Money never sleeps

Money never sleeps

Federico MARTINETTO

In this article, Federico MARTINETTO (ESSEC Business School, Exchange Global BBA, 2021) comments on a quote from Gordon Gekko in the famous Wall Street film.

Quote: Money never sleeps

The quote “Money never sleeps” is a famous line from the 1987 film “Wall Street” and has become a popular saying in popular culture. The phrase “money never sleeps” is commonly used in the context of financial markets and reflects the idea that financial activity never truly ceases, even outside of traditional business hours. This reflects the fast-paced nature of the global financial system, where transactions can occur at any time and from any location around the world. This concept is particularly relevant in the field of finance and investment, where the value of stocks, bonds, and other securities can fluctuate rapidly based on changes in market conditions or geopolitical events. As such, traders and investors must remain vigilant and stay informed about market developments, as opportunities and risks can arise at any time.

The idea that “money never sleeps” also highlights the interconnectedness of the global financial system, where events in one part of the world can have significant impacts on financial markets and economic activity in other regions. As a result, the ability to respond quickly and effectively to market changes is critical for success in the world of finance and investment.

Overall, the phrase “money never sleeps” reflects the dynamic and constantly evolving nature of the global economy, where financial activity never truly stops, and opportunities and risks can arise at any time.

Wall Street movie

Analysis of the quote

The quote “money never sleeps” can be analyzed as a reflection of the constantly changing and dynamic nature of financial markets. The phrase suggests that financial activity is always occurring, even outside of traditional business hours, and that investors and traders must be vigilant and responsive to changes in order to succeed.

One of the key factors that drives the ongoing nature of financial activity is the 24-hour nature of global financial markets. Financial exchanges around the world operate in different time zones, meaning that trading activity can occur at any time. This means that traders and investors must be prepared to respond quickly to market changes, even if they occur outside of normal working hours.

In addition to the 24-hour nature of financial markets, the phrase “money never sleeps” also reflects the rapid pace of financial activity. Financial markets are characterized by their fast-paced nature, with changes in market conditions or geopolitical events leading to rapid fluctuations in the value of securities. This creates both opportunities and risks for traders and investors, who must remain alert and responsive to these changes in order to make informed investment decisions. Furthermore, the interconnectedness of global financial systems is a third factor that contributes to the ongoing nature of financial activity. Events in one part of the world can have significant impacts on financial markets and economic activity in other regions. This means that traders and investors must be aware of global market trends and be prepared to adapt to changing circumstances in order to succeed.

From an academic perspective, the quote “money never sleeps” highlights the importance of remaining vigilant and responsive to changes in financial markets. By doing so, investors and traders can position themselves to take advantage of opportunities and manage risks in order to achieve their investment objectives. Additionally, the ongoing nature of financial activity underscores the importance of financial literacy and education, as individuals must be prepared to make informed decisions in an ever-changing financial landscape.

About the author

Gordon Gekko is a fictional character who appears as the villain in the popular 1987 Oliver Stone movie “Wall Street” and its 2010 sequel “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.” The character, a ruthless and wildly wealthy investor and corporate raider, has become a cultural symbol for greed, as epitomized by the famous “Wall Street” quote “Greed is good.”

In “Wall Street,” the protagonist, a young stockbroker named Bud Fox, is desperate to work with Gordon Gekko, who is a legend in the world of finance. Predatory, amoral Gekko is only impressed when Fox is willing to compromise his ethics and provide Gekko with inside information about his father’s company. Gekko makes Fox wealthy, but eventually, Fox regrets what he has done and turns state’s evidence against Gekko, who is sent to prison for securities fraud and insider trading.

For his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in the original film, Michael Douglas won an Academy Award.

Financial concepts related to the quote

The quote “money never sleeps” can be said to refer to three key financial concepts: the 24-hour nature of global financial markets, the rapid pace of financial activity, and the interconnectedness of global financial systems.

The 24-hour nature of global financial markets

One of the key reasons why “money never sleeps” is a relevant concept in finance is the 24-hour nature of global financial markets. Financial exchanges around the world operate in different time zones, meaning that trading activity can occur at any time. For example, the New York Stock Exchange is open from 9:30am to 4:00pm Eastern Time, while the Tokyo Stock Exchange operates from 9:00am to 3:00pm Japan Standard Time. This means that financial transactions can occur at any time, even outside of traditional business hours.

