Million Dollar Traders Documentary is a British reality television series (2009) designed by hedge fund manager Lex van Dam, who attempted to recreate the famous Turtle Traders experiment designed by Richard Dennis in the 1980s. Eight regular people get a million dollars, fifteen days of intensive training and two months to run their own hedge fund. Hedge fund manager Lex van Dam wants to see if they Can make a killing and beat the professionals. The experience reveals the inner workings of a city trading floor. The money is provided by hedge fund manager Lex Van Dam: he expects a return on his investment. Yet no one foresees the financial crisis that awaits them. The traders were selected in the spring of 2008, before the US credit crisis accelerated. Successful candidates were selected, trained and sent to their specially created trading room in the heart of the Square Mile. Among them are an environmentalist, a military man, a boxing promoter, an entrepreneur, a retired computer consultant, a veterinarian, a student and a shopkeeper.
Titles In This Series:
- Million Dollar Traders - Part 1: Make Me A Trader.
- Million Dollar Traders - Part 2: Profit And Loss.
- Million Dollar Traders - Part 3: People Vs Profit.
Million Dollar Traders - Part 1: Make Me A Trader.
Eight regular people are given a million dollars each and are trained to run a hedge fund. The traders include an environmentalist and a soldier. As newbies learn the dark art of stock and equity trading, the financial markets begin to crumble. Making money comes after basic survival as the brutal realities of the global economics take their toll on traders. How are they doing? Will they secure a bonus or leave with nothing?
Make Me A Trader Transcription:
Million Dollar Traders - Part 1: Make Me A Trader.
This is Lex Van Dam a man who's about to make the biggest gamble of his life he's bare 1 million dollars of his own money that he can turn eight ordinary men and women into successful City traders what I want to do is like wanna take people we have no previous trading experience and teach them how to trade I wanna give them all the tools that I think are necessary to do this then I will give them some of my money and I want to make sure that they makes a warm up a top fund manager he's gonna set up the world's first hedge fund stock only by complete beginners with some training guidance and the promise of each being rewarded with a city size bonus at the end they're all hoping for success is it make money be correct no stress and if they lose money then there will be stress from all walks of life these novice traders have two months to show they can make it in the city I've locked in a hundred pounds but what none of them realize is just how hard it's gonna be I've seen really mentally strong people become psychologically destroyed by the world of trade or enlightenment because in this game every decision cans it's just open 7:26 what if it's at seven quid in an hour you're gonna sell them there yes right well if you're gonna sell them at seven quid in an hour sell them at 7:26 now think about what you're saying it's unbelievable I don't really know what I'm doing as if it wasn't hard enough they will have to play this game as the global markets plunge into the abyss 9-under quit like that as the pressure mounts will everyone make it to the end it doesn't matter anymore you've had your chance you cannot let emotions get in the way if you get upset done this you last week okay I'm taking a huge risk here and if they don't care enough then I'll make sure they care can the beginners become profit-making machines or will the cost of success be too high for their liking and send this million-dollar gamble into freefall there's a fine line when it comes to being human beings yeah and now you see all the people in the room responding to that city or no city [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] with 1 million dollars of his own money at stake Lex Van Damme alone will choose the novice traders it has to be like a diverse group of people but they do need people who who are able to work very hard and were able to cope with a certain level of stress after 16 years as a successful trader he knows exactly what he's looking for to qualify for a place the applicants only need two qualities the ability to handle stress and be good at maths for the 32 times 32 32 times 49 1214 what's the most pressure you've ever been under I thrive under pressure actually what is 32 times 32 my brain is just not functional 9,900 42 we you screw someone over to get ahead I wouldn't like him if I had to order whilst thousands applied there are only eight places other 32 times 32 the first to impress Lexus secured a spot thousand 24 is 36 year old retired soldier Mike to Val I'm a good bet I've got a lot of lot of good skills and I am raw talent after 13 years in the parachute regiment Mike reach the rank of major before retiring to live in Jersey I'd been thinking about leaving the army every day since about 1996 you know I done a long stints of Afghanistan and I just thought you know can I can I do this again I've maybe had my time of selfless commitment now I just wanted some filthy lucre joining Mike are the remaining seven successful applicants who will all undergo a rigorous training program we've got eight weeks here so we need to make money over those eight weeks so we need to think about what's gonna drive stocks over their period if you can predict tomorrow's newspaper you'll be very rich nobody asks you to be awake every night but if you sleep really well every night there's probably something wrong that's the most you'll hear me speak ever from Lincolnshire 34 year old shopkeeper amit japan Putra sees this as an opportunity to get himself a better life I mean just walking out walking out to the street you know it's different completely obviously you know instead of selling Mars bars and tea bags you know I'm probably going to try and sell shares and Vodafone's all the loud so yeah it's different because we'll find out more and see if I can cope with it and see if I can understand the subject a bit more the group have just two weeks to get up to speed and will be trained by leading city experts there's no right way to trade there is no rulebook what there is is different people finding what suits then and makes money they'll cover everything from generating ideas we're interested in trading on the stock Benfield BFD could you give to phoning up and placing a trade with a broker so you're 45 or 3/4 to 46 or 3/4 quite fence are Samaras Holland from Croydon Oxford educated IT engineers Simon Bru is keen to learn as much as possible his grand plan is eventually to trade from home using his savings and provide a more comfortable retirement for himself and his wife well I'm just hoping you'll make our fortune anyway the deal is basically actually I'm seeing this very much as an alternative not career whereas once this is passed by yes well just don't do it Nick listen the team are also taught how to decipher highly complex technical analysis basically what it is it's a mathematical representation of momentum in the market as well as essential insights into trading psychology in all aspects of human activity there's a tendency towards overconfidence once you've understood the rules of the game the challenge is controlling your temperament 26 year old cleo folks is an ex vet who lives near Stourbridge in the Midlands at the moment she's working for her dad in the family firm a 300 year old engineering and property business my family has got money but that is no reflection on me because it's there it's not mine and that's my opinion to life I've lived on my 20 pound a week budget I know how to budget money is a drive for me I'd be I'd be lying if I said it wasn't soon they'll be trading with genuine money and the profits and losses will be real exposing the novice traders to a whole new level of pressure [Applause] the prospect doesn't scare Emil Coleman a 30 year old fight promoter from Toxteth in Liverpool it's about validation people assume on the offer this is me and many different things and I want to be able to prove that maybe I can be a trader as was the British Chambers of Commerce says the economy faces a serious risk of recession fresh concerns about the health and banks around the world have again undermined share prices at one point shoes with the foot see down over 80 points a day one Monday mornings 5:00 a.m. with training over and the credit crisis looming their lives as traders begin entrepreneur single mum Caroline Taysom is leaving her four-year-old twin girls in the care of her mother to travel from Winchester to the city I think the skills that I gained you know self-control stamina a determination real desire for business success are gonna work incredibly well within the trading arena 20 year old okie a McQuaid a from Tottenham is part way through in economics and maths degree the nature of the trading is that money can come and go in such a flowing way that almost like a living breathing thing it's important that you keep order the rain feel that you can control it highly ambitious these next two months will reveal whether he has what it takes to become a city trader finally environmentalist dr. Sam doobie the unlikeliest of all the traders is taking part to find out whether it's possible to trade ethically and still make money the good trader has to have such a good idea of what's happening in the world has to be so aware of the wars that are going on in Africa the droughts that are happening India the floods in America yet the only focus is on the financial aspect of it and that's a real problem the eight rookie traders have been given their very own trading floor in the heart of London's square-mile complete with computer terminals plugged directly into the world's stock markets they have everything they need to start trading and the world's most scrutinized but least understood institution will be revealed as never before their first two weeks of trading will be critical the million dollars for me is very significant and I can't afford to lose it if I lose it it's a disaster if I lose half of it it's half a disaster which is still a disaster if I lost 5% it's humiliation if I lose anything it's terrible how's everyone feeling first Molly early start although Lex Van Dam is supplying the money he's appointed a supervisor to be his eyes and ears an eight-year veteran of the city Anton creel retired from trading two years ago at the age of 27 a millionaire I know the feeling around the table is quite laid-back in like quite lay safer this and because it's the first day but like you've got I mean there's the news and stuff in the morning you've got to be really military and like really you know get into what is going on in the world you know and then you can try and make sense of it right okay but you know the hours between six and seven thirty are absolutely crucial to your day when markets opening in one minute and let's go make some money these eight novices will operate together as a hedge fund if they're smart enough they should be able to make money where the share prices go up or down but before anyone can get a bonus the fund will have to be in profit at the end so individually they must invest wisely because all decisions made will affect everyone especially Lex Van Daan busy running his own hedge fund Lex will phone Anton regularly to be kept up to date write down opinions right you don't tell them what to do I mean it's hard to know if these people actually really understand that this is not a game but this is real money this is my money I've worked hard to earn it and I don't want a bunch of people don't care to be so diverse you know I'm gonna suffer they will suffer with me so you're all this you know you need to make sure that people appreciate the risk right she's all right speak soon yeah [Music] there may be a public perception of what a trader actually is which is loads of money Ferraris wild parties lots of women drugs carry nails all the time blah blah blah well I dare anyone to try this for a month see how much it affects your life you seriously do earn your money the big firms get their pound of flesh you know and you know these guys they've got a lot of learn in a very short space of time it'll be interesting over the next couple of days who actually has the confidence in themselves to take their trade idea and put the trades on here's a baptism of fire for the first two weeks the rookie traders have been given 25,000 pounds each to play with the markets open and through brokers they finally get their chance to trade the world stock markets I know the car sit on the fence can be for whatever I say things I which I need to get over you know my brain is not flowing like it should because I'm thinking about it too much I think the biggest battle is with your own mind you could falsify so much information and just generate an annual and you had waken it through because you can kinda justify anything see yourself and speak to someone else see what you thinking but also me it's gonna be you who you know will going put that trade on and will kind of be a measured on its success or it's not a success 16:46 be 63 year old Simon is the oldest of the novice traders and has spent the last 30 years working as an IT engineer for IBM I love knowing how things work and why they work and you know I've got an asset of statistical knowledge to be able to cope I hope and therefore I'd like to give it a go okay right I'd like to buy please 400 British gas he's the first to call the brokers and make a trade okay 1204 fine thank you very much good bye [Applause] spend some money right I took the punch decided to place the trade for British gas I'm hoping it's going to rise gently over the next few weeks its lowest today was 1203 1204 it's just gone down to 1203 what it's in danger of getting neurotic about this but you just have to move on and concentrate on the rest I'll probably remember this the trading decision for the rest of my life you know it's the first one I've made it's big excitement and let's hope it's been successful to control risk the traders can only invest 5,000 pounds in anyone's stock the leading British gas is a safe bed Simon's invested the maximum allowed eg he's gone right up to his maximum position size immediately if you do that in a portfolio as a professional to me you have absolute maximum conviction that this stock is going up right and it's almost like you can't be wrong if the stock does nothing for three days or goes down for three days consistently you know it's gonna drive him absolutely mental oh look at this standard 1186 that's awful I keep saying I mustn't let it upset me but of course I keep thinking I wonder what it's doing and that is in fact distracting me from the main job I'm supposed to be doing the main job I want to do which is look for other trades that will actually perhaps compensate in performance right I'm going to close this chart and concentrate on my next job if I you get neurotic staring at it and that's definitely a mistake oh this is awful 1185 oh my god it happens the code hm can I get any tears of that then please by the end of their second day several novice traders have taken their first dip into the markets I'm looking at admin can I get a price on Domino's please do I can I sure that if it goes to one eight nine please ultimately they have two methods of trading available to them buying long simply making money if the share price increases or selling short a complex deal that involves borrowing selling and then buying back shares this allows the trader to make a profit when the value of a stock goes down Titan I'll take LM 42 year-old single mum and entrepreneur Caroline has always wanted to work in the city fantastic although she's determined to succeed she finds the idea of selling shoe or profiting from the losses of others hard to stomach it just doesn't seem all that you can sit here as a trader and wish that the value of the company would would go down so that you can make money on it it's really am morally quite bizarre thing to do yeah and somebody yes but a lot of years building up the company to sort of lose the lose of control that you have over that just because maybe another company in your sector is some you know it's performing particularly bad and you get pulled down with them it's just seems horrendous that's a real bugger former vet Cleo is less concerned about the ethical issues of trading shown during training to be a highly intelligent structured thinker it's believed she has the greatest potential in the group I think its environment that I'd be really good in it's fast paced which I thrive in it's pressure driven again which I thrive in and I love the way that these huge macroeconomic issues impacts on all the stocks and this type of thing and how everything is interrelated I just find it really really interesting it's a global event that gives Cleo her first trade let's go straight to our top story this morning investors react to mounting instability a missile test in Iran causes Middle East instability and as a result oil prices begin to rise sharply it spells bad news for heavy fuel consumers jumping into the market Cleo's quick to short sell British Airways betting their share price will fall as their profits get hit by rising oil prices it's a good deal but her caution is getting the better of her she's only traded 200 shares by far the smallest investment of the group you know it's more it's more I wanted