The Best Trading & Finance Movies
Here's a list of the best finance movies for traders and investors. Watch these films for entertainment, but don't be surprised if you'll actually gain some valuable trader lessons. Chill and learn!
Your own mistakes are the best teacher. Small mistakes are a blessing if you learn from them, but make sure you don't blow up. Stay alive. How to survive the markets? Traders must look everywhere to learn, and this includes Hollywood.
NOTE: Be sure to bookmark. We will update this page with new and worthwhile trading/finance movies.
Margin Call (2011): Financial Crisis
It's the financial crisis of 2007–08. This film directed by J. C. Chandor spans over an intense 24-hour period as one of the largest Wall Street investment banks is about to collapse. From the perspective of a few banking employees. Interesting stuff.
There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat.
The film was shot in only seventeen days. Starring Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci.
Pieces of paper with pictures on it so we don't have to kill each other just to get something to eat. It's not wrong. And it's certainly no different today than its ever been. 1637, 1797, 1819, 37, 57, 84, 1901, 07, 29, 1937, 1974, 1987-Jesus, didn't that fuck up me up good-92, 97, 2000 and whatever we want to call this. It's all just the same thing over and over;
Rogue Trader (1999): How To Upset Your Boss
This is trader porn! A classic. Film and title is based on Nick Leeson (true story) who lost tons, tons, tons of money as an employee of Barings Bank. How? Watch Rogue Trader. A clue: Losses were made due to unauthorized investments in index futures contracts. When? 1995. Why? Poor judgement, greed, all the typical stuff. A trader must see.
I, Nicholas Leeson, have lost 50 million quid... INNNN ONE DAYYYY!
How much? Poor guy lost US$1.3 billion. No worries. The centuries-old financial institution took the hit, seems like the guy is doing well now.
Stars: Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel, Cristian Solimeno and others (yes, others too).
A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specified amount of a commodity at a specified price at a future date... it's like if I agree to sell you this cup of cappuccino, which I don't yet own, at 45 cents a month from now, if I can buy the cappuccino at say, 43 cents, I make a profit. If the price goes the other way, I have to pay more and I lose. It's timing, it's buying and selling at the right moment. Sometimes expresso might be the best deal, or salt or pepper.
Alternative perspective: If you lose big money (millions, billions, sky is the limit), don't worry. Money lost is a story gained. And as always, the story is worth more than any amount you can possibly lose. You lose some and gain some more. All you need to do is sell your story, write the book, script, make a movie and you will regain all that was lost and more. Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.
21 (2008): Always account for variable change
American heist, true story. Good story.
I had a 1590 on my SAT. I got a 44 on my MCATs. And I have a 4.0 GPA from MIT. I thought I had my life mapped out. But then I remembered what my Nonlinear Equations professor once told me, always account for variable change.
Where: Casinos, Las Vegas. Who: A Blackjack Team (a MIT major and his fellow students, and a professor). What: Card counting, covert signalling, Why: To earn substantial profits, luxurious lifestyle, thrills?
Directed by Robert Luketic. Starring Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey (this guy again), Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, Aaron Yoo, and Kieu Chinh.
Arbitrage (2012)
Not the best trading movie, and only remotely related to trading. But how many movies can claim to revolve around hedge fund magnates? Also: Richard Gere, check, Susan Sarandon, check, Brit Marling check. Realism, uncheck.
When I was a kid, my favorite teacher was Mr. James. Mr. James said world events all revolve around five things. M - O - N - E - Y.
Barbarians at the Gate (1993)
True classic. What would you do if you were the president of a major tobacco company? Perhaps you would try to buy the company? What if there were other potential buyers? Imagine a bidding war. Now grab some popcorn and go watch the movie.
We're not talking just fuck you money. We're talking fuck *everybody* money.
The Big Short (2015): The Right Side of The Market
Honesty in Hollywood, it does happen. From the movie: "We live in an era of fraud in America. Not just in banking, but in government, education, religion, food, even baseball..."
Financial crisis again. When: 2006-2007. Investors bet against the US mortgage market, and boom they rich easy done. That's how you do it. Don't own no asset on the way down silly. Making money is good, but remember: It's someone's loss so don't laugh out loud. The market was flawed and corrupt back then. Nothing is new on Wall Street. This is a fun watch, serious topic, some lessons. Senior traders bring popcorn, n00bs bring pen and notepad.