The rapid pace of financial activity

Another reason why “money never sleeps” is an important concept in finance is the rapid pace of financial activity. Financial markets are characterized by their fast-paced nature, with changes in market conditions or geopolitical events leading to rapid fluctuations in the value of securities. This can create both opportunities and risks for traders and investors, who must remain alert and responsive to these changes in order to make informed investment decisions.

The interconnectedness of global financial systems

The interconnectedness of global financial systems is a third reason why “money never sleeps” is a relevant concept in finance. Events in one part of the world can have significant impacts on financial markets and economic activity in other regions. For example, a change in monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve can impact the value of the US dollar and influence economic activity in other countries that trade with the US. This means that financial activity never truly stops, as the effects of market changes and economic events can continue to reverberate around the world.

Overall, the phrase “money never sleeps” reflects the dynamic and constantly evolving nature of the global economy, where financial activity never truly ceases, and opportunities and risks can arise at any time. As a result, traders and investors must remain alert and responsive to changes in financial markets and be prepared to adapt to changing circumstances in order to achieve their investment objectives.

My opinion about this quote

I like so much this quote because it means there are opportunities to make money at any time of the day. One reason why I find the quote appealing is because it suggests a sense of excitement and energy. The phrase implies that financial markets are always active, and that there is always something happening that can impact the value of securities or other financial instruments. For some people, this sense of constant motion and activity can be invigorating and attractive.

Additionally, the quote can be seen as a reminder of the importance of remaining engaged and aware in the pursuit of financial success. By suggesting that “money never sleeps”, the quote underscores the idea that financial markets are always evolving and changing, and that individuals who are not actively engaged in managing their investments may miss out on opportunities or be exposed to unnecessary risks.

Moreover, the quote can also be interpreted as reflective of the importance of hard work and dedication in the pursuit of financial success. The phrase “money never sleeps” suggests that financial success is not achieved through passive investment strategies, but rather through active engagement and a willingness to put in the time and effort required to stay informed and make informed decisions.

For individuals who are interested in finance and investing, the quote can be seen as a motivational reminder of the importance of remaining engaged and committed to achieving one’s financial goals. It encourages individuals to remain vigilant, respond quickly to changes in financial markets, and continually seek out opportunities to maximize their returns.

In conclusion, the quote “money never sleeps” can be appealing for a variety of reasons, including its suggestion of excitement and energy, its reminder of the importance of remaining engaged and aware in the pursuit of financial success, and its emphasis on the importance of hard work and dedication.

Why should I be interested in this post?

The quote “Money never sleeps” relates to the SimTrade certificate in different ways.

Concerning the practice by launching the Efficient market simulation, you will practice how information is incorporated into market prices through the trading of market participants and grasp the concept of market efficiency. By launching the Sending an order simulation, you will practice how financial markets really work and how to act in the market by sending orders.

Regarding the theory for example by taking the Market information course, you will understand how information is incorporated into market prices and the associated concept of market efficiency. By taking the Trade orders course, you will know more about the different type of orders that you can use to buy and sell assets in financial markets.

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

All posts about Quotes

▶ Akshit GUPTA Analysis of the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

▶ Kunal SAREEN Analysis of the Wall Street movie

Useful resources

SimTrade course Trade orders

SimTrade course Market information

SimTrade course Leverage

SimTrade simulations Efficient market

About the author

The article was written in April 2023 by Federico MARTINETTO (ESSEC Business School, Exchange Global BBA, 2021).

Analysis of the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Analysis of the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Akshit Gupta

This article written by Akshit Gupta (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022) analyzes the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) and explains the key financial concepts related to this movie.

The Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps movie released in 2010 is an American financial drama film and a sequel of the famous Wall Street movie (released in 1987). The story of the movie is set around the 2008 financial crisis and depicts the financial markets prevalent in the USA.