to just get through it I know that sounds awful and I know that's completely the wrong rationale but I preferred to place one small little trade the first time I've ever dilly-dallied with anything like this oh look see it's down I'm so sorry I'm gonna keep myself under wraps now sorry guys really sorry I'm gonna control myself oh my god it's just gone again I'm really sorry the times wrong - five years that perturbations on one side the life of the trader is all-consuming long days begin with very early mornings the team is expected to be in the office by 6:00 a.m. working out their strategies well before the markets open at 8:00 [Applause] their screams come alive bullying shares turning red rising shares bloomed take the fair fight on this shorty about forced Iraq everything comrade abided by after three days of trading the team has so far only invested 10% of the 200,000 pounds currently at their disposal but it's not the amount that's worrying it's the commitment of some of the traders if you meet with joy oh yeah what price of BBG group in the auction 11 my stop is eleven sixty there eleven fifty-nine now right so they in the auction you're out mate I think you'd better check away from his desk when the market opened Simon is unaware that his shares in British Gas are plummeting and losing the team Nani you may recall I place the trade yesterday on British Gas right so what was the closing price please Simon shares have fallen so sharply they've been sold on automatically 11:58 right okay known as a stop loss this is an order with the broker to close the trade if it loses too much money blue and overnight Simon's trade has cost the team two hundred and fifty pounds just forget about it no no I'm not stressed I just want to explain why I did what I did to see whether I couldn't I should have done anything differently it'll have a proper chance of Awesome they said oh yeah good morning no absolutely don't worry about what's up Anderson no no I haven't no honest as it stands no as it stands now you've got no positions that's right he sewed on the rates um I do slight is the slate is clean so start again yes absolutely no I very much in that vein cool or a little bit concerned about his behavior very lackadaisical and right you know I had to shout over to to be honest with you I'm just a little bit pissed off and I just don't you know you cannot behave like that on a trading desk you know it just shows it just shows a really bad attitude towards investing somebody else's money in the market if you behave like that in the real world in the real world of trading like your career is gonna be very short-lived there are however some within the group who are showing real promise both fight promoter Emil and Sam the environmentalist have made money you know I feel a bit ill when I place one of these things I really like it I don't find that pleasant mashter I find a really uncomfortable feeling yeah yeah and I kind of like it makes me feel exactly like I felt when I was a kid lying I think it's just because I'm making a decision based on a best guess and I'm I'm not used to guessing I mean yesterday you think this shows the fallacy of it but the fact of that like you know in reality no matter how many charts we look at how everything else we go and how we feel that's exactly no gambling is why I'm not gambling this yeah yeah there's only one person left in the group who is yet to make a trade having just left the army Mike now wants to be a professional trader half the game here is his timing you can have the world's best trade if you like but if your if your timing is wrong you don't make a profit or worse you make a loss beginning to think I should maybe just grow up here and get on in there and then just just work it as it goes but um it's just get that you know it's just like parachuting it's taking that first step that's difficult and they're actually after that you find well until you got to pull the red handle maybe I don't want to have to be pulling any red handle so that's the thing you've got to take risk to make money of course you can lose but if you're not invested you can not make money it might as well just be in the bank earning 5% it's concerning because you can not succeed in this business behaving like that you'll never make money the standard mortgage bigger to be turned off to companies they own or guarantee about half of what trillion dollars of US mortgages take a look at Freddie Mac it is off by more than one-third losing one third of its value this morning only a week into trading and the novice traders are dealt a heavy blow u.s. mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hit the rocks and the world's markets real in shock the trading screens turn red showing a massive fall in shares across the globe as 35 billion pounds of investment vanishes in a matter of minutes I look at the dollar versus the euro and the pound now right the dollar is likely if this continues to get smoked what in the end the taxpayer has the plug like yup right the US government has come out and said that if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac go to zero then they'll guarantee the debt the markets taking it negatively because the government's basically admitted that there's a possibility that they could go to zero right and if they bail them out we're talking hundreds of billions of dollars right and who who ends up paying for it the US consumer I mean so anyone who's been in the industry a long time this is like proper scary stuff you know and the entire basis of the US economy changes if this had happened I mean the u.s. is over for a general if this happens potentially this is why the markets are so volatile this is why the world is in a complete mess at the moment and no one knows what to do because there is no light at the end of the tunnel the global credit crisis has spread to British shores and Sam the ethical trader in the group spots a chance to make money Lester has now found a buyer allowing the company to assure of his finances after losing two-thirds of its value over the past year no Spain's biggest banking giant Santander has announced the takeover of Alliance & Leicester quick to react he buys a thousand shares they rock it and make the team an instant 200 pounds 328 C hello he's just sold them superstar week 332 and a half yesterday I read in their story on Alliance ernesta so um I bought some shares of them that made the share price go up and I told them I made some money from reading a new story I didn't do anything um that's that's the nature of the game really you're not doing anything impressed by Sam successful investment retired IBM employee Simon also jumps into financials hi okay not sure yet I've just I placed earlier a buy limit order on Bradford & Bingley okay it's just being filmed so oh cool okay head for the best all right buying Hong into Bradford & Bingley he hopes to see their share price rise but less than an hour after he places the trade its share price plummets very much long in Bradford & Bingley didn't work really sorry about that it's very frustrating this is just unbelievably complex business you've got to keep your emotions in check you've got to do the analysis you've got to do your homework there's so many balls to keep in the air and maybe different personalities are better at coping with short-term decisions and maybe I'm better to concentrate on a few long-term decisions long term trades rather than leap in on the basis of follow me as it were which is what really what I do be prepared for the Bingley Simon's decision to buy into the UK's largest buy to let mortgage provider at a time when many are going to the wall obviously ridiculous what hasn't gone unnoticed by Lex and Anton clearly is Minds just in the wrong place like if he's not there like it's not just him I mean there's other people in the group that just the whole the general level of focus of the group it's just too low like these guys are just not intense enough of greater concern to Anton and Lex is that those who should be showing the most promise are also struggling oh hi it's clear from trace again that link hi Luke I'm put a sell order in with Rupert for GSK GlaxoSmithKline feeling the pressure Cleo has sold all her stock and now has nothing invested stupid idiot folks I think um I think there might be a bit of an issue with her with clear because she's just tried their out of her only two positions which would since work to a tiny anyway her no she's got a zero risk no she just read the rethinking it not maybe but I think the way she did it she lost companies lost confidence I just take my loss and it's gone down you know what I don't like trade it if you wanted to generate ideas and you want the book to go up and your moments be confident so you want them to be upbeat but at the same time you've got it you know you've got a they've got to be disciplined because some of the stuff they're doing is not so far the team have only invested 40,000 out of a possible 200,000 pounds they've been trading in the worst market conditions seen in years and although they've had some successes overall they've yet to make a penny it's definitely been noted over the last couple of days that some a lot of crucial things in the market that's been coming else has been missed by people things like being on the desk when the market opens popping off for 30-minute lunches like it's just absolutely not acceptable I had in eight years two lunches outside the office okay as a team to make money you really need to be here because if you're not you don't stand a chance we're in the worst trading conditions that we've been in for a generation but if you want to give yourselves the best chance of making serious cash I'm beating the professionals you're just gonna have to step it up like massively get them take it to the next level okay nobody ever said this was easy but God it is a lot more difficult than certainly I never expected extremely difficult I think it's just gonna be quite a steep learning curve for it also this is no one's no one is doubting that whatsoever Dave all right thank you you ever thought about you you can pass again it's difficult we know you had anything try any harder pencil no but you can't know I call hey let's leave it Simon you definitely look no let me place my old try rather do that right now okay let's talk about it later [Music] the end of week 1 and so far retired soldier Mike has only dabbled in the market Mike knows he needs to make money at least to see a bonus and with aspirations to become a full-time trader he wants his first meaningful trade to be a statement of intent I'm just extremely extremely competitive I wear a heart rate monitor so that I don't run too fast sometimes I have to rein myself in because it you know it forces you to places where you don't you know you don't really want to be like racing my girlfriend getting dressed and things like that I picked of 105 105 6 or 105 75 this trade idea is a highly controversial and risky one just looking at the opening prices on H boss there is a you know people are staring at each other you know across the city you know who's gonna win this game of bluff a cash flow crisis for Britain's largest bank H boss has forced them into a rights issue which means going to their shareholders and asking for more money Mike has calculated that the rights issue should go well sending its share price up catching okay that's a good snot that's that's the side of the boat we want to be right but to cover his position like Mike has decided he also needs to short sell German bank aliens as the underwriters of the rights issue they will have to pick up any shortfall a potentially huge liability which could see their own share price fall this trading strategy is known as hedging it's the essence of how a hedge fund works if he's right he'll make more money on this deal than everyone's trades put together repo Heights market traders hey dear me LCD the 110 110 23 euros right that's right sold 46 Allianz at 110 spot 2 3 euros H boss HB OS Ln bought ya one four one nine 278 spot two five that's right lovely nice doing business really make that key mate Cheers well done I mean there's risk in every trade but you know I've worked through the numbers and my you know my downside risk is it's far smaller than my upside gain and if it comes off well you know we'll make a lot of money for the team [Music] the second week of trading and as world markets become more unstable the pressure to make money intensifies the government has come close to admitting that the fiscal rules that set itself for managing the economy can no longer be met about the big month has kept interest rates unchanged at five percent as it struggles to Astoria frequencies play assisting no decision had been taken on rewriting debt levels were careful not to dismiss the idea everybody's thinking of the credit crisis at the moment and you know basing all the ideas of this credit crisis yeah but its total total risk it feels like we only look at about right yeah everybody's obsessed by this thing then the other thing is like yes tell people if I keep trading in such small size you must make any money again they're not gonna get more money and they're not gonna get paid at the end of the period because they haven't made any money because reborn was fine for this hedge fund to be successful and make money everyone must invest their cash failure to do so could result in their removal from the team at the beginning Clio was highlighted as someone with great trading potential but after starting with immense self-belief her confidence is collapsing [Music] with no trades in place she must get invested to stay in the game I think actually this [Music] Hey idiot [Music] [Applause] [Music] why don't I just bloody buy it she's actually really scared about trading which is a little bit concerning I think I might have to go and speak to her later take her out of it out of the office or something because yeah I can see that a heads a bit all over the place and she's really scared about pulling the trigger just can't commit to it you know you don't look it's very very difficult business okay you know it's bad it's hot if it's difficult affectionate just glad to take that abstract full process and those ideas those trade ideas yeah and put them into practice and then manage risk okay they're two really difficult different skill sets but you're indecisive because you're a perfectionist right and you can't have indecision in the business I know telling myself they'll go nothing ventured nothing gained to put on just pity on and he's fit they're funny about just accept or not accept that you cannot be right a hundred percent upon its possible it's absolutely impossible [Music] I'm frustrated I'm frustrated at my lack of knowledge massively frustrated by it and that spills over in this you know this this sense of being and I honestly I feel like a lamb to the slaughter at the moment all right now now I feel pressure that I've really got to find trades to put on and you know whilst it's good to have a bit of pressure in this uncertain market I don't feel that that's necessarily the best thing because the last thing I want to do is put on trades just so I've got positions but I'm almost feeling like I'm being pressured now to put on trades purely for that reason just so I've got positions just so my capital is invested so when the market is this volatile I don't think you know I think unless you can really really read it then your benefit fool really Oh God look where it's gone no wonder it's for his third trade Simon believed he was playing safe investing three thousand pounds in insurance company Royal Sun Alliance I've got an open position on RSA which I'm getting a bit nervous about it's had a terrible day it's some fortunately majorities in the house today I was thinking of lightening my position by buying say eight hundred that will be one third of them roughly and then lowering my stop to stay in the market for the rest right let's let's make a decision could I buy eight hundred whatever the market price is now Simon has just made a fundamental mistake to reduce his risk he should have sold eight hundred shares you've got stop-lossed on you know I go by stop-loss you've got I beg your pardon I'm so sorry Syd I've gone completely the wrong way this was what this was about ah well could she seldom came that was a mistake Simon I'm selling you sixteen hundred now is that correct correct place of Salamis 15 spot once you making a loss on this My Luck so let's just say this again very slowly you have sold 1,600 1,600 at 115 one one five spot one spot one cracker meant for you below okay done thank you Cheers in the space of a two minute phone call Simon has cost the team 200 pounds [Music] so far every deal he's made has lost money [Music] I made a small mistake so he basically [ __ ] himself he went to sell a third of the position one ended up buying it right right and then he realized what he'd done and then trot you know went to sell double the amount to get his position correct and then he bought instead of selling yeah if you say buy when you want to say sell you know it just means that you know you've got [ __ ] for brains well yeah it means you know it totally switched off he's panicked shits himself lost his mind and done the trade the wrong way around I'm pretty annoyed because like there's mistake in his mistakes yeah you have to think about what we gonna do about this yeah yeah clear was a bit of has been a bit of an issue in the last 