In a another twist to the reality series format, hedge fund investor Lex Van Dam fronts up a million dollars to set up a hedge fund in London, run by 8 novice traders. The idea is that novices would do as well as experts. The series was filmed in July and August of 2008, which coincidentally, is also the period of the current financial crisis.
You won't find out much about the mechanics of trading in this series; the focus and the drama in this series is about how people deal with the mental stress of making decisions in a very uncertain environment. Intelligent, analytical personalities over-think the effects of their decisions and freeze (analysis paralysis), people used to acting on intuition do better, and those who can combine both and remain calm in the heated environment do best.
This series also captures the current reality of high-powered white collar work (albeit on a compressed time scale) where the traders are treated no better than battery chickens. In one telling scene, after one trader resigns, the team leader requests that there be no farewell drinks because he wants his team regain their focus by the next day instead of still thinking about their ex-colleague.
Both Van Dam and his team leader, Anton Kreill, come across as confident hard-headed fund managers who see their role as making the most effective trading team. You might not like to socialize with them but you probably want them to manage your money.
In the midst of all this drama, the results of the experiment
is inevitable: people who keep their cool make money.
Screened on SBS-TV on 2, 9 and 16 June 2009.
4 out of 5 stars.
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