Key characters in the movie

  • Gordon Gekko: a famous Wall Street investor
  • Winnie Gekko: the daughter of Gordon Gekko and the owner of a non-profit news website
  • Jacob Moore: a famous trader at Keller Zebel Investments
  • Louis Zabel: Managing Director at Keller Zabel Investments
  • Bretton James: Head of Churchill Schwartz
  • Bud fox: a former investor at Bluestar Airlines

Summary of the movie

The movie starts by showing the release of Gordon Gekko, in 2001, from the Otis Federal Prison where he has been serving his 8-year long prison sentence owing to his involvement in insider trading and securities fraud in late 1980s. During his time in the jail, Gordon Gekko had been working on a book named “Is Greed Good?” which he started promoting in 2008, signaling the market about a possible economic downturn. The television promotion done by Gordon was seen by her daughter, Winnie Gekko, who is running a small non-profit news website and is dating a famous trader working at Keller Zabel Investments, named Jacob Moore.

Picture 1

Jacob, an idealist stock trader, is helping Dr. Master, in-charge of a fusion research project at United Fusion Corporation, to raise money and help the world move towards a cleaner source of energy.

As predicted by Gordon Gekko, the US financial markets starts dwindling and Keller Zabel Investments loses 52% of their market capitalization within one week and is forced to seek a bailout package from other banks on the Wall street. But to his dismay, his efforts are proved worthless when Bretton James, the head of a rival firm named Churchill Schwartz, blocks his efforts by stopping other banks to provide a bailout package stating moral hazards. Bretton had a long ongoing rivalry with Louis which dated back to the early days of the DotCom Bubble when Bretton’s firm had a significant exposure to the tech companies. His bank approached Keller Zabel Investments for a bailout, which was rejected by Louis James. Following the fall of Keller Zabel Investments, Louis commits suicide by jumping in front of a train at the station. Everyone in the industry is shocked by the sudden demise of the managing director of Keller Zabel Investments.

Hearing the news about Gordon Gekko’s lecture at Jacob’s alma-mater, Jacob decides to give it a visit. He gets inspired by the speech given by Gordon Gekko and tries to meet him. Soon, Gekko tells Jacob about the involvement of Bretton James in the fall of Keller Zabel Investments (KZI) and the death of his mentor, Louis James. Learning about this, Jacob and Gordon enter into an agreement where Jacob agrees to arrange for a meeting between Gordon and her daughter, and Gordon agrees to dig in for more information about Bretton’s involvement in the fall of the KZI.

Motivated to seek revenge, Jacob spreads false information and rumors to manipulate the market for the stocks of Churchill Schwartz which leads to Bretton losing over $120 million. Impressed by Jacob’s confidence, Bretton offers him a job in his company. Soon, Jacob wins the trust of Bretton when he pulls in a huge amount of investments from Chinese Investors for his Fusion Research Project.

The financial markets start to bleed globally when the subprime mortgages market crashes. Bretton’s company asks for a bailout package from the US Government. Soon Jacob comes to know that Bretton is diverting the funding received from the Chinese Investors to some other solar project and he decides to leave the firm. He visits Gordon who informs him about the profits Bretton has made by betting against the subprime mortgages market by using credit default swaps (CDS) before the crash and at the same time received a bailout package from the US Government.

As said ‘Money Never Sleeps’, Gordon soon deceits his future son-in-law Jacob by wrongfully diverting the funds held in her daughter’s bank account in a Swiss Bank by misleading Jacob. Hearing this news, Winnie breaks up with Jacob and moves on.

Gordon utilizes the $100 million that he received by deceiving Jacob and starts an investment firm in London. He becomes a famous person again with his firm generating $1.1 billion returns on the initial investments.

With the motive to seek revenge, Jacob gathers all evidence against Bretton for his involvement in different frauds and asks Winnie to publish the news on her website. Once the news comes out, Bretton is convicted of several charges and gets fired from his company, Churchill Schwartz.

Following the removal of Bretton, Gordon’s firm enters into a partnership agreement with Churchill Schwartz. The tables turned and Gordon becomes a famous player in the market. In the end, Gordon apologizes to her daughter and Jacob, and is shown to be living a happy life.