24 hours she's actually scared of having physicians all right we were off the desk they for an hour and a half and I've got [ __ ] to do yeah because she's crying Tina okay cry for now I know someone who's never traded before who's scared of trading one week into this exercise right that's a person who can cry for an hour and a half great Bona [ __ ] for brains and the other ones crying we doing well here yeah it's Judgment Day for Mike's biggest trade the results of the H boss rights issue are in and it's not the news Mike wanted to hear H boss Britain's biggest mortgage learn to race about four billion personal rights offer to shore up its balance sheet the trouble is most so the shareholders didn't actually take up their rights to the share today share homes bought just eight percent stock on offer leaving the underwriters Morgan Stanley and Resnick Lionel was a bit of a headache underwriters would find get subscribers long somebody's long hate box yeah what are you guys yes my yeah you just come to keep an eye on the place respond because he's on it yeah with H boss falling Mike short sell in German bank Allianz isn't working either come on edge apostle despite the problems its share price is unaffected [Music] about 4% right on the brink come on [ __ ] shakin his 8000 pound pairs trade is now losing money good and he's provoked the wrath of Lex Van Damme okay thank you hey hey hey was it go okay yeah but Mike know what's going on I don't know he hasn't spoken to go long age boss you know to trade and then this is the best thing he can do was just stupid okay you know he's just sitting there in the ocean maybe the wave goes the right direction and maybe goes the wrong direction and we both know the way they're trading at the moment it's always gonna go to wrong direction I just listen I'll just go alright cool bye bye Mike I'll require to cut our position we're down about five just under six percent okay so get the cuts there cut it move on don't feel bad about it it's [ __ ] happens and this is just one trade I'll tell you many that will have Mycenae yeah come on so if you want to do that that's cool okay yeah he's gutted but like I'm looking at this personally as a trade that could have gone massively right and a little bit wrong and it's gone a little bit wrong you know he spent an entire weekend probably thinking about who walked in and lost money right and that's just the life of a traitor [Music] [Music] he'll only gets Mike H boss sell one four one nine put it in for 267 spot to five if you can do it for you okay al Vee I'm a buyer of 46 don't play me Mike's trade has cost the team 500 pounds I say yeah that's quite a loss to to take on board yeah [ __ ] is Charlie go back in and and find another one [Music] [Applause] [Music] the UK's biggest mortgage lender Halifax Bank of Scotland has announced that its statutory first half the profits plunged by 72 percent to eight hundred and forty eight million the bank blamed the loss on the credit crunch and also reported an increase in bad debt as the traders reached the end of their second week of trading they're faced with that biggest test so far we are waiting numbers earnings reports from Citigroup they're due out any second from now we'll bring you those numbers as soon as they cross we are Citigroup the world's largest bank is about to announce an earnings report in the financial world this is a global event and will have a massive effect on the world stock markets if the team properly hedged their investments the funds should be able to cope with anything that market throws in it I'd like to sell a go short with market confidence in the banking sector at an all-time low the novice traders are predictors a figure will be bad 1000 would be convinced there's an opportunity to make some quick cash they all go short great well I like to put in an order to sort mine hundred of them please I won't sell short negotiate some no no 697 7j okay also can I come I have six nine eight six nine seven bit anyway you want to sell it clicked on J yeah so short that's my biggest trade how much maybe three grands okay hi who's that the pirates the meal and okay sorry okay if you look at dominoes from with DRM DRM in total they short sell sixteen thousand shares a massive forty one thousand pounds in the hope that prices will fall but not one of the traders has hedged their investments by going along in case prices should rise a potentially calamitous mistake an estimated Carolyn we are actually seeing as we speak the futures really paring the loss is very rapidly as I look at my Bloomberg terminals you can see what the shares are doing in the pre-market are ready up by three percent so for the novice traders it's the worst news possible the figures are better than expected the markets immediately rallied and share prices rise across the board this morning short selling frenzy has left the team massively exposed and they're losing the money fast because there area clear from a position of profit the group are now facing a heavy loss like monopoly today it's great everybody just go for it it's quite it's quite it's quite a nice atmosphere actually in your face even though we're all hammered room yeah emerging money it's absolutely typical I think a lot of people got into banks because it was a hubbub about banks yesterday and everyone has got absolutely tranced on it if it was one person getting absolutely chance I think would be quite difficult but because everyone's in the same position yeah it's fine I think the mood the mood is pretty good considering they've been trading for a fortnight and so far they've only lost Lex's money okay thank you hello dr. Peter not gonna like you're not gonna like I'm not gonna like okay down two and a half burn you're joking no are you here wow you know I am actually how did you get a little bit of death I'm not the type of guy to you know humiliate people in front of a group or give people [ __ ] for not for no reason you know but you know if I have to give them [ __ ] it's for their own good because if I don't let's for walked in one day and just destroy somebody in front of everybody and that's not gonna be good for anybody the people who are doing their conquers today are people who've shorted on the open and bought nothing against it right market moves half a percent and look how much money you can lose from a half a percent move in the market you've been Muppets like you've shorted something naked from after all the conversations that we've had right I'm not on it hasn't even entered your mind to buy a UK bank against it given that financials are the most volatile sector in the world right now yeah you've got to learn from your mistakes it's risk management naked punting is for idiots and if if you're down to grand today as a group yeah and you multiply that by 45 days that we've got left you're gonna be down 90 grand on 500 grand what do you want me to do like put everyone up against the wall with a gun to their head and say [ __ ] manage risk you're trading with somebody else's money you know if this was my money I'd be so scared you got to seriously think about what you do and the risk that you're taking because we walked in this morning I don't think anybody thought we'd be down to ground this morning right no one thought that but guess what four hours later we are [Applause] this is the week you either need to make someone kill me I don't need to feel this self-worth we are under Russian invasion and the Russian occupation rights shaky Azerbaijan and Armenia the country's border day like this is gun to the head funk fine decision I will sell them nah look I'm not telling you what to do now I know you're not I say if it's legal the morality is irrelevant is that what you're saying some it's a bad world I think it really brings out the bastard in you the first time I had trauma like this was getting divorce if people walk out because they can't take it so be it continuing the city theme over on BBC full Jerry Robinson meets Britain's first ever venture capitalist and Charlie Brook has got a thing about TV shows that come with a mission to achieve and he's firing off again next on BBC two.
Million Dollar Traders - Part 2: Profit And Loss.
Newbie traders are struggling to ride the storm as stock markets around the world go haywire. Some take big risks, others lose their temper dramatically. Each member of the team becomes a little more comfortable in trading, while one contestant leaves.
Profit And Loss Transcription:
Million Dollar Traders - Part 2: Profit And Loss.
First rate of the day please VP I'd like to buy 206 of 105 7.5 780 sold at 781 - nut oil you like to sell 80 shares please it's all all I've just been walking wanna be sure this is a trading room like no other because no one here has ever worked in the city before 900 quid like that these eight men and women have been given $1,000,000 and two months to run their own hedge fund and invest in the stock market as they see fit this is what whose experiences that money can't buy door lockheed-martin it's a radical idea created by one of the UK's leading hedge fund managers Lex Van Damme I'm taking a huge risk here and if they don't care enough then I'll make sure they care if the novices play the game well they could each walk away with a hefty bonus if they fail they'll leave with nothing can they become successful City traders or will the pressure of trading the worst economic crisis in a generation push them over the edge I mean do you feel like you've just had enough the last time I had trauma like this was getting divorced think about what you're saying it's unbelievable it's three confirmation didn't want me fit me I can't do [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] 7:00 a.m. morning meeting the novices are now three weeks into their two months of trading and they're struggling to cope with a problem none of them could have foreseen the developing credit crisis overnight this let's plow through every trivial commodity move unless it really matters it's causing havoc on the world stock markets it was 10% of which is a huge rise as you fell so you know speculation continues these cataclysmic swings which explains it was like so difficult for us to get this trading business right as a result the novices have only managed to invest a paltry 40,000 of the 200,000 pounds that investor Lex has so far released to them if their mortgages have been deferred the credit cards was next door thinking what other forms of credit very good thinking and after an ill-advised decision to invest in the banking sector last week they lost five grand one trader who lost a lot of cash was Simon a recently retired IT engineer several of us had positions in banks based on expectation perhaps not much more sophisticated than because banks have gone up a hell of a lot recently it's time they went down if it had paid off if they'd gone in the right direction then we would all have been are things that happened to go in the wrong direction almost we learn a lesson from it you know some of us are lost a considerable amount money but you know you have a good day you can make it back I've got confidence we'll be fine we'll be fine Caroline a single mother of four year old twins has emerged as an early frontrunner her calm trading instincts meant she kept well away from trouble thankfully I wasn't in banks I haven't watched the volatility of them in this marketplace and I thought with a lot of the the rest of the team in banking that I would stay I would stay away from it and stay with you no just keeping an eye on the portfolio that I'm building for myself widget at the moment doesn't include any financial stocks last week the novices were given 25 thousand pounds each to play with but they've already lost 10% of their invested capital if it continues the investor Lex Van Dam faces losses of well over 50,000 pounds a prospect that promised a rare visit in this environment Lex won't tolerate failure as the boss he ultimately has the power to reprimand or even sack any of his traders some of you might have felt like you can't do the job or it's it is impossible but maybe nobody has been able to do the job and maybe it has been impossible you know a lot of trading has to do with being able to tolerate pain in my case it's been almost continuous it's just drip drip drip drip more pain today more pain yesterday which I'm sure is affecting my morale therefore my ability to make decent decisions the next day do you feel like if you can't once you've cut the pain has gone don't you feel by now no only I don't I do I definitely feel better when I've cut it these stocks have no memory you know they don't care you don't want to make it personal you know the stocks are there to make money well I had a great day I know everybody else was having it ready [ __ ] so how did make you feel it made me feel great inside that you know I was I was you know yes going in the opposite one else was some you know doom doom and gloom but they'll give you a little bit of joy yeah yeah because I don't want the rest of the team to suffer I think I get a group that could have been a lot worth it could have been sitting here and you know I'm a significant loss that we could not make up so that's why everybody is coming at 50k so everybody's capital is gonna be doubled you're smiling I don't mind any having 25 grand it's not your decision what it don't allow you to do is to make up for your losses quite quickly and if I have leaving you guys maybe you should have believed in you as well so let's go make some money Lex is busy running his own hedge fund so he's handed the day-to-day management of the team to 29 year old ex city trader Anton creel it's clearly extremely difficult to make money in this environment you've got huge blue-chip companies in the footsie moving 10 20% almost every day and that's unprecedented but it's kind of like no excuse you know we want to make money it's just more difficult to make money 8:00 a.m. and markets have opened Domino's again please the oil a hedge fund is an investment body designed to make money whether the markets go up or down 190 shows and with the credit crisis ending markets in every direction the capability of this particular hedge fund will be tested to the limit so with 50,000 pounds each to play with they will all need to generate lots of solid investment ideas IT engineer Simon is using his gut instinct six one seven thank you very much I've got good charts on caprica this looks good you know I feel and he'll it's it's a comfort stock yeah you know if you thought the whole world was gonna end in half an hour what would you do you'd reach from ours bar or bar chocolate you know absolutely I think I was not that I hope it isn't just in case I think I better get some in stock for retired Army Major Mike the best ideas are simply the ones that make money I suppose it's become the intellectual thrill of the game to be honest I just like the way you judged actually you know it's all about personality so much it's about your profit and loss you know you really pull you down either making or losing and that's it's quite a thrill Mike's chosen to build his portfolio around arms manufacturers okaybye 1767 at 4:53 done cheers oh but his enthusiasm for military investments cool isn't shared by Sam a committed environmentalist who only wants to trade in ethical stocks my experience here I originally thought that it would soften my views on the city and the people that worked in it it's actually done exactly the opposite it really troubles me personally that money can be made from things which some people deemed to be unethical and I have a real issue with that but it's the kind of clean profit taking with absolutely no regard for who the end user of these weapons are that I find really troubled ability to to sell to a particular nasty dictator is governed by the UK and they need an export license in which to do so so it's sanctioned by the British government the government the you elect law and morality are two separate things if it's legal the morality is irrelevant is that what you're saying so it's a bad world we know it's a bad world why why should we let profit you know just hold our hands up and say actually that's you know that's a questionable dictator you know because one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter and it all depends on your point of view it's like saying if I'm not gonna do it someone else will so I might as well do it what would the context that we're living in is one in which as you yourself say global warming it's a massive issue guys would it be possible to defer this debate it's just not quite the right time cool thank you sorry Sam no fortunately I find that kind of debate much more interesting than me to illustrate and you know I'm playing devil's I'm playing devil's oh I know I know absolutely people buy weapons and countries buy weapons you're acting within the law and I don't see any difficulty in in investing with the mix hard facts of life you know if I don't somebody else will [Music] the credit crunch summer of 2008 is biting hard many members of Congress blame oil speculators for driving up the price of crude Baron developments is surging today and lease its share prices in a tough market the traders need all the help they can get to generate ideas so information is everything I saw with our electrodes down not artifacts and FFP down a never-ending onslaught of news must be dissected analyzed and debated earthquake in Japan yeah six point eight on the Richter scale by Japanese