldier-man, egg-head and supermum, got little air-time, and we still didnt get educated as to exactly what they were doing, and why.

but then again, it was cheap entertainment.
looking back on the entire 3-hrs, I feel a bit cheated.

 

[Atilla]

I think someone has already made the point that the screen-time was focussed on Emile and Cleo, ie, the emotive bits.

the eventually successful traders, soldier-man, egg-head and supermum, got little air-time, and we still didnt get educated as to exactly what they were doing, and why.

but then again, it was cheap entertainment.
looking back on the entire 3-hrs, I feel a bit cheated.

Cheap entertainment maybe ? :whistling

DAN VAN: [after swiftly dispatching Cleo and another gladiator (Emile - almost literally)] Were you not entertained? Were you not entertained? Was it not why you watched the program - in all three parts?

Crowd chants: Dan Van, Dan Van - Dan Van what a man???


Sounds familiar don't you think? :cheesy:



Put little soft tender human beings into a traders pit and watch the mental turmoil?


Bring on the trader gladiators...

 

[N Rothschild]

aye that woulda made better viewing, 6 newbies dumped in the middle of the s&p500 futures pit

 

[shadowninja]

I can only think that the producers of the show will regret that Cleo was selected...

I think the contrary. If they were all boring and did well, that'd not make for good TV.

The fact is, it was a successful programme. It wasn't a programme about how to trade. It was about whether normal people could become traders or not. Seems to shown this. Nowhere did the advert say, "Learn how to trade."

 

[PitBull]

anyone see "the city uncovered last night-when markets go mad" by evan davies. Very good. Best bit was him in the cbot pit and then visiting the home commodities trader who had an actual arcade in his basement with a huge quote screen above all his terminals. Looked like NASA control. Can catch it on iplayer bbc2. They also had a documentary on 1929 crash. But was on too late for me.

 

[km24519847]

I don't think it's too bad. Working in a hedge fund in the City is one hell of a difference then working in an arcade at home etc from what I've experienced. For example, Lloyds (probably not true now they have HBOS) has 1 TA guy (and he's an economist), true they were thought to be 20 years behind the times (until the crunch), but 1 guy. All their spot FX traders didn't use any charts, just the ticker.

I agree that I'd be interested in what training they got, or whether all they got was how to ring up a broker, but I think some of you are missing how different your trading is to what is the "norm" for "professionals" (note air quotes).

I thought Anton was pretty fair, he's in a hard position as it's not his money, but I can see it from Simon's point of view with stress building up etc.

A hard position? If it was his money he might actually have done something to safeguard it rather than just humiliate the candidates when they lost.
They supposedly had some training for 2 weeks but I cannot see that given the shock of having to work a 10 hour non stop day. Is it any wonder that the ones to come through this included an ex Para reg officer and a 20 year old student, they had life and enthusiasm about them matched by the well organised mumsy bint. Sorry if that offends, I can't stand waffle washers and tree huggers.
whistling

 

[shadowninja]

It's all on iplayer.

 

[blackcab]

Simon's Facebook photo is him eating cake. He likes his food doesn't he :clap:

 

[Longterm]

Sorry if I am repeating much of the past 50 pages, but I wrote this so I may as well post it!

I really enjoyed the three programmes as television. It also made me hugely glad that I don’t trade like that. My observations are:

1. I initially thought that the guy who put up the million dollars was either mad, very brave, very rich, or all three. Who on earth would think that a group of absolute novices (without much training and without a defined and proven system, see 2. below) could go head to head in the market with absolute professionals, and immediately win? I still think it was mad, but the fact that three of them did pretty well perhaps shows that good traders are more born than made. On reflection, Lex van Dam’s ‘gamble’, his confidence, and his relatively detached behaviour throughout the programme, perhaps shows why he is a successful hedge fund manager.

2. we weren’t shown what they were taught, but it certainly wasn’t a Turtle-type system (ie. This is the system. These are the rules. Follow them.). Trades seem to be placed on a variable mix of ideas, news, predictions, charts, personal interests, and gut instinct. I didn’t see any evidence of fundamental analysis, and not much systematic technical analysis.