The relevance of the Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps movie for the SimTrade course

The Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps movie relates to the SimTrade certificate in many ways:

About theory

    • By taking the Trade orders course, you will know more about the different type of orders that you can use to buy and sell assets in financial markets.
  • By taking the Market information course, you will understand how information is incorporated into market prices and the associated concept of market efficiency.

Take SimTrade courses

About practice

    • By launching the Sending an Order simulation, you will practice how financial markets really work and how to act in the market by sending orders.
  • By launching the Efficient market simulation, you will practice how information is incorporated into market prices through the trading of market participants, and grasp the concept of market efficiency.

Take SimTrade courses

Famous quote from the Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps movie

“Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs? They get slaughtered.” – Gordon Gekko

Trailer of the Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps movie

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

All posts about Movies and documentaries

▶ Kunal SAREEN Analysis of the Wall Street movie

▶ Marie POFF Film analysis: The Wolf of Wall Street

About the author

Article written by Akshit Gupta (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022).

Film analysis: Too Big To Fail

Film analysis: Too Big To Fail

Foreward

A pervasive moral stigma follows the financial sector, which has a dogged reputation for unethical and illegal behaviour. However, the ethical lapses often associated with finance are not always intentional. Instead, a contributing factor is that the teaching of finance and other business disciplines presents the challenge of linking theories and conceptual models to the “real world”. Entertainment media – such as films or books – are useful in this aspect as case studies; they provide students with an organisational frame of reference to better understand both situational contexts, and importantly, the human dimension behind financial numbers.

Marie Poff

This article written by Marie POFF (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2020) analyzes the Too Big To Fail film and explains the related financial concepts.

“Too Big to Fail” is a dramatic retelling of the near collapse of the US banking system during the 2008 financial crisis. No-one saw the financial crisis coming, nor knew how to deal with the disaster when it arrived. This film follows financial leaders US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke as they try to protect a faltering U.S. economy, and eventually offer a no strings bailout, but leaves Paulson wondering if banks will lend. The issue of moral hazard is explored and begs the question, should banks really be too big to fail?

Film summary

“Too Big to Fail” gives a behind the scenes look at the conversations between major players during the 2008 financial crisis from March to mid-October. In 2008, Lehman Brothers were on the verge of collapse and its CEO Richard S. Fuld Jr. blamed the declining share price on short sellers, refusing to recognize his bank’s weaknesses. Instead, he sought a cash fill from Warren Buffett, and even pursued mergers with Bank of America (BOA) and Barclays. Treasury Secretary Henry Hank Paulson rejected the use of public money to save Lehman, and so in September 2008, Lehman filed for bankruptcy. However, shortly afterwards, Paulson announced AIG’s $85bn bailout, confusing investors with this message. Lehman could fail, but AIG couldn’t? In response to a deteriorating economy, Paulson pushed forward a plan where the US government purchased $500bn worth of toxic assets. After failing to pass congress, he redrafted the plan to assume direct ownership of stocks in banks. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was hence created to normalise banks and increase investor confidence, putting the market back on the path to recovery.

The Wolf of Wall Street movie

Financial concepts from the Too Big To Fail film

Too Big to Fail (TBTF)

The name of this film is a financial term referring to institutions which are so large and essential to the functioning of the economy that they cannot be allowed to collapse, no matter the cost to the taxpayer. This was the logic behind the $182 billion bailout the US government provided to AIG, for example, along with the relief funds directed to titans like JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and the Big Three automotive companies.

Moral hazard

Moral hazard is a term used to describe how if a party is protected from risk, they will increase their risk tolerance and act less cautiously. In the context of banking, if the leaders of major banks feel confident that they are too big to fail – that is, that the government will bail them out – they will make increasingly risky decisions with the confidence that taxpayer dollars will rescue them if their bets go bust.