construction firms 160 people injured all in pursuit of profit what'd you do buy yen earnings reports oil prices commodities currencies politics the weather certainly not done with this storm yet anything and everything can move the markets standard charted earnings coming in stronger than estimated standards avi of three percent of them sick fest performer in the footsie traders who want to win must stay one step ahead of the pack like this is just the [ __ ] but you have to know and be on top of right twenty-year-old Aki is a straight-a economic student from sort number what it takes to be successful like this isn't a roll of the dice a player velaryon hoops and twice as rich no it's not like that or you constantly research you constantly work hard you constantly work out all of the things that can possibly go wrong hedge against it and then you still have to hope for the best yeah stand the troll oh he has bought shares in Standard Chartered group a bank with exposure in Asia his research suggested that the Far East had so far escaped the banking turmoil but just minutes away from his desk and the credit crisis has spread East it was all good yeah they were up and then I went away to get some cake and two bangs that too flippin bangs downgraded them in the fifteen minutes that it took me to go and come back and then they shed eighty points and I'm trying to I'm hoping for a rally I'm not getting out because I'm stuck Kate didn't let me down the flippin Hong Kong let me down India let me down Gordon Brown let me down I'm in the game mmm it's made me a lot more self-aware it's made me a lot stronger it's made me look at myself in an objective way which I haven't been able to do before hello there little aji from traders um I am looking at Standard Chartered with the stock falling fast many novice traders might be tempted to panic and sell 15:41 moment are you serious yeah okay I've just left my shirt excuse me I'm not going on holiday to Thea okay I can't fell out at that price Beth instead oh he keeps his cool and does what a good trader should he concentrates on his other ideas and building up his portfolio I'm looking at shell next I'd like to buy 225 shares of them at market please like it fight promoter a meal from Toxteth and Liverpool has few qualifications in the real world he would have little chance of securing a job as a trader I think on a personal level it's about ability it's about validation it's about being able to do things when people say you can't do them where you shouldn't do them blacks ask me what did I want and I said I didn't want the Porsche I want the ability to buy the Porsche but he's a quick learner and like oke he's seen the benefits of building a strong personal portfolio got it make a new strategy no I'm just buying everything that I like so where they self call blackberry Apple Nike Adidas it's really like you know like a listening in your own branded life and like the things I don't like assure them it's quite a good plan actually it's not it's not working that bad I need to make some sort of clean cut perfect one thing just yeah you're gonna buy 30 year old Amit has the will to succeed but the question is whether he has the right ideas his motivation is a new career away from his life in Lincolnshire at the moment I'm a shopkeeper and something that my father did so it was natural for me to follow I suppose even though since the ohmmeter said I'm never to the one thing that my dad did but you just find yourself falling into it you know if you do your work and it's very logical and it's independent hmm go for it okay my main motivation for doing something like this in the want to make money I've seen my parents work really hard you know over the past 25 years so I wanna make enough for him to see you've got a pot of money there now let's chill out relax with mortgage companies struggling omits investment idea is to find the next victim of the credit crisis it's all of us I can guessing trying to figure out whatever else is going to do next so if you can possibly home into that and work out the way they're feeling then you can make money off the back of that woolsley group a supplier of construction products and materials catches his eye good afternoon it's a knit here the walls appears WLOS pre-tax profits have fallen 35 percent and its share prices plummeted okay honest sell 1300 place he jumps into the market and decides to sell short hoping for a further fall selling short is a complex deal that involves borrowing selling and buying back shares and allows the trader to make a profit when the value of a stock goes down if Emmett's right and walls Lee's price falls the whole team will profit but not everyone agrees are you absolutely positive about that course I am don't worry about it all I'm saying is what if it's hit the bottom right maybe all the bad news that that companies had to 70 is in the price no it's not don't worry mate relax all right good you go decide for yourself in this game if you'd like to any people influence you then you know your brain just starts wandering off in different directions you know what is there any more bad news going to happen for Wolsey I mean my feeling is no but but I'm it clearly sees it the other way so I mean that's fair enough I just hope it goes to team's way [Applause] by the end of week three the group has finally managed to invest over 200 thousand pounds a pound a pound of both we reported that was the one thing and I wanted to see that's a good trait like sitting area smooth some of the novice traders are beginning to play the game well they've built bigger portfolios and is starting to make a profit for the very first time over the last 48 hours I think you've traded really really well like seriously in the last 48 hours you've made massive progress like massive so you should be proud keep up the good work all right I think the boys the girls yeah things are okay this week they've really really come come on who's doing well oh he Mike and Caroline Paris Emile he still needs a little bit of guidance but he's showing you know real promise okay hammock please okay great thank you and the second one don't go away IT engineer Simon is now almost fully invested with a portfolio valued at 46 thousand pounds thank you very much we've had several days where everyone has been seriously Dan a day on day on day and now at last five of us are in profit I think is with some Churchill said this is not the end this is not even the beginning of the end but it is the end of the beginning and maybe a few of us feel that now by far the biggest investor in the team he's managed to build his book in just a matter of days a potentially risky strategy investing this fast could backfire with 200,000 pounds of Lex's money still available the other novices have been far more cautious some more than others having sailed through the selection process expert Clio is great at generating ideas she just can't put them into practice the problem is so big that she just has one investment in place by far the smallest portfolio in the team I just hate this money really hate losing money you know and I appreciate this if it was somebody else I'm saying for Christ's sake what you're doing but when it's yourself and you've got such degree of fear it's it's very very difficult to to step outside that and just force yourself to do it it's just a nightmare it really is if Clio doesn't invest potentially the whole team could suffer you've done nothing in a week really I know I appreciate that right you need a book yes right and it's been a week I know I know it's a yeah it's a hedge I can just put it on okay hold on ah are we in the auction oh my god the markets are open right look you know when it's here and you're watching it going tick tick tick tick no no look when you when you're when you're watching this and it's going tick tick tick tick tick yeah yeah you don't want to sell it Yeah right and then six hours later it's here yeah can I go and check the market door Thanks Cleo's one position is a long investment in mining company Vedanta and she'll only make money if its price goes up so so to guard against a fall in the market she must hedge her portfolio by shorting another stock hoping it will go down in value that's one I might short oh hi it's kayo I mean Xstrata XTA choosing mining company Xstrata she shorts a hundred shares but almost immediately they go up my money is going up the wall Xstrata is now outperforming her stake in Vedanta and she's losing money I'm a little bit worried this baby is gonna fly now it's three four seven for that extra XTA yeah okay I've sold short that and it's just come up really huge can tell me what the volume spreads I okay um but a hedge such as this performs better over time okay bye okay bye 500 500 been there by 500 thanks kg1 okay you've 100 faithful anyone extraor to the stock and it's clear okay all right go kill me it's falling now I'm just an accident stress man what have you done so what did hedge what my head went in the wrong direction completely right I mean space of like 20 minutes I crystallized hundred pounds loss well see you sold your head yeah I know I know I know I know the point is just like the longer you keep it on overtime the higher the correlation can't possibly aware of that now you can't hedge for ten minutes so that strategy doesn't work no absolutely so how many times do you want to get punched in the face I don't want to be about right so yeah never ever ever ever do it again in this position I'm you know I'm aware that I need to have pairs I'm not this is it best to just cut those positions and start top suicide okay yeah all right well listen you be good girl for nonny and grandad then but by Darla see you later Caroline's more considered approach suggests she's developing as a trader I don't think it's wise necessarily to just think Oh terrible position let's bail out now I think sometimes you just have to sit tight and and see whether the position recovers itself and not necessarily just be in it for a couple of hours being it for you know it could be a couple of days obviously Cleo you know she's got no positions at the moment at all and days are turning into weeks no no she can't get over it there is gonna be a point where I can't tolerate this anymore because she's pretty much not invested so she's actually not really trading she's distracting people she's crying she probably by now has a negative influence on the group but I think I'm out of patience by now it's just demoralizing I'm just looking at the fact that I've down 840 pounds 804 look at so frustrating because there's no book I can read it's the reconfirmation does it want be something I can't do and you know I don't need to feel this self worth at the moment it's just nightmare [Music] Friday 4:30 p.m. and the markets have closed the novice traders have reached the halfway points and this weekend is a chance to relax and regroup for a meal it's back to the day job as a fight promoter but his mind is still on the trading floor you know I was on the train home last night the guys sitting office to me like that or could he was really nice guy usually goes away drinks company so when which one he goes out the ico I was like oh yeah you know how's your business so cheap I you cans and bottles from Wrexham and he goes yeah we fight from Wrexham you know and I said did you hear about the fire last week and shine guy told me all this amazing information and I was asking him I would never have done that before you'll never have happened and that's what's being mad about this but it's good because all the time I'm thinking about jangles so I'm wanting more and the first thing I want to come to I'm gonna go look at the ICO and I go look at reaction which I've been looking at I've got more ideas now for the others time away from the trading floor provides an opportunity to catch up on their lives and spend time with family [Music] there's no certainty in this game I mean you're trying to forecast the future by having say yes and you know that's that's not possible here we go the entrepreneur Caroline it's an all-too-rare opportunity to spend time with her two young daughters unable to do it because my children are being looked after by my mother who is as close to them as those could be and I'm commuting and exhausting myself during the week so that I can come home and spend time with them of an evening but whether I could do that for in the next 10 years or so I don't know yellow I think I've had to develop a determined edge over a lot of years of working in some fairly in tough environments where you know you can't just roll over and let somebody walk all over you or you can't just dissolve into floods of tears and vow never to go back you have to be incredibly resilient off you go there's a good girl mommy loves you darling week four Monday morning 5 a.m. and the commute starts all over again [Music] traders across the city resumed their positions as the markets wake up with a month to go the fund is still losing money and the investor Lex Van Damme will have his eyes on those traders who aren't pulling their weight for shop keeper amat the day's already started badly having sold short in construction supplier Worsley amat is praying for its price to drop but today it's the biggest riser in the whole of the food scene still rising still rising and his losses are already in the hundreds what do you do what do you do do not buy back at the top that's for sure yep but where's the top going to be that's the problem exactly so what's your plan is your plan sir what's your all-day know do something is to do something but not obviously and I need I need that catalyst and ensure that don't do it the wrong prices Anton the only way you're going to potentially get out of this hmm is by building a portfolio like this is gun to the head time hmm because you cannot allow walls Lee to do this to you yeah sure unlike his fellow novices amat has been here before as a student he played the markets from his bedroom and got badly burns I started trading in university at 19 when my friends started doing getting on making money out of it it was a good idea that's been obviously a tech boon 1997-1998 we were laughing with what we were making alright for us all and obviously a tech crash came and and we lost all of it and more on that last deal I was in tears you know literally in my room and I was like oh my god well about done because when you lose like something like 25,000 pound in one day you can hang on mate you know I mean this is going bit further unfortunately for amat history appears to be repeating itself you one step ahead or one step behind the mark is I'm ten steps behind at the moment I miss in terms of emotions he's been through a washing machines in the last 48 hours in his emotions you can see every single tick of buff P&L having an effect on his psyche but that's a problem in trading like he's fighting with himself because he hasn't done himself any favors his he hasn't built a portfolio so for every movement in was the group he feels more pain than he should you're going through what every trader goes through I know I know I've been the format like wedding times are you he's ten thousand pounds short selling woolsley is hitting him hard having watched the price shoots up he now has only one option left I'm sniffing kritis oh it wasn't it wasn't us mm-hm quarter a chair three cores owned by Mike to North Mathis we're 33 36 and a half L okay [ __ ] for faithful this one trade has cost the team 1200 pounds Rhys Rhys right it's been a really screwed me up and a day you don't expect that but then that's the thing in this game yeah expect the unexpected I feel when you back to the group is I'm laying them down did not mean I was like [ __ ] you did you you know I mean yeah forget myself but like you know the whole desk could make money today except for me alright so welcome back to Sunnyvale live from New York I'm Betty Lou we are just seconds away from the latest data near monami economists all by bloomberg are expecting a loss of 75,000 jobs with each day comes new financial data that can provoke dramatic market shifts this is the inflection point for the next 3-4 days probably for the novices these announcements constantly test their portfolios properly hedged and they should withstand any market moves are you sure something net yeah yes so you want this number to be bad well I mean in terms of the pure numbers here then yeah come over to the dark side [Laughter] so you want less people in the u.s. working month-on-month the ones stop doing is buying cruises and Burberry clothes that's all they can do everybody what to do very specific I want them to get v by Rd that's close there you go so there's my specific taverns when you come over keep buying weapons there we go 51,000 we had expected down 75,000 maybe it does better than I expected that's well better I see what's going on it's big news figures that are better than expected false prices are having gone below this number never fails to surprise me let's head to Chicago now and talk to Larry Levine for his reaction I think they see a little bit of a rally and those with short positions start to lose money oh what the wannabe shots now you've got two competing interests three pounds of four times five kilos to whack me at 150 quid and less than like ten seconds is it gonna come down but those who heads well are effectively bailing out the less accessible traders I caught four three on fire it's fine at the moment my um shorts are not in profit but my