Meet the Hopefuls - Million Dollar Traders - Episode 1
January 21st, 2009
Million Dollar Traders is a hugely exciting project, and interest in the City is at an all-time high. This program will offer viewers a fascinating insight into the pace of a City trading floor. The money is supplied by hedge fund manager Lex van Dam: he wants to see if ordinary people can beat the professionals, and he expects a return on his investment too. Yet no-one foresees the financial crisis that lies ahead…
Anton’s role is to manage the office, mentor the team, monitor risk and of course, report back to Lex.
See the first episode of Million Dollar Traders below, which played on BBC 2 on 12th January 2009. The next episode will air on BBC 2 on Tuesday 27th January.
Tags: BBC 2, hedge fund, Million Dollar Traders
Absolutely compelling viewing. The bit where the guy wouldn’t pause his breakfast for the start of trade was hilarious.
good , i saw ur tv show its exciting bro….cheers
Love your site!
just great Anton…well done guys!!!
Hi there, I just wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate you on such a fanatstic programme!
It is compelling viewing and it is great to have an insight into an industry that despite changing most people’s lives is usually shrouded in mystery! It is a place I would love to work some day too.
I have to say some of the traders infuriate me with their mistakes and just general stupidity though!! I mean who would just sit and eat breakfast instead of watching the screens when the market opened?!
Great website too, and good luck. I am excitedlyawaiting the next episode!
Regards,
Robert
The problem is, that ordinary people are not prepared as a result of their life experiences in general, to enter and survive the domain of trading. I will explain why. The reason is that nearly everything in ordinary life is to some extent or other, repairable, whether by apology, repair, reimbursement, reconciliation or whatever. The trading environment appears cruel to them, and devoid of comfort, with the verdicts that it delivers against which there is no reparation or appeal. They are not prepared for this. Therfore they persist in applying the protocols they have been apt to use all their lives which, for the purpose of trading, are not relevant. Ordinary people view this as a personal affront when they turn out to be wrong and cannot handle the situation using the protocols they use in ordinary life. Additionally to it being a personal affront to them through their viewpoint it is a shock. This stimulates them to become emotional. Emotion is very detrimental to the trader, because emotion impairs reason, and what is more, the ability to logically deduce and reason and ACT in accordance WITH that reason. Before tomorrow’s screening I already have a very good idea of who will make it and who will not. I find the programme fascinating, have recorded it and watched both episodes critically many times and find and observe some new detail every time I watch it again.
My compliments to you.
Sincerely,
Albert.
Hey, just want to say what a class progamme!!!
Have to say it is both interesting & addictive…
The timing is perfect for viewers, sadly not for the traders… it shows an insight into the world of trading beyond facts & figures on computer screens.
An interesting feature is the underlying psychology. They ALL decided to do the SAME by going short on Citi. The best piece of advice ever given to me was that when EVERYONE started to do the SAME thing, its ALWAYS a bad idea i.e everyone deciding to buy overpriced assets as of late… the whole market frenzy
A lot of my friends also found it very insightful, will there be any more episodes??
I still can’t get enough of the ‘like, seriously’s.
Katerina’s Comment….
It is very difficult for an assortment of novices bunched together to resist the temptation to share and not to contaminate each other.
Additionally one cringes to see long trades being placed in what is evidently a short market.
No one is born knowing, everyone has to learn, and what is more, we all have to teach ourselves to teach ourselves and learn to gain market experience.
Experience is a process of self correction and self governance of the highest order.
During this process mistakes are made, but the trick is to learn from them and not repeat them.
Happy trading.
Albert.
Thank you for the great one hour installments of gripping TV; my husband and I were completely hooked and it invigorated lively discussions and debates after the end of each episode.
Please make more episodes in the series!
Kindly,
Jane.
Fascinating programmes. HOPE you get to do another series!