Bear Stearns

One of the first banks to fail, Bear Sterns’ hedge funds had accumulated over $20 billion in collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) and exposure to other toxic assets. In March 2008, due to the subprime mortgage crisis, Moody’s downgraded Bear’s MBS to Grades B and C (junk bond levels) and triggered a bank run leaving Bear with only $3.5 billion in cash. As Bear relied on repurchase agreements (short-term loans) – meaning it traded its securities to other banks for cash – Bear imploded when other banks called in their repos and refused to lend more. Bear’s insolvency forced a rescue organised by the Federal Reserve, where JPMorgan Chase bought out the bank for $2 a share (one month prior to this share price was $48). Bear’s demise triggered a panic on Wall Street and caused a banking liquidity crisis, where banks became unwilling to lend to each other. This is often used as a marker for the beginning of the 2008 financial collapse.

Lehman Brothers

On September 15th, 2008, the investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. It was the biggest filing in U.S. history, with Lehman’s holding $691 billion in assets at the time. By the end of trading that day, $700bn had been wiped off the global stock markets. The Dow Jones had plummeted 500 points, its biggest drop since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Lehman then sold its IB and capital markets operations to Barclays, kickstarting a global liquidity crisis.

Government Bailout (TARP)

A $700 billion bank bailout bill was signed on October 3, 2008 and was used to establish the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). The fund was used to launch the Capital Purchase Program, which included buying $105 billion in preferred shares in Chase, Wells-Fargo, Goldman and five other leading banks. The insurance giant AIG had also become a major seller of credit default swaps to boost its profit margin, which insured the assets that supported corporate debt and mortgages. If AIG went bankrupt, it would trigger the bankruptcy of many of the financial institutions that had bought these swaps. TARP funds contributed $67.8 billion to the $182 billion AIG bailout, and also used $80.7 billion to bailout the Big Three auto companies.

Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

In addition to the TARP, $75 billion was put aside to help homeowners refinance or restructure their mortgages. HOPE NOW required the Treasury Department to both guarantee home loans and assist homeowners in adjusting mortgage terms.

Great Financial Crisis (GFC)

Although TBTF banks were not the sole cause of the recent financial crisis and Great Recession, given the scale of job losses, home foreclosures, lost savings and costs to taxpayers, there is no question that their presence at the centre of the financial system contributed significantly to the magnitude of the crisis and to the extensive damage it inflicted across the economy.

Key insights for investors

Banking reform

Major changes were made to prevent another financial crisis, including introducing stricter capital requirements and ensuring banks are less interconnected or vulnerable to contagion. However, some familiar risks are creeping back, and new ones have emerged as global debt continues to grow – for many countries, the combination of large debts in foreign currencies and weakening local currencies is becoming harder to sustain.

Significance of politics

A key takeaway is the intertwined relationship between politics and finance. Moral hazard asserts that ties between bankers and politicians create dangerous incentives for both parties and indicates the importance of observing not just numbers in our market research, but also non-quantifiable factors which influence expectations.

Learn from the Past

Note that “too big to fail” is a phrase still used today in finance and big business. For example, “Is Facebook too big to fail?” As well, while significant progress has been made to strengthen financial systems internationally, the biggest banks are most likely still too big to fail. It’s useful to be aware of this potential risk to an economy when considering the roles that massive companies and institutions play in our society. Economists will always speculate that we may be “overdue” for another crisis and learning from the past is the best way to prepare for the next crisis.

Relevance to the SimTrade certificate

SimTrade is your introduction to the global financial market; through a combination of theory and simulations, you learn to develop your confidence in your decision making and critical thinking skills. The course teaches you how to analyse the impact of events on expectations and stock prices, eventually teaching you how to build a position and make the market work for you.

Famous quote from the Too Big To Fail film

Paul Giamatti: “I spent my entire academic career studying the Great Depression. The depression may have started because of a stock market crash, but what hit the general economy was a disruption of credit. Average citizens unable to borrow money, to do anything. To buy a home, start a business, stock their shelves.”

Trailer of the Too Big To Fail film

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

All posts about Movies and documentaries

▶ Akshit GUPTA The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers (2008)

▶ Akshit GUPTA Analysis of the Margin Call movie

▶ Marie POFF Film analysis: The Big Short

About the author

Article written in November 2020 by Marie POFF (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2020).