M Long's are nicely in profit so I'm very relaxed about it at the moment I just want ideas I really want to put olio the one I'm worried about is once the Spencer's you see up there it's suddenly shot up it amazes me that UK stops reacting such an alarming way to use us data you know there's no point getting really really excited about a single event because in three or four days time if we have another single event that goes in completely opposite directions what's going on it's not a few days but just a few minutes before something happens 2,000 miles away in Israel that completely reverses the markets oh all jumped again I mean come on red it's a big spike right now for Cruden that's after Israeli Deputy Prime Minister said that Iran is on a path toward what he calls a quote major breakthrough and its nuclear program what it's done is not 50 points off for foot circle higher oil prices means higher costs forcing the price of many stocks across the globe to slide for a meal this means he's short positions which were losing him money are now suddenly in profits Oh keep going guys never wife me that's off there see it's good well off everything that I've complained about from one it is strange the way that the world center connected now is it is utterly bizarre that what he said his effects of meals portfolio I suppose I don't cuz I'm on aren't you think to yourself oh yeah you know I was going off oh [ __ ] I forgot to fill me caught up in the morning and the other hand you got thinking or else going off yeah I'm I'm either not losing as much money or I'm making some money I think it really brings out the bastard in here it's the first time the novices have experienced such dramatic market moves in one afternoon with well-balanced portfolios several of the traders have emerged unscathed but not Simon Rupert Simon am Xstrata please closing my short nine zero ninety 3644 unnerved by this volatility he's rapidly losing confidence in his portfolio remind me next time I open a trade with mining not to do it he's taken his book up which is great it's what we've asked for but he's doing it too quickly and he's out of control he doesn't do the work properly before he puts trades on and because he doesn't do that when they go against him he has no confidence tale of woe again you do get to feel weak they're out to get you you know whoever they are I mean why should mining rise for God's sake I mean it's just what they said in the psychology section of our training you know you feel absolutely like death warmed up when things go badly but ah God oh I'm tired not not crying just for the record but it just gets to you after a bit I have an uncanny knack for getting it wrong every time yeah [Music] the fifth week of trading after last week's extreme volatility a split has emerged in the group between those trade long and those struggling the biggest worry is expect Cleo who has just five thousand pounds invested from a possible fifty thousand shopkeeper amat is also struggling along with a rapidly declining Simon concern the investor Lex Van Daan paisa visits I did one morning with a man how's it go lots of [ __ ] news as is always the case in the bun market okay so this is the week where they need to make some money hmm in terms of trading P&L Caroline's actually the only person that's up so markets continue to be difficult I guess that's I mean that's one thing we have to say in their credit that it is not easy yeah in a difficult market it's a good plan to congratulate the best performer you are the best trader so far you know and and I don't think it's been luck at all you're doing the right things all the time from my point to you it's nice to hear you saying that you know I'm the best trader but what's very apparent to me is that you can be the best trader in the morning and you can be the worst trainer in the afternoon because the market turns and that's how that's how volatile the market is but that makes you the best trainer that you realize that right so well done Caroline's cool approach puts her at the top of the pile Mike's portfolio of arms companies and Emile's preference for branded names are also returning a profit but despite this the negative effects of Emmet's Cleo and Simon means the fund is down over 8,000 pounds the timeless piece of draggled on the desk right yeah ridiculous right now basically Cleo sent me at the end of the trading diary she wrote oh please don't they kept away from me I mean it's kind of nuts does she think this is summer camp either you know you would like to see a little bit more focus you know I don't think we can finish with eight people you everybody keeps doing it like this yeah I wouldn't be surprised if the pressure gets to some people and yeah people start throwing their toys yeah I don't mind if one or two or three people walk out because they can't take it so be it if things don't improve over the next few days Lex will have to take drastic action but by the next morning Simon is on the ropes as yet another trade looks to be turning sour what is it my baby Drax what's up falls on higher costs right so where do you expect this thought to go damn he's invested long into energy company Drax but higher gas prices are beginning to have a negative effect on its share price leaving Simon with an urgent decision to make ah it's just open 7:26 yeah right so what are you gonna do what's your strategies you're gonna watch it and watch it go down all day or you loose Elton gonna be flexible in you flexible in your thought process and Hoppus traffic I'll wait for an hour and then right what if it's at seven quid in an hour you're gonna sell them there yes right well if you're gonna sell them at seven quid in an hour sell em at 7:26 now like seriously think about what you're saying it's unbelievable nothing is unbelievable if you don't know what you're doing because your strategy there mate is if they go down I'll sell them if they go up I won't do anything fine decision I will sell them now now I know you're not I understand all that and I've done my best to react according to the circumstances I found them okay so far simons trades have lost almost 3,000 pounds better washing up run trading I think summing up the situation this is a good therapy I was pretty low yesterday and I don't win know where I'm doing I mean the shouting from Anton didn't really help you know he seemed to think I knew when I was supposed to do I was failing to do it but the reality is I didn't know what to do so it's not surprising I wasn't doing it as to whether I should have known that's another matter but it's it's hard going this hard going I am I really I mean I've given my all to this but it just doesn't seem to be working and I'm not sure there's so much more I can do about it the highs and lows of emotions you get in this business they're just horrendous aren't they without Simon the desk would actually be making money this week he's basically having a negative 120 percent influence I mean it's just it's insane if you're trading like that you're not doing a service to the rest of the team because you're just pissing away other people's hard work people need to get a bit angry and holding to one side like you're pissing away my hard work and that would be the conversation I'd be happy [Applause] we are under Russian invasion and the Russian of the patient right now never ever we will surrender never ever we will give our freedom and independence never ever will give any piece of our territory and three they will go to every part of Georgia I don't know they sent four planes and flew there no he said he shot them down very clearly yeah see now they must just control over the time you are five shutouts you Russian combat plane as week five draws to a close the Russian invasion of Georgia provides the team with trading opportunities companies in Europe with Georgian exposure to the front BP that BP pipeline runs takes sixty miles from it you've got a little short movie oh and close my game gas pipeline full of the so-called German military highway we're in week five so if you step back a bit and have a look where these guys have actually come from because they've actually started to trade like Papa traders Turkey Azerbaijan and Armenia the countries that border day Azerbaijan and Russia are close allies as of 3rd of July you see bp's right on that support line right yeah yeah could go right sir you know this is how you've got to think in trading and they're starting to get they're starting to get it ok I've got all the information about the pipeline here where it goes I'm I don't if it tells the Georgian conflict has unified the team has worked together to analyze investment ideas and boost their chances of making a profit yeah correct all bar one if you're trading futures it's primarily a hedge right yes that's what it's there for but iff is not a hedge is it is current I thought it was a basket of current no I with his confidence in shreds Simon is hidden from the crisis and is desperately trying to reevaluate his portfolio well when you say futures I was thinking of futures as in currency futures and that sort of thing no all right well you know we all learn we all live terminology right yeah okay right right right what's the point it's hiring to mate you know I come from IT in IT you write a program it works or doesn't work if it works it'll work like that forever yeah you know if it doesn't it's got bugs in it you could be fined about the banks are you fix them and then it'll work forever in exactly the same input you won't always get exactly the same output and that's the light the world I've moved in for 40 years but this is warm about organic precisely eat but even if the stock markets at the same level the share is the same level of every parameter is the same the output will still be different because the people that are trading from one day to the next but different because the human because they're human it's like almost efficient that's I'm used to having a rule book you know but you know pay are yes and these circumstances page 23 says you do that rip it off then you have the rule book safe okay and go forward in a completely different Ronnie I don't have to I honestly think I have to just back off I mean your trouble is when I do back off I still have no certainty that I'm like you to come up with better better strategy as a strategy if Hannah if Anton were such a tosser I'd be saying that to him but I mean you know what he's like you see you complete another tosser and I just find it ridiculous you don't hear words like that look for me very well no I know I you know I know it's how I feel I wish I could help you more yeah I do but unfortunately this is you this is a personalized for you with your thing hmm that's what's so stark about this business you make the decisions you stand by them you live or die by them well they're all just so many of them seem to be wrong you know [Music] red Clio is still having trouble placing trades the plan is to become invested but she's still not invested all her money and she's rapidly becoming a distraction to the others get in there honestly I used it over the penny and everything else it kills utilize position you've got I tried the right time yeah the bigger picture trade if you don't treat now clear your money will go what do we do about clear that what else can you say to her to get fully invested realize that you should get her booked up I know it's sad if you didn't offend I mean it's bits gone on for far too long it's like for weeks now Simon doing generally I think at this stage we need to maximize our opportunities and making money and he is not gonna make us money clear Simon our charity at the moment and I don't think we have lost time left for charity [Music] facing spiraling losses drastic measures are called for Lex Van Damme returns to take action as it's his money they're spending he has the power to reprimand suspend or even sack any of his novice traders to me you are etymology just a distraction and I found it quite difficult because I know you just have to take a punt and you just have to get in there but I'm watching like ten stocks and they're all on my watch list yeah but they're all at levels that I wouldn't want to buy them right now what sells and right now because I don't think they're in the right place to buy or sell but the issue we have is there's three weeks left I know right and you're not investing yeah it means like you're not gonna make a lot or lose a lot yeah so if there is no real use of you being here yes I appreciate that I can't afford to have you sit here for nine or three weeks I know employed to work no I appreciate that I appreciate that entirely I honestly I really appreciate those views I really do yeah and I really appreciate your views would you know because of you know we both really appreciate each other and that's really great no but you're not making progress I know I know it might not seem like I'm making progress but really genuinely I really am and the thing is yeah I just I just don't see the point in investing the problem is like we're having this conversation and you really appreciate my view but you disturbed me you're not gonna change your view anyway you can make your own rules and play your own game but this is like a different environment and you're gonna have to invest I believe so unless you tell me that you actually will I think it's no point in you being here yes I appreciate that in touch what is your conclusion from this conversation my conclusion from this conversation is I have to invest full stop Simon do say yeah for Simon it's time to face up to his losses this isn't working let's let's cut to the chase yeah it's making me demoralized unhappy you know I'm letting the side down I think I'm letting you down I'm losing you real money I appear not to have the right skills full stop I mean do you feel like you just had enough you feel you've been beaten you've been hitting your head against the wall too often the last time I had trauma like this was getting divorced you know another ten years ago I mean that gives our education of how you know awful traumatic I'm finding this experience so if you can't cut it and then so you basically putting the decision with me I mean I think I think it's time to quit I mean nobody could say you didn't go for it no Indira you weren't sitting here I lost needless to say for the police that I play you place the first tray yeah that's right and I thought it out it wasn't a random pin job you know but it fit didn't work no I just worry that's the way it is yeah absolutely okay man where's the pleasure I'm just closing everything for us yeah close them sort it all out yeah it's it's sad but well it's been an amazing ride and thank you for the opportunity that's about all I can say well Simon I can say it's been a pleasure yes to in toward the last no no I'm here to feel pleasure to have enjoyed the last a weeds review she looked really upset Cleo yeah because she knows she's at the bottom of the pile now that song is gone yeah it's always nice when you've got someone else in the office who's worse than you yeah [Music] I'm basically tidying tiling up going to the flat okay and then I'll chill out for lunch or whatever and then I'll come back here it I like that for we know about 4:30 yeah I think it's probably um probably best if the plans changed I don't want their week to start tomorrow no because then I move they're a little bit distracted to be honest with you but I just close today's trade yeah and then head off yeah close through those I understand it so today's trades and head off I just come back on 4:30 probably probably best not to bug in terms of in terms of drinks I just don't want to make tonight a goodbye Simon drinks if it if it just turns into that type of drinks then their Week starts tomorrow and it's um I wanted to stop now fine you know okay that's what you prefer that's that's probably by understand your motivation alright I don't take you personally no no don't I seriously it's not like that okay all right cool I just want to say obviously it's terrible losing a member of the team it's under no question no doubt that we all got on with Simon amazingly well and he's a top top guy great personality and amazing to be around in the office thanks very much and he's walking away from this with a big smile on his face you know trading just isn't for some people and and I think we should all give Simon a round of applause off the trading club okay right guys you know we have kind of wasted half a day so far to them it's as a team we need to get going get motivated get shop we've got fifteen days left and we need to make some money [Applause] they know the next two weeks are going to be tough and it can't take it no I don't know what's going on is not my manner of dealing with people that haze if he's not happy this is just the way the business works somewhere I should be keep you and I look to him always left right I have two more weeks left if you answer the question properly if they walk out then it just shows it's actually really difficult to make it to the end it's a fine line when it comes to being human beings and now you see all the people in the room responding to that city or no city and you can catch that next episode of million dollar traders next Tuesday at 9:00 there's more City chat over on BBC four now Gerry Robertson talks to be a boss really Walsh in the money makers and evan Davis heads into the world of risk in the city uncovered on Wednesday night at nine here on BBC two.
