Million Dollar Traders BBC2 review

[BrilloPad]

Is he the one that traded in HSBC?

He seemed to be the only one of the bunch that had any sort of feel for the actual dynamics of trading, though his analysis of the market was completely wrong.

All the other just didn't have the "balls" to be a trader, IMHO.

tim

HBOS hedging with allianz. but both sides failed.

[TimberWolf]

If ever they was compelling proof that using an interview process for establishing people's "soft" skills [1] was completely F-ing useless, then this is it.

[1] All it does is select the people who are good at "dramatizing" in the right way.

They might just as well have selected them based on something, oh I don't know, like the relative length of their (big swinging) ring fingers. But that would be sexist.

[BrilloPad]

I take it you and he don't get on?

.............

[SantaClaus]

Just watched the program in hospital where my wife is recovering from the birth of our new baby

Didnt know that the Para was your brother Brillo! At least he had some sort of arbitrage strategy though. The others were clueless, but that was not their fault.

I also agree with a previous poster that they had been given no direction from the manager on how to trade. They should have been taught the basics of technical analysis, money management and trading psychology, instead of being encouraged to place trades based on hearsay and newspaper articles.
This was entirely the manager and Lex's fault and they deserve to lose their milion pounds.

The traders biggest mistake was watching price tick up and down all day which would have affected them psychologically and caused them to make even bigger mistakes.

This program echoes the sort of people I have had to deal with in the city; arrogant jumped-up @rseholes who hide information, throw people red herrings (i.e., never hold naked positions) and use that to make themselves look good and others incompetent.

Oh, and it is possible to trade well without watching the London market open and taking more than half an hour lunch break every 8 years. I do it all the time

[Iron Condor]

I loved the programme.

Of course the novice traders are never going to make money in 8 weeks without luck or help.

It does show how hard trading is for people starting out.
The easiest looking job in the world is in fact one of the hardest.

I like the way the ex vet is taking it so seriously. She obviously is out to prove something, that she can make it without help from her dady. I think she failed or gave up being a vet and went to work for her dad instead. If she fails again she is going to feel pretty worthless. The others dont seem to have their self worth on the line.

[tim123]

HBOS hedging with allianz. but both sides failed.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

Got my Banks wrong, good job I wasn't buying :-(

tim

[tim123]

Yes. Its true.

Maybe I should stop being jealous and get on with my life?

I think you might find that helps

tim

[emile]

thanks for calling us numpties etc.

[ruethewhirl]

Turtles?

Saw something in the credits about:

"Original concept by van damme" (or whatever the guy's name is).

Isn't the concept basically a replay of the Turtles experiment, where a number of non-finance folks were given money and a system (Donchian breakouts), and told to follow the system?

Those that did made money and were hired, those that didn't follow the system lost money and dropped out...

Altho at least the Turtles had a system to follow. It seemed like these guys didn't have any sort of rigourous system, no wonder they were all constantly kacking their Daks. I would too if I had to trade with no guidance and from ideas I got from looking at the morning news during the banking crisis...

Hmmm, let's buy some Bradford and Bingley?!?! Should we just flip a coin then shall we??? Some trading system!

[Beefy198]

Ambling in late, I've only just managed to watch this on iPlayer.

I can't believe they sat there watching the screens - surely mentally that was the worst thing they could do?

Either way, I hate environments like that - whilst I love the idea about information-sifting and trying to make good judgement calls, I hate the idea that if you're not there at 7am, work solidly all day and are the last to leave you are pulling your weight.

And what sort of an arse throws someone in that situation and then says "who on earth cries for an hour and a half"? Someone under pressure, that's who. No wonder so many of them burn out if emotion is off the radar too.