Film analysis: The Wolf of Wall Street

Film analysis: The Wolf of Wall Street

Foreward

A pervasive moral stigma follows the financial sector, which has a dogged reputation for unethical and illegal behaviour. However, the ethical lapses often associated with finance are not always intentional. Instead, a contributing factor is that the teaching of finance and other business disciplines presents the challenge of linking theories and conceptual models to the “real world”. Entertainment media – such as films or books – are useful in this aspect as case studies; they provide students with an organisational frame of reference to better understand both situational contexts, and importantly, the human dimension behind financial numbers.

Marie Poff

This article written by Marie POFF (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2020) analyzes the The Wolf of Wall Street film.

The movie The Wolf of Wall Street is the true story of how rags-to-riches trader Jordan Belfort started with an OTC brokerage firm using pump and dump schemes, but eventually became a main player on Wall Street, where he launched the IPOs of several large companies. This black comedy shows Belfort’s rise to the high-life and excess of Wall Street, followed by a sharp fall involving crime and corruption – all while being seriously entertaining.

Film summary

The movie The Wolf of Wall Street follows one of Wall Street’s most infamous brokers, Jordan Belfort, who makes a fortune by defrauding investors out of millions. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film starts with Belfort as an entry-level stockbroker at a Wall Street brokerage firm, where he is schooled on their cut-throat selling techniques. After a major market decline, he loses his job and goes to work for a small business selling penny stocks. After discovering the higher commission on penny stocks, he establishes his own firm, Stratton Oakmont, where he sells penny and IPO stocks with speculative returns. Jordan builds a business empire by presenting himself as a polished entrepreneur and training his employees on effective selling techniques. He is soon living the high life and becoming one of the major players on Wall Street, but soon discovers the dark side of success when he blurs ethical boundaries, quickly falling into a world of crime and corruption.

The Wolf of Wall Street movie

Financial concepts from the The Wolf of Wall Street film

Penny stocks

Penny stocks are low-priced stocks that do not trade on major stock exchanges and are issued by companies that typically do not publish financial statements. These trade anywhere from a fraction of a cent to a few dollars, and because the market capitalization, stock price, and the daily volume of these stocks are quite low, they are highly vulnerable to manipulation. For example, a sudden large volume of purchase or sale could cause the price to drop by triple-digits in a single day.

‘Pump and Dump’ schemes

‘Pump and Dump’ penny stock schemes are explained as the manipulation of the market through the accumulation of shares from penny stock or other companies, which are then stored in secret accounts. Investors are then ‘cold called’ to convince them that these companies are potential stocks for investments. The influx of purchasing orders would rapidly inflate the price, assuring investors that the shares are showing bullish behaviour. Belfort’s firm was a type of boiler room, with a team that pressured investors to place their money into highly speculative securities. At its peak, the firm is said to have employed about 1,000 stockbrokers overseeing more than $1 billion worth of investments.

Sales vs financial advisors

While working at L.F. Rothschild in the 1980s, Belfort is quickly taught that a stockbroker’s only goal is to make money for himself. Brokers seemed to focus on selling stocks and generating sales commissions, instead of advising clients on the financial risk of an investment or suitability for their portfolio. Belfort and his team are depicted as sales professionals, not financial ones, who are trained to sell investments at the expense of the client. Today, it’s still debatable whether financial professionals should be held to a fiduciary standard, requiring them to act in the best interest of a client, rather than simply providing a product.

Key insights for investors

Too good to be true: be your own investment expert

As the saying goes; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Especially for beginners to the stock market, it’s important to remain clear-headed about your investment decisions and do your own research. Many of Belfort’s victims trusted him and invested all their life savings in ‘guaranteed’ stocks. Even with an advisor, it’s useful to understand financial markets and strategies, perhaps by at first investing small and diversifying your portfolio.

Legal vs ethical behaviour

Legal standards are the rules which govern the financial sector; but while something can be legal, it may not always be ethical. Belfort’s company was within the law when selling penny stocks, but not fully disclosing the speculative nature of the stocks was completely unethical. While he started by simply blurring this line, Belfort soon crossed the line and was convicted for not following securities regulations. Ethical business practices are the foundation of trust and goodwill; it’s important to take responsibility for your actions.