Million Dollar Traders - Part 3: People Vs Profit.
The city's novice traders are struggling to cope amid a global credit crunch. With just a few weeks to go, the gap between those who trade well and those who aren't is widening, and Lex Van Dam is taking decisive action against the weaker ones in the group. A number of the contestants leave due to disliking the working conditions, Lex hands out the remainder of his money and the remaining contestants find out how they have performed. At the close of trade on the last day, there are only three traders left, but will they manage to make a profit for Lex?
People Vs Profit Transcription:
Million Dollar Traders - Part 3: People Vs Profit.
Hello disappointing traders I'm looking at WestEd and bingo will get worse wlw like to sell 42,000 it's going down but don't believe me I'm shopkeeper oh I've just been walking wanna be sure this is a city trading room like no other because no one here has ever worked in the city before 9 under quid light black these eight men and women have been given 1 million dollars and two months to run their own hedge fund and invest in the stock markets as they see fit this is what whose experiences that money can't buy door lockheed-martin it's a radical idea created by one of the city's leading hedge fund managers Lex Van Damme I'm taking a youth risk here I need people who participate to also care a lot and if they don't care enough then I'll make sure they care they've had to trade during the worst economic crisis in a generation while some enjoyed success I think you've traded really really well so you should be proud of others had been pushed to breaking points Simon do say yeah and one trader has already resigned this was getting divorced I mean that gives our education of how awful traumatic I'm finding this experience I think it's time to dip it for the seven remaining traders it's going to get a whole lot worse we're gonna have to just slam the guys down who aren't gonna do so why should we keep you and I look two more weeks left right I have two more weeks left if you answer the question properly okay as if he's not happy this is just the way the business works whatever personal morals or dilemmas do you have yeah I believe taken home as they enter the final push to the end not everyone will survive either we get this out in the open and stop making major crappy judgments so make it snow each it is a meal because no I don't know what's going on you have a choice whether you stay or you go if they walk out then it just shows yes it's actually really difficult to make it to the end [Music] [Applause] over the last five weeks the credit crisis has sent shockwaves throughout the financial world 120 dark Lee's wrote off another 1.1 billion pounds in bad debt linked to the credit crunch and the mortgage market nationwide says the price of the average home is now nearly fifteen thousand pounds less than it was this time last colonists are expecting losses of as much as 1.7 billion pounds which would be the biggest loss comfortably in British banking history extreme market volatility means making a profit is almost impossible she's saying this is the worst trading environment the industry has ever faced many professional hedge funds are struggling so it's no wonder that for the seven remaining rookie traders it's been an exceptionally testing time and a split has emerged in the team between those with real trading potential and those who are struggling so far single mum Caroline has proved herself the best trader and has developed a real taste for making money by the end of week two I'd say I was actually starting to quite enjoy myself and then when you have some trades that actually make money you really start to enjoy yourself it's just a fantastic feeling and I suppose if you know if you're a gambler a casino it's it's like it is like winning it's absolutely brilliant drawing on his skills as a promoter and teacher Emil is also doing well along with Mike and ex-soldier who's loving his new life as a trader any job where you come in at 6 and the next time you look at your watch oh my god it's 4:30 you know and the markets just about so close that's got to be a good thing the youngest stars are he only 20 and from Tottenham he's a straight-a student and showing great trading skill when you're making money you just become really a generalised the excitement the excitement is what keeps you here ok good level to get up with very well done you live and die a thousand times in a week and that in itself actually holds a lot of value despite these successes because of the traders who were struggling the team is down over 10,000 pounds let's go guys their manager is ex trader Anton creel with only three weeks left at the morning meeting the atmosphere is tense your auto parts of course UK what's the biggest rising sector in Europe oh thanks I thought it was real estate index yeah forget about index points we're not here to trade index points we're here to make money um it's a 30 year old shopkeeper from Lincolnshire currently has the biggest losses in the group okay major market news who's got what joy start go for it go for it well just quickly on farm front things been quite quiet but one thing to note is Biogen which felt actually Asuna major market news is this major what get news no sorry okay it's not specific okay while X vet Cleo has been crippled by a fear of losing money and has struggled to invest at all have you got strategies I'm adding to content on it oh right you're out of it yeah yeah yeah yeah so have you got structure need to go bucket alright quite possibly quite possibly is it a strategy well if the results are good then I'll going on along because they've rarely really well cool should we go make some money is that resounding yes environmentalists Sam has also been struggling with life as a trader why feel most uncomfortable about didn't want anything is for the kind of focus on the end piece let's go make some money I find that really distasteful I just really don't like that at all but that is that is the bottom line really or for this for this business for what's been done here Sam's been attempting to trade ethically but he's lost money and now he's having to accept the fact that most traders don't prioritize ethics I've never really experienced it yeah there's no reason for them no it's only gonna be a hinderance there's too much to think about anyway yeah which is why as mike says that trading is never going to change the world there's no reason for it to of course it's not yeah I'll change my bank times my impression of what needs to happen in this world the changes we need to make is so totally at odds with the way that the financial world is it's going in tending towards you have to be cold and ruthless in many ways and I haven't seen a lot of incredible human qualities emerging from the people that I've seen who are successful at this game for ransom there's no room for ethics in the last big push to make a profit over the next couple of weeks what you're probably gonna see is the difference between those that can turn on the brutality switch and make some money and the people who are just here for the right if the desk is gonna make money we're gonna have to just slam the guys down who aren't gonna do it I think it will get ugly there's certain people in the group who are displaying traits of being on the brink of paralysis and if they do actually fall into that psychological mode there's no place for them on the desk with a million dollars of his own money on the line it's the investor Lex Van Damme who ultimately controls the cash and fate of the seven remaining traders Lex wants to enforce the stricter regime there's going to be more discipline in people being in the office yeah you know so they get their lunch between 11:30 and 12:00 itself they're just back on the desk and they're not going out for little coffees whatever they can go for coffee at 4:30 uh-huh tell them that you know shape up or it's not gonna work right cause maybe softy softy and never gonna be real and you'll see that leaders Lex has already voiced his concerns to expect Clio clear yes a he thinks the problem is that despite being highly intelligent she's too soft if you ain't a vet practice and you have a new person and this new person start crying every time there's an animal that's sick that comes in yes what would you do I haven't cried every time that show number what we could do if you had a person like that how would you deal with us I've given support you'd give them support okay what happens if the support didn't work I tell them to pull themselves together right and stop doubting themselves okay so I'm telling you you should pull yourself together we should stop doubting yourself yeah your capital is half from 50 to 25 okay as far as I can see you know you've been distracting the team you know you should focus on yourself while you're trading forget about everybody else don't go with your issues to anybody else anymore you cannot let emotions get in the way so you're going from 50 to 25 and if you you know if this week it's the same thing if you get upset that you start you know start talking to other people about it then you know then this is your last week okay so that's how it is thanks very much okay okay thank you having reduced his risk with Clio Lex had already decided to invest this extra cash with this strongest trader Caroline you are an example to the group so I'm gonna give you more money so I'll give you 30 which is partially taken away from other people yeah so if everybody starts crying around you and being depressed yeah you should just say well you know you are almost like the winner right you've taken this from other people it's nice to be given the extra funds to invest and for the vote of confidence having more money means you actually being told to trade more I appreciate that that is your duty now but now Lex has another headache eret Amit is so far placed 23 trades of which 16 have lost money you're not applying what you have been taught hmm it is to build a portfolio you look tired hmm you're the biggest loser in my portfolio mmm you are doing yourself a massive disservice if you cannot change you're gonna have to go obviously yeah you know if you lose a lot more you're gonna have to go if you can't change you have to go so like your portfolio like you know in two days you look very different to what it is now okay you know I can do it you can't just learn this through a book it's all about experience you know day in day out I do want to prove to myself that I can do this you know I don't I don't wanna walk I thinking I can't but like I said the situation I'm in at the moment is that you know when you've been kicked in the teeth every time you've got no teeth left you know I mean it's like almost okay I'm gonna smile anymore right leg still has a hundred thousand pounds of his money up for grabs he will decide at the end of the week who to trust with the extra cash and whether amitin Clio will survive at all as the traders get closer to the end of the experiment you look for us please can you see him buy me a hundred taken mile I'd like 200 invested to try to balance both geopolitical tensions with supply and the mage funds are privately owned investment vehicles that are designed to make money whether the markets go up or down the 4,100 fell more than 2% in the morning master the dark art of balancing the two and you'll make money whether evidence today that the housing market in the UK is set for a protracted downturn markets in the UK Europe and America and now open to the novices 7 billion dollars by selling its asset management unit no burger Caroline has 90,000 pounds to invest and the other strong performers Aki Mike and Emil have 60,000 far from being daunted for these four rookies trading has become almost second nature meals portfolio is going well and he's not short of new investment ideas it's open I said last night the only problem is he's run out of cash still rising it's rising sick what you want an endless pot of cash well you know we might be possible yeah oh that's just common Emil it's constantly under review ok cool right I'm actually doing quite well today and that's why when the mind is still more money you need to trust this that we'll do the right thing you know I'm in your hands aren't I it's not a big deal no no it's not a big dose will move on Monday as well I know it's not a big deal but when you find something right and if father dates what you originally thought it feels good doesn't it you know that you've been there yourself with that feeling course it does yeah exactly but what are you getting pissed off for I'm not just like you know I'm trying say keep me booked and make some money you're the type of trader who's just got itchy fingers yeah you want to deal all the time Yeah right you not me need to control that careful that's me being diplomatic Emile's problem is impatience but Cleo's is nerves how's your book looking clear well it's got three positions now what are you longer to you sure I'm long Tate yeah which I'm happy about what else sure is long si B yeah which I think is holding up considering the Tapani are you sure InterContinental Hotels ok they're not inputted yet if a trader buys long they're hoping a stock will rise if they sell short a complex process of borrowing selling and buying back shares they'll profit when a stock falls a good hedge fund trader must do both if they want to make a profit Cleo's been cautioned for not investing Emil wants to help we're trading two things who are who we flow in a oh this is good young Cleo it's still going off you spoke about this Abercrombie and Fitch is broken through it's down to 48 it's two dollars down is still going down a very good trading decks to have is when everybody's got very differing strong opinions you don't want to have a desk where everyone agrees on everything because everyone ends up short the same stuff and long the same stuff and then when you lose money the magnitude of the loss is always far greater good trading means following your instincts not other people according to ex-soldier Mike you have your view of the world and when you're trading you express that view by putting money on it and there's just too much consensus on the desk you know there's too many people in too many similar positions oh hi this is Carrie from traders under just goes for meaty SEO Tesco place tears I just get the impression there is not enough debate and people challenging other opinions on I'm loath to because I think people say it personally you know and they get up some trading is an unsentimental business with many unwritten rules such as how to deal with your broker when you call to place a trade how silverstern yeah I've really I've wrote Donington but on a motorbike yeah yeah yeah yeah yes I go sir who can you get me filled on that one over there 65 cities you see issues I like I like the plan sir with them as far as Anson is concerned the traders are here to make money not friends I'm frustrated with you guys because I just want you to get angry I want you to be vicious on the phone if you shut down the phone and you make them sit up in their chair they're going to get it right okay there's no downside to doing it there's absolutely no downside sell 300 at 750 four and a half thanks bye he's your seriously okay so he's not happy as your broker clear good management is allowing you to learn how to speak to these guys you've got your unique management style I've got my own way of David say listen listen right all however I communicate with people are always going to do it in my way because I'm always going to get the best out of people how I deal with them please guys get spoken to like this on a military minute basis every day does that mean it's right right it is right because it's the way the business works well does these guys no no these guys if you pick up the phonee just go by that Alex that amount by yeah like they don't take it personally it's not an