I watched the final episode last night in a state of fascinated horror at how people succumb when emotionally stimulated by contradiction that they erroneously percieve to be wrong and how it affronts their personas via their ingrained perceptions.
The chain reaction of departures was particularly interesting and illustrates the points I made in previous comments.
This reaction was the perfect excuse for them collectively to bale out. If the departees had been sacked on the spot in the second episode none of this would have dragged on, but when a window of opportunity opened for them to leave they did so with very little hesitation, contradicting their immediate previous posture.
It has not gone unnoticed by me that the blame was placed on other shoulders but their own at every opportunity.
This illustrates why the majority are not suitable to become traders.
A further dereliction of responsibility was highlighted with all the laughing at the end, as if it is OK to walk away leaving behind a mud pie of their own making.
I am not surprised, but I nonetheless find the attitude disgraceful.
The problem is, that experienced, battle hardened traders cannot, hard as they might try, to clone novices to themselves, is my experience and therefore a futile excercise in general, with very few exceptions.
As one of my guys says..”when they first appear it would be handy if they carried labels on their foreheads”…..
But people don’t, and what is more, additionally, some are very skilled at guile, as we have seen, which makes the selection process even more difficult.
We are adopting the nomenclatures “conkers” and “muppets” in mmy circle as they are so perfectly appropriate.
Very very interesting.
Thank you Lex and Anton.
Absolutely great programme, well done, please do another series. It was the highlight of my week (which sounds very sad, but it was great)
I think the scouser just had the hots for Cleo! Wanted her to take the hint so he staged a holier-than-tho walkout for her sake. Loved the way Anton and Lex predicted it though…priceless! Bring on a second season guys!
Misha, if you yourself are a trader, and I mean a battle hardened pro, your viewpoint would not allow for sentiment.
Notice Anton’s comment of how, when Cleo is put on the spot she gathers herself quickly but as soon as she returns to the dealing room all the girly antics resume, dithering, attention seeking, posing, chattering, hesitating, deciding not to decide, preening, fiddling, twiddling, fannying about,and distracting all the guys, who are the target.
I was fascinated to observe how she was able to manipulate the perceptions of Lex and Anton for so long, until the facts were brutally made to surface.
Instead of interprting the decision made by two experienced traders correctly Emil now throws all the toys out of the pram. Funny.
There is no room for this kind of sentiment in trading.
Nor is there any excuse to walk out and leave positions running.
The manager now has to take precautions to limit possible damage by instructing the counterparty as who may trade from that point on.
Also, the positions are liquidated or kept immediately, which is the correct action to take.
The other two who join in the walk out do so because a window of opportunity presents itself for them to justify their actions to themselves.
None of this is new, it happens all the time.
That is why many may aspire but very few are truly suitable for this profession.
Sorry to bring down the ‘quality’ of ur comments lol, but I’m SO suprised tht this hasnt been said more already….ur totally HOT. Plus ur biog is pretty inspiring. brains and looks, wow x
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Mr Kreil, you have the formula that should be bottled!
Your programme was utterly engaging, thought provoking and frankly uber stimulating! You HAVE to do more! xox
I wholeheartedly agree with Fran!!! this programme is novel, interesting & sooo stimulating! more is defo required!!!
I would have to agree with t fran, katerina et al. I was wondering why I suddenly developed a facination with the world of trading….nothing at all to do with Anton. Reminds me of Al Pachino in his prime! See Godfather Part One for more details…
You know I meant ‘Pacino’ right?
What sort of trades do they use?
CFD’s? Spreads?
hey anton,just saw your head on a commercial!cant believe your doin it!its only just started here in aus i think.ill be checkin it out though.
ha! you love it wal !!!
Will there be re-runs of this show in the future? If so, when and on which channel?
I LOVE THIS FREAKING SHOW PLZ EMAIL ME I WANNA BE ON NEXT SEASON ILL DO WHATEVER ILL WORK REALLY HARD PLZ PICK ME NY IS ONLY 3 HRS FROM ME