The road to success

While perhaps not the best role model, Belfort shows that long-term success is not a straight road. He experienced both failures and successes before reaching the height of his career on Wall Street. Losing his job lead to him starting as a stockbroker, and even after going bankrupt and serving time in prison, Belfort finished his sentence and turned his strength in sales and communications into a career as a motivational speaker. Financial mistakes can be rectified and instead become lessons for success. The most important step a person can take, is the next one.

Relevance to the SimTrade certificate

SimTrade allows you to make mistakes in a simulated setting, without suffering the financial consequences of trading with your personal funds. This course teaches you how to analyse the impact of events on stock prices and understand important concepts like market efficiency. As well as theory, you practice building a position, liquidating a position, and how to make the market. SimTrade is the best way for you to take risks, make mistakes, and learn how to make the best decisions for your portfolio.

Famous quote from the The Wolf of Wall Street film

Jordan Belfort: “Sell me this pen.”

Trailer of the The Wolf of Wall Street film

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

All posts about Movies and documentaries

▶ Akshit GUPTA Analysis of The Wolf of Wall Street movie (another analysis)

▶ Alexandre VERLET Working in finance: trading

▶ Akshit GUPTA Market manipulation

About the author

Article written in November 2020 by Marie POFF (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2020).

Film analysis: The Big Short

Film analysis: The Big Short

Foreward

A pervasive moral stigma follows the financial sector, which has a dogged reputation for unethical and illegal behaviour. However, the ethical lapses often associated with finance are not always intentional. Instead, a contributing factor is that the teaching of finance and other business disciplines presents the challenge of linking theories and conceptual models to the “real world”. Entertainment media – such as films or books – are useful in this aspect as case studies; they provide students with an organisational frame of reference to better understand both situational contexts, and importantly, the human dimension behind financial numbers.

Marie Poff

This article written by Marie POFF (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2020) analyzes the The Big Short film and explains the related financial concepts.

The film “The Big Short” recounts the subprime housing bubble which lead to the financial crisis in 2008. Through a compelling storyline, the complexities of the financial market – including CDOs, mortgage backed bonds, and the reckless trading of complex derivative instruments – lead to the subsequent financial collapse of the US housing market.

Film summary

“The Big Short” directed by Adam McKay and based on the best-selling book by Michael Lewis, explains how the subprime housing bubble, caused by increasingly risky subprime mortgage bonds, lead to the 2008 financial crisis. The danger was hidden such that only a few players predicted the collapse and used it to “short” the market. Once the bonds failed, the value of billion-dollar securities dropped to nothing, which bankrupted major investment banks and forced a government bailout to prevent economic collapse.

The film is presented as three concurrent stories about the investors who realised the risk of the subprime housing bubble and predicted the 2007 housing market crash. Wall Street investor Michael Burry realised that many subprime home loans packaged in the bonds were in danger of defaulting, and bets against the market with one billion dollars in credit default swaps. We also follow the stories of banker Jared Vennett, hedge-fund specialist Mark Baum, and two younger investors – Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley – who work with retired banker Ben Rickert. After reading Burry’s findings, they also make a series of successful bets and profit off the downfall of the economy.

The subprime housing bubble caused worldwide chaos as banks entered a liquidity crisis, stock markets crashed, reputable companies collapsed, and millions suffered in the wake of the disaster. The crisis was felt worldwide, irrespective of your position and whether you benefited, survived or lost everything you’d worked towards. This movie helps those who aren’t in the financial sector, understand exactly what happened.

The Big Short film

Financial concepts from the The Big Short film

Financial derivatives

Leverage

Financial leverage can be used to increase (expected) profits but also increases risk by accentuating the gains and losses of a market position. When the largest banks and financial institutions in the world leveraged using derivatives, CDOs and other highly complex securities – the exacerbated losses can lead to collapse.

CDO

A Collateralised Debt Obligation (CDO) is essentially the repackaging “old” products as new, by the securitisation of loans into a product sold to investors on the secondary market. Another example are synthetic CDOs, which essentially bets on the direction the market is going to take and amplifies the monetary gain of a bullish market, but heavily exacerbates the losses from a bearish one.