insult it's their business what do you think I was what I've got no problem Bhavana I think it's rude personally huh I think food I think sometime never said calling and I think you did it's the tone yeah sure oh yeah you gotta be phone with them from the outset yeah and then if we take the piss out to you then you can go crazy right yeah but if you're not fun with them if you're not throwing them at all for the first three conversations they are gonna take the piss out of you yeah it's just in their nature while some enjoy the tough approach a cold there's your phone do this others find it less acceptable my job here is to get the best out of everybody and hopefully make everyone make money hmm that involves turning people into traders right my frustration generally with the group it's just lack of focus I've been in the industry for a long time right mm-hmm in terms of abrasiveness in the office in this business yeah for me it's like going around to my granny's and having a cup of tea right it's like it's part of the business almost like military get off my face I don't want any distractions I'm focused doesn't have to be like that trust me but I this is I have to be like that to make myself focused okay so that's you have to be like that's what but trust me when I say it most guys in the industry are like that doesn't mean it's right here's a load of you know somebody respects you will do what you ask them to do my speech so another human being in that way when there's no need for it it's all the bravado that's what it is but this there's so much bravado in the city in everything you do yeah it is I think it is I know after time and ends up being a pissing contest I think it though if you get like a high concentration of a man in one place at one time it's always gonna be like that and I think if you look around you the city seems to be high concentration of men yeah and most of our souls it's just a lot of [Music] there's still over two weeks to go and life as a trader is taking its toll on everyone Amy I think the boys the girls everyone's sick but for investor Lex fan BAM nothing not even illness should stand in the way of profit really well some and/or he were sick on Friday right oh he toughed it out and some went home early right all right I think the same bug husband has spread to Clio and uh and um it Cleo uh was sick three times last night that she's coming she said to me this morning if she's gonna vomit and she runs off the desk screaming it it's not because I'm emotional it's because I'm going to be sick no but she should just have to tell her that just put a bit next to her session maybe say most about it she'd have been next to everybody and this is throw up in the Vinland I have to throw up say like you know we don't want people like being off the desk all right because I might throw up if anyone who is close to throwing up together I'll go and get two bins um it's please apparently been vomiting all night I'm not happy my message is that it's gonna be really important to come in at the end of the day you don't have food on this portfolio you know it's gonna have to go okay at midmorning um it's arrives by just a bit ranging it's worst you know like you get you get off just like wish you could almost caught him with a collapse any minute right now yeah what would the symptoms just sickness hey did you Bobby yeah okay headaches Percy I perceive all right there's clear oh sure you should probably go to one of the drop-in centers in the Civic yeah yeah it's like 60 quid nothing consultation and I thought you ever I saw it yeah yeah I'll just go up at like go before lunchtime yeah all right it's just thanks last week Amit lost 1200 pounds from just one investment this loss has hit him hard and despite being worn by Lex to widen his portfolio and hedge better he's only managed to place three trades I've been being of quite a few times the last few weeks so this is one of those things you know you score take on the chin and move on the hardest thing is there's been like developing my portfolio I just got to deal with it you don't deal with it I've said you must call it a real chance here [Music] for Emil and Sam weeks on end stuck in an office as it times been a real psychological challenge if you feel like a battery chicken non natural life like it's timeless I know trusting myself made any decisions today either because Worley and their stuff and I'm tired yeah - not very good state of affairs so far Emil has shown glimpses of real trading ability and was rewarded with 60 thousand pounds to invest but today he's adding to Lex's problems that sin if that says 67 thousand yeah I was 64 thousand he's exceeded the cash limit that Alexis sent him a cardinal sin in trading I know what I've closed out and know what I've invested doesn't make sense like how do you want me to explain this - what do you want me what do you want me to say - because if I call him now and say you're over he's gonna blow his top whatever then I'll just trade out it this morning it's come to light that Emile's broken his exposure limits by 10 percent right I need to go and he didn't even realize the point is is like they left the office last night and they didn't even check their exposure or their P&L or anything right both Anson and Lex feel part of a meals problem is his friendship with Clio why did it happen because he's just not focused he's not watching his positions properly it's just going home and it's just getting too clear all day hmm he's been distracted again by her it's just very difficult to have them both in the office we just actually can't let this go today I think we can't let it go I know it's like we it's one step too far yeah he wants a spreadsheet right yeah that's not the trade counter yeah right I need to pull it together yeah it's a show cost value versus current value of your positions and exposure right okay it's fairly straightforward okay Lex wants to penalize a meal he's got to stop trading immediately and compiled a list of all his investments from the last six weeks a partner an hour later and Emile's had enough I'm not doing it seriously I'm not even doing it no I'm not wasting me time I'm not wasting me time I'm doing it because it's it's just you for this I wasn't 67,000 over yesterday I was 63 and a B then you told your 10% well you know you've got the sheet there now why don't you just send that one to Lex as it is no no I'm not even doing it seriously I'm not playing games I'm really not playing games with someone course PC a face like a child and they've run off the phone that does cuz that's what it became that's why it's being for the last few days and last week as well and we all know it and even admit it now there's a problem in dealing with me because he can't say a face-to-face it's absolutely stupid he has been rude to you you know and I'm really not happy about that it's mate all we're doing is spending all our time and pandering to the guys who are a joke it's always somebody else's fault when you up yeah you know hates me what can I can the DEF CON like I'm the one who do they look looking difficult I saw these people like you people today thing when you put people look at some like me it always appears that is what I'm like no it's not that me don't know one o'clock I haven't done no way about any trades yeah America markets open in an hour now I've got loads on there I should be looking I should be doing more things I wants to reverse my position in rim or not I don't know whether a fan cause it I've been making yeah but be mayhem only felt like you make nearly ten eleven days now and that's why I feel frustrated yeah I'm sure and I'm you know it puts all we the negatives which applause oh yeah that's a personality yeah hoping you're right but it's my fear no I don't want to want to be the center of something don't disrupt other people in a I don't want to be I don't want to have conflict we have a valid point and it's ironic because I brought it up today to be a ruthless in business well I told he wanted it needs dictate things are getting out of hand Lex is due to arrive tomorrow to distribute the remainder of his million dollars who gets the money and who gets the boot only Lex can decide [Applause] [Music] hey c'mon let's go for the past two months the seven rookies have been immersed in the world of trading why then from the top you ought to kick me off down that's not points my name check SP up not 0.55 Nasdaq up the end point O 3 Fe future their lives have become a routine of daily meetings financial data and portfolio analysis gold broke 800 overnight which is super significant support line if it breaks through that then all these hedge funds is going to start unwinding their positions cool I don't know what time his Lord and Master will be in today but I I just expect lets me at some point today as well this one doesn't give me yes the anyway but across the square mile at a breakfast meeting lexan and Sun are about to bring down the axe regarding a business there's only two weeks labs the downtown grounds it's not really getting much worse but it's also not improving so Cleo it seems like she's been copying other people's trades yeah as far as I'm concerned she's a smart girl she doesn't analyze but she's just not a trader so how about a mitt and it's hit a brick wall nature unfortunately for um at this time it's just too late he's hungry for the city life yeah the city lifestyle to set one day to turn around and say I'm a trader right but he doesn't want to do the work I just can't see how he's gonna make money Emil I think he's worth an investment does he think he's got a lot of potential he's been working hard he has diversified his portfolio however he's not what he made like a really big error and he broke his limit he seems to be totally distracted because of Cleo we've had so much patience yeah but we got to give ourselves a chance to make some money back there so the question is let do let go of Cleo do we let go of Amit do let go both markets may be the toughest seen for years but there are no excuses in the city you read the doing well or you're not and this fund this down of the ten grand Emil Cleo and Amit's are about to receive a blunt reality check so the question is hmm why should we keep you true those is your opinion of us listen ASIS I can't make you it isn't for you and I will endeavor to try my best and make some money but if you think I'm going wrong and I'm going to run pot then less you're just making yeah yeah I repeat the question why should we keep you why should we keep lucky to keep me I think you think for the past few days that Maya piano is moving in the right direction right and see for the pound three days you've done three tries three Johnny Vong was kind of new ish sure so so why should we keep you um I got two more weeks left right I have two more weeks left if you answer the question properly okay try to convince me hey at least one go yeah sure yeah no I mean I believe I think I can make some money out of this I want to express Alex I've worked my harder I can tell you right now I am working towards a goal which is to get my P&L back in because it didn't date one more person adding to the P&L on the plus side will be in your benefit but if I give their money to someone who's better there's even more benefit of course okay fine okay I quite like the way when he's put under pressure he actually stays pretty calm I mean for him he knows it's the final conversation okay positive yeah what next is Cleo what percentage of your your stocks are like you're not generated by yourself having done the work all of them I don't just jump on the back of other people's ideas if that's what you're trying to insinuate I'm not insinuating anything maybe you are the source of all ideas and everybody comes to you and then puts it on after you put it on or no other people have the idea and then you know you put it on after that let's take Nike yeah I actually spoke to Emile about Nike all right your meal have his own reasons for going into Nike but we had a son Reese obviously he did but I said have family noticed there's a hundred let's say a hundred thousand talks in the US have you read an article about Nike and he happened to also have his own name both put it on I I generate ideas and I do chat to people about my ideas just it the next two weeks I'm gonna be so much harder why do you want to put yourself through that Wow because it's there's not gonna be any niceties for niceties say anything else you to jump you have to jump oh yeah it's just the way it has to be because that's the way a trading room operates and whatever personal morals or dilemmas you have yeah I've Nev taken mine yeah no because nobody's interested okay fine so why should you stay I am returning I wasn't before but if you go on a progression journey then I've gone from not returning to returning so therefore in the next two weeks hopefully logic would say that I would continue to give you a percentage return on whatever money is invested in me you think you can do the de pressure yes if I'm dealt with in a normal manner the same as everyone out here you go again if I dad was in normal minute no doesn't matter like every like if you're on the trading floor you're always gonna think that your boss has it in for you no I think you're wrong okay I don't care what you think there's what I'm telling you yeah on the trading floor you're always gonna think have you been in training floor if you worked it for 15 years or for 10 years no I'm telling you not it's no longer an opinion this is just what it is your boss knows what is good so what ever Anton will say in the next two weeks it's just the way it has to be and that's why I'm worried about you that you actually think well maybe you can't deal with this I think I can okay we're gonna talk more okay okay thank you my resignation I'm not gonna do it you know when you have a trading position yeah yeah and like these are our positions really these people and you you end up being more praying instead of like just cutting mmm Cleo has made progress and it seems like she's emotionally pretty stable I think he's wrong she knows exactly when she has to display that she might be but when she's sitting at that desk she's all over the place we've forced her into being invested and 80% of her positions or replications from the rest of the desk know if he say goodbye to Cleo and she starts crying and getting upset I'm worried that Emile is gonna get like a hissy fit and he will walk out it's just wrong like this is not how a trading desk operates so why should we do it here right now you are actually quite talented I think but your fight for justice of like everything about it should be fair like in a city room you wouldn't survive but that attitude you're like and saying that I'm gonna be the person you throw the spanner in the works what in 10 it's going to affect the group and abuse no almonds if you do something that's negative to the group yeah you'll just go very simple I am worried that you're gonna do things that will be negative for you decisions will be made that you might not like but it doesn't really matter I just want you to just focus on that screen invest be smart come up with lots of ideas build a portfolio and do well Emile may be rebellious but he's a talented trader and Lex doesn't want to lose him so your new capital is gonna be 75 so you got 15 more which is the only message that you really should take away so what do you think good you know I've but where are they I know you are your own person and that's why you were chosen however our challenge is for the next two weeks to make sure the end of the depositor for you now yeah thank you now it's decision time either Cleo who's struggling to invest or amat who's down 3,000 pounds must go if I looked at that trading room on Monday so if you think about was it should look like on Monday if if he is gone yeah and Cleo are still sitting there it just doesn't feel right just like I just it just doesn't feel worth it doesn't work if