3. the largely discretionary nature of the trading (‘there is no rulebook’) made success even more dependent on the innate skill and psychological traits of the traders. The programme clearly showed that intelligence and an interest in trading are necessary, but far from sufficient, conditions for success. As someone else has said, trading is simple but not easy.

4. most of the traders were far too emotional. They got excited when the trades went their way, and upset when they didn’t. It should just be numbers, plus or minus.

5. while the three who stayed the course did well, short-term success in particular market conditions (even if volatile) is absolutely no guarantee of long-term success over a range of market conditions. Eight weeks is too short a time to judge whether they have the stamina, discipline, consistency and edge to succeed in the long run.

6. most importantly, they were trading someone else’s money. The psychological challenges would have been even more evident if they had been winning and losing increasing amounts of their own money.

All good fun.

Michael

 

[rols]

anyone see "the city uncovered last night-when markets go mad" by evan davies. Very good. Best bit was him in the cbot pit and then visiting the home commodities trader who had an actual arcade in his basement with a huge quote screen above all his terminals. Looked like NASA control. Can catch it on iplayer bbc2. They also had a documentary on 1929 crash. But was on too late for me.

Yes this was an excellent program - in contrast to Van Dam show.

The 1929 crash program was even better - talk about deja vu!

The Van Dam show turned out to be a bitter disappointment IMO - I can't believe the walkout in support of dippy Cleo. It doesn't make sense. Perhaps they were paid off. Employers being nasty is an accepted fact of life in any work place isn't it?

The Fight promoter kept banging about crossing the line etc.
Yet the job he does involves one of the most brutal sadistic excuses for entertainment in civilization.

The selection process was obviously flawed. Why didn't they give all the applicants a demo trading account for a day then choose from the results? Even on X Factor the candidates have to actually be able to halfway sing to get to the finals.

Mr. Van Dam should come on here and explain himself. Perhaps he could invite some people who are serious about trading from T2W onto his next show.

All this program achieved was to further alienate the public from the financial world and reinforce the its already exaggerated negative feelings about traders.

Don't believe me?
Below is one of many examples from the WWW. expressing public opinion.

Million $ traders - Community Forums - Expatica

I watched the BBC series Million Dollar Traders and it confirmed pretty much what I'd always thought - that the vast majority of people who work on the stock market are greedy,arrogant,selfish,immoral,smug,ruthless,dishonest,unethical *******s who would sell their grandparents.
I was happy to see that most of the people who took part in the experiment walked out on the principle that they felt uncomfortable with what they were doing.

Is it really that much of a surprise that the world is in the state that it is with such shameless scumbags in control of so much money?

You can bet your ******** that any enormous mortgage those fukkers had was paid off long before the crash.

 

[arabianights]

**** the public. The city is great when it's making them money but the moment their pension takes a dip it's my fault.

 

[wasp]

I think we should all go over to that website and wind them up!

 

[arabianights]

Actually I am presently winding up a few websites under various different city personas (partly to see if I can get away with being a swaps dealer or risk manager etc)

If you're bored and the markets are quiet give it a go!

 

[trendie]

**** the public. The city is great when it's making them money but the moment their pension takes a dip it's my fault.

absolutely arabianights.

these are the same people that rely on these "scumbags" to ensure the amounts they get out of their pensions are worth considerably more than the amounts they put in.

they boast about being great investors when their own share picks triple in value, but then go crying to the government for compensation when those shares halve in value.

when they get their bank interest, or ISA tax-free pennies, where exactly do they think that interest comes from? the money fairy?

oh the hypocrisy! they get all smug when their house goes up in value, but whinge when prices of other things go up, like oil.
they get all greedy when it comes to sales and getting 20% off as bargains, but fail to understand that 30% drop in house prices is someone elses bargain.

these morons really ought to get a reality check, and learn to understand the world from multiple perspectives, not just their own narrow, selfish empty-heads.

wow! that was cathartic!