Everyone, deep in their hearts, is waiting for the end of the world to come.
The Flaw (2011): 2008 Meltdown
Yet again, an examination of the causes of the economic crisis of 2008. The Flaw might be a bit flawed too, beware biases, safe to watch for smart people.
Too Big to Fail (2011): Yup, another 2008 financial crisis
Another documetary of the 2008 crisis. If you want to succeed in trading, you need to dig deep into this crisis. Not a great documetary but still worth watching if you have the time. Financial meltdowns will happen again, and you need to stay prepared. Don't know how much this will help though.
Boiler Room (2000): ..smile on my face. Ear to ear, baby.
What's this thing with college dropouts? You don't need college, that's the thing. Pratagonist gets a job as a broker, and boom: success! Life is easy in those films no. But easy come easy go and you know the story and then the end goodbye.
And there is no such thing as a no sale call. A sale is made on every call you make. Either you sell the client some stock or he sells you a reason he can't. Either way a sale is made, the only question is who is gonna close? You or him? Now be relentless, that's it, I'm done.
Trading Places (1983): Feeling good, Louis!
Investor, con artist, positions reversed, thing about a millionaires bet. A classic every trader must watch in his n00b days.
You know, it occurs to me that the best way you hurt rich people is by turning them into poor people.
Pi (1998): My mother told me not to stare into the sun, so I did
Math holds the key to the universe and everything. If you are paranoid and love math, you will like this movie. Mathematician searches for a spesific number, one that will unlock the very universal patterns found in nature. Epic, must watch film. The movie is not really about math, then again it's only about math and nothing else. But it's not about math at all.
11:15, restate my assumptions: 1. Mathematics is the language of nature. 2. Everything around us can be represented and understood through numbers. 3. If you graph these numbers, patterns emerge. Therefore: There are patterns everywhere in nature.
Other Movies Every Trader Should Watch
- Rollover (imdb) This hasn't really happened yet? Must watch. Something for the future. Yet old film. Arab oil organization plan to wreck the world economy.
- Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) (wikipedia) Finance + sales = true. Most people in finance is salesmen. Every trader should be an expert in sales, marketing, even if they have no intention in selling anything other than financial assets directly in the market.
- Casino (1995) (wikipedia) Finance is gambling, if you don't know what you are doing. Everything is gambling, if you don't know what you are doing.
- Heat (1995) (wikipedia)
- American Psycho (2000) (wikipedia) There are more psychpaths in Wall Street than in prison, or so "they say".
- Papillon (1973) (imdb) Remotely related to trading. If you are a speculator you will understand why it is relevant.
- The Act of Killing (2012)
- Inherit the Wind (1960) Two lawyers argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution. How is this relevant for finance? Watch the movie and if you are not dumb you will discover how these two remotely topics are related. That being said, everything is related to finance in some way or another.
- Dersu Uzala (1975). Must watch. Russian army sends explorer to Siberia, makes friends with seasoned local hunter. How can that be related to finance? Finance is a big topic.
- The Mirror (1975) (imdb) A man is dying, poor guy is a young man, way too early to die. He looks back at his life: Childhood, mother, war, things, and it's all related to the Russian nation. Watch it, and if you are deep into finance, you will see the association between this movie and all of finance. Everything is connected, remember.
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Now how is this relevant here? It's relevant. It's relevant to finance. A train robbery, what can go wrong? It goes wrong. What to do? Escape to Bolivia. Watch it. This really happenend. In finance, anything can happen.
- All the Money in the World (2017) Kidnapping, another topic relevant in finance, at least if you are a billionaire with a family. Need plans for this sort of thing. Being rich kinda sucks too.
- The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) (imdb) No list of finance movies would be complete withouth mention this film. Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort. He was once a wealthy stock-broker, then boom his fall, crime, corruption, to the poorhouse. Tell the story, get rich again.
- Mollys Game (imdb) highly relevant for any trader, things like poker, risk, hedge fund mangers, rich people, stupidity. True story worth a watch.
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One more thing...
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A little more.
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Almost there.
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BTFD is not sustainable.
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You know,
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2008 wasn't so bad.
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2020 was alright.
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Are you prepared?
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ARE YOU PREPARED?
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2024
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