they're both there didn't feels like we've made no progress yeah so I guess yes to go right okay how are you gonna how are we gonna put it - is she gonna cry she's gonna cry this is ridiculous let's do it hopefully in five minutes it'll be over clear Thanks nice so we've had long conversations okay obviously about the benefits of you being here or not being here we look at the progress you've made over the last six weeks and it's been like like pretty tough but I think it's it's it's not gonna work I'm sorry so that's the decision you just know the trader and it's just my case at all not at all okay yeah there's no point at all okay they don't want to over dramatize this right I mean it's not like someone has just died or whatever and in the last two weeks we need to make our money back why don't you just say what you think let's just be let's give everybody a fair chance you know there's probably no point now he's found I'll take you upset if it's any benefit to you we feel really bad about it you know we feel I tell you this gives us no pleasure this gives us no pleasure like it's the same it's like if you have a bad stock and you want to hold on to it you know you gonna have to cut and we've learned from experience if you don't if we hold onto our bare positions that we feel are bad positions you have to get out of the position know so we feel we have to get out of this position I appreciate that you know I did I just you know I feel in light of the fact that really I did quite well last week but isn't it like the best way for it to end that you feel like actually no you did everything you do every thing would be for me to have being given more capital that would give me more confidence you know when I didn't receive that this whole thing to me make sure you you weren't ready for what capital to be honest with yourself honestly I really was we went from nine thousand invested with a gun to your head to be more invested to 21 I did yeah so really without a gun to your head right you don't deserve more capital okay right yeah it just it can't be like that I appreciate right the frustration and myself and I'm really sorry it's okay it's fine it's forever leaf I hate it's much better if it just kept it alive but you want some water should I get you some water no no honestly I'm absolutely fine it's just I'm trying to stop myself from crying because it's laughing okay that's okay it's so frustrating because you're right I'm looking for that I'm looking for the perfect thing the whole time that is why I haven't been trading you know if you have to look at like who has the highest IQ you know there's probably two or three people in you and you're amongst them but you just know the trader sorry no don't worry honestly sorry okay um probably the best thing probably the best thing to do is limit the time spent in the office for now okay okay for a meal it's the last rule you know what people didn't call me in for I go I don't care what he said you okay yeah okay good she agreed that she had these chances and she didn't take it shall we call him in no he's still angry the mother's letting ponder you off your off I know it's a joke and they're all just waiting for it to say it's not a distraction or something else but it's it's I want to see what he does naturally without all reference if he walks your other station on know your decision clear up not your decision is he doors masse he's going with general emotional he's going he's pulling off his stuff yeah I know I'm furious no no no seriously clear it's not you honestly it's gone fine just chill and let's sing something buffer my decision our decision people spoke about no some masses seriously it's I'm it's not about you Cleo well ourselves honestly that's it fall out going salmon amid surprised everyone by walking out in a show of solidarity to not you know but it would appear like it wasn't you people have made their own decision it's just people about the north in general yeah but it's a serious nono Amy but nobody wears the Smeal please okay okay no no no no I'm speaking no let me speak yeah okay I understand where you're going with everything Holloway X in the city and everything else but there's a fine line when it comes to being human beings yeah and now you see all the people in the room responding to that city or no city it doesn't matter party you have the cop says we clear all right yeah I know yeah the conversation with you and I the comments they speak to her speak to clear I thought leaves connectional yeah yeah clear we'll explain to people it's not a conversation explain what Lex it's about being human it's about spend this six weeks ago well yeah what's not you seriously I said already please me being frustrated at my family oh and my you know it's not just to Clio it's not just about that letter to be honest I really have nothing to say cool not a problem I have nothing to tell a problem I do not know what the is going on here and what is the sentiment is in this room so either we get this out in the open and stop making knee-jerk crappy judgments no make it snow I don't know what's going on my choice whether I walk out this room is my choice I'm exercising my choice to walk out for yeah anyone else she's walking out the room it's exercising their own choice you have your choice whether you stay or you go no one is compromising you cool okay not a problem then okay I'm I'm going off you just like to say thanks very much very easy go stay to your core move the money I really think you should you've got two weeks left and you should smile it's opportunity hi this is me and you reach the point where there's a line crossed I've said that see for the last few weeks and it's just crossed it against a day it wasn't this it'd be something else trust me it would be something else and there's something else in there something else okay we can't be created in someone else's image or anything else it's just the way it is we always said this is really really difficult only very few people can do it if they walk out then it just shows yes it's actually really difficult to make it to the end I really you know what I feel so good Jesus Christ very very strange I didn't whether they expected O'Connor reaction same coincidence to me that the the guys who are losing the most most money have found the excuse to walk out oh yeah we feel great how happy I feel like you know they've got different idea of doing things it's the harsh way it's the city way but we're not city people right yeah I'm not compromising how I feel or anything else like let's say you sitting at a trading desk yeah and your best buddy has just be fired yeah I'll see him in a few weeks for a drink the only mistake we have made is we should have gotten rid of clear two weeks ago it's not like our best people left believe it oh he the Caroline every Mike the top three have stayed are worst people left people who actually losing money will try to find any excuse possible to get out of it because they're hurting none of us really want to be in an environment where people are treated really badly for the sake of making money so it's been real shame anyway oh he is upset by the wall cams okay what's your one fact is as much as I feel the empathy for the others yeah I'm in it for different reasons I want to stay to the end listen for a guy regarding your age that decision is incredibly mature seriously so do not feel bad about wanting to do well for yourself in this business I've seen a lot of people not being able to emotionally deal with it I've seen people cry on the desk of people you see people throw screens on the floor you know if people don't see people have a fit I've seen people walk out run out lose total control I've seen it all so to see four people get up you know it's not like oh oh this is really new to me I've never seen this before whatever I just think it's just stupid you know to walk out in an emotional men are like that just to say no I'm going I can't take this anymore I'm going it's just such a sign of weakness as a team the chance of me to make money over the next two weeks has gone up three times so I'm okay nobody has to worry about me those who walked have lost their trading rights over the next couple of hours until further notice could you only allow Caroline oh he and Mike it's a trade Carol on hockey a Mike yeah if anyone else rings up they're not allowed to trade okay no problem all right I mean thanks mate cheers play it's all down to the final three they are the traders now trusted with Lexi's entire 1 million dollar fund we now have zero distraction in the office the rest of the guys were losing money okay um you guys are left which is a which is fantastic so we need a strategy you're gonna be on 200 you guys are on 145 each we're gonna go through every single position and work out whether we should keep it or not okay I'm with TPT we need to come to conclusions which I won't want to try to British American Tobacco I don't want this ite I think it's a muppet position you know screw house he goes do you want to earn more tester yeah probably game well this is working out for you great who's got a view on the HMV game booth yeah yeah Cleo Tate together bascule yeah its place it's that good trait then I useless get rid of that useless there we do that yeah is this a toxic stuff budget doesn't utter maybe that's why is only made 2 pounds 50 Queen ten days after picking over the bones of the absent traders portfolios all it takes is one phone call the Reaper hires bikers liquor and over a hundred and sixty thousand pounds of investments are closed I make first execution obviously yeah they go up line for me Rupert come on cpt lent by two five zero zero B 80s Ln cell two seven four eight ite ln UL e by 200 ng backslash hundred away hello three cell seven mile zero by 900 G but done I really enjoyed myself today actually um maybe that's wrong with the other full gone and I should be you know but moaning they're passing but that's it's you know I can't I've got to get on with with this last two weeks you know if I want a job as a trader I can't wring my hands over things like that sorry Sam it's bad world with ten days left to trade the hedge fund now comprises a student a single mum and a soldier as the best performers that got to try and claw back some profit from the losses some of the others have left behind and see who overall will emerge as the best trader it's now the last day and the traders have until 12 p.m. to close all their positions let's go make some I think that you can't just look at stuck as something that goes up and down like there's an underlying story behind it learn how much everybody loves it or hates it how much people see their futures in it you can see all of the greed in this stock and that's quite amazing to see hi it's Caroline at traders I'm Whitbread I think you have to be emotionally very well balanced if you can't live with having that pressure on you then trading is not being oh just hit the bid four one one zero you don't meet this is a viciously viciously difficult game is absolutely horrible when the market isn't going your way bastard it's just some of the most monstrously uncomfortable I've ever been in my entire life 27 spot for 53 i sell 687 thank you and good night chase but but but done yeah we'll miss it yeah I really will really enjoy and it's just like it's just like soldiering you know when it's some it's really whole graft and you're really cold wet and muddy it's great after it skis you sort of know that you you survived it okay thank you very much Don 3000 sold at 3:51 okay that completes my book hey Don yes I am alright I'm not gonna watch it anymore I'm just gonna go into the black isn't it I'm not 353 now we're done superb so we're gonna crunch the numbers let's see how you got on [Music] Lexx Van Damme is about to deliver his last assessment to the traders before he does he needs their final figures the past two months have seen incredible market volatility even professional hedge funds have struggled losing on average almost five percent over the same period collectively this fund lost twelve thousand pounds or 2.4 percent so they've performed better than the professionals the most successful individual trader is aji who's made a trading profit of one percent most of the others you know you kind of know what you get with you you're just not so predictable so you know you have like really original ideas and you have definitely like moments of brilliance my fourth fight each other that's the one where so it's like it's almost like you have conflict in yourself it comes through in your trading yeah profit-wise you've been my best trader but if I had to pick one trader it wouldn't be you because like I feel that conflict and I'm worried like you know maybe it goes to Amway but I think that's the one thing that you think you gonna have to work on so you have a lot of potential in you I do think your natural born winner the fact is through all of the joy in the pain I did have a lot of fun it's like playing chess against you know the rest of the world yeah if like a really really high understanding of the game like a lot of people have tried it for a long time still don't get that you got it int in two months you understood it and you made money out of it so you are very talented Thanks no no great Mike also beat the professionals losing just one percent overall you focused you control to your risk you didn't get emotional you didn't behave childish you know so you were very dependable so I really think that's you know if you won't be in this industry I would really recommend you as a brilliant comment thanks very much Lex we've outperformed the hedge fund index that's the good news the bad news is I lost money so obviously I would have liked to pay you bonus unfortunately nobody gives me the cash to pay the bonus the upside was always going to be about the experience really it wasn't yeah you know the millions I like could've earned it was a really really difficult so you should not underestimate your own achievement that's fantastic yeah it's some so congrats and I should thanks Lex yeah well don't know done thanks mate for Caroline 0.5% profits so if you had to do this so like every day at this degree of intensity where you have to be in the office at 6:30 mmm and you've watched the market till 9:00 at night yep do you think that's like sustainable it's a question of I've got two young children I'm a single mother and they come first yeah so if I had to pick one place to come with me it will be you you know I would consider you the best trader I think if there was one moment for me personally over the last 10 weeks that made it worth it was when four people stood up and you were sitting there ever totally calm and collected so you know help broke out and you're sitting there and just like focus on your screen that's for me you actually was probably in the moment of the last ten weeks it was like totally amazing to have three guys in the end who we believe genuinely have the potential to do it it's fantastic we really actually can be proud in July I made point three percent in August I lost one percent so I lost point seven percent over those two months so you guys are before me and you've not done it before so obviously I have to sort of like start rethinking my whole existed so no see so you guys did seriously well since leaving the trading floor Sam Cleo and the meal have returned to their day jobs amid continues to trade at home in his corner shop using his own money Simon is making new plans for his retirement or he has returned to his economics degree Caroline is planning a new business venture and Mike is now running a vet practice but still hopes to become a professional trader one day from million-dollar traders to billion dollar bailouts in half an hour why does the car industry deserve special help are we entering a period of D globalization and Ian McEwan joins us to pay tribute to John Updike news nights right after the culture show from Scotland next I'll be dizzy too.