Subprime Mortgage Backed Securities

Subprime mortgages are a loan to borrowers with a low credit rating, which increases the risk that they will default. Tranches in subprime mortgage-backed bonds are when subprime mortgages are mixed with top-rated mortgages, which effectively hides their risky nature from unsuspecting customers. These top-rated securities could not stand when the subprime mortgages failed, but the danger was looked over even by the banks who sold them.

‘Shorting’ the market

By predicting the danger of mortgage-backed securities and expecting defaults on subprime mortgages, some investors profited from the crisis through credit default swaps. However, this does not mean shorting the market is a good idea. As said by J.M. Keynes; the market can stay irrational much longer than you can stay solvent. Due to unpredictable factors such as politics, going short is a bet that can run out of time – even with a simple options strategy, your options will eventually expire. Sticking with a long term, value-based approach eliminates that problem. Keep short investments on the side to meet short term cash flow needs, but also know that a quality company will generate profits, dividends, and market returns over the long term, without ever expiring.

High Risk vs High Reward

Why did the banks making the loans expose themselves to subprime borrowers at such high levels? Because high-risk borrowers also offered high rewards. Before home prices imploded and the labour market tanked, banks were able to charge sufficiently high interest rates on loans to subprime borrowers which more than overcame the costs of their higher default rates. This combined with the banks’ ability to securitize loans and sell them meant that banks thought their risks were mitigated. Instead they focused on how higher subprime interest rates could boost their margins and profits. However, those default rates eventually grew too high for any interest rate to justify the risk, and the entire system collapsed.

Impartial assessors

Impartial regulators and assessors are critical to the safe functioning of the financial sector. A contributing factor to the crash was years of financial malfeasance and incompetence among the top salesmen and executives among Wall Street’s largest banks. Conflicts of interest and abuse of power by the banks meant credit rating agencies as well as professionals supposedly managing CDOs for the benefit of the customer, were in fact working in the bank’s interest. This fraudulent system meant the credit rating agencies were rating housing debt securities highly, right up until the crash.

Counter-party risk

This simply means the risk of the other party, if their investments are not able to pay out when the time comes. An example is how Baum and Geller bet against the banks, but when the crisis hit the banks eventually went bankrupt – these two investors had to be careful about receiving payment before the banks became insolvent.

Key insights for investors

Trust your instincts

It’s important to do your own homework and trust your instincts. Despite external pressure, the investors shorting the market held their ground, ensuring their investments paid off in the long-term. When the numbers go up and down, it’s important to be patient and study the reasons behind any change. While investment advice is useful, the incentives of others may conflict with yours. It’s your money, and just because an opinion is popular, doesn’t mean its correct.

See the reality

When buying securities, it’s vital to understand the reality of what the numbers represent – real people, real companies. In the film, we see workers paying off loans for three properties at varying rates, and how the incentive system cushioned bank managers’ salaries, helping the mortgage market expand. “No-one can see a bubble; that’s what makes it a bubble” – people lost their ability to see the forest for the trees. They were the weak link in the chain, which once broken, caused the crisis. Your finances are only as strong as their weakest link, so it’s important to diversify your risk.

Mentors

In the film, Geller and Shipley asked their mentor and retired trader Rickert for his support to meet the ISDA threshold. More than that, he taught them that greed is not good, and that their win was at the expense of millions of Americans who would lose their jobs. Have a mentor to guide you both morally and financially.

Opportunity in adversity

A final lesson from this movie, albeit a dark example, is that you can find the good in adversity. By shifting your mindset when facing failures or disasters, you can learn to find opportunity in anything.

Relevance to the SimTrade certificate

Through the SimTrade course, as well as a strong understanding about trading platforms and orders, you are taught about information in financial markets and how to use this to make successful trades. Several case studies teach you how to analyse market information to make valuations, and correctly assess how market activities will affect your own trades. The simulation and contest allow you to compete against others in the course and deepen your understanding of how a market reacts to different players.

Famous quote from the The Big Short film

An investor: “No one can see a bubble. That’s what makes it a bubble.”

Trailer of the The Big Short film

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

All posts about Movies and documentaries

▶ Akshit GUPTA The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers (2008)

▶ Akshit GUPTA Analysis of the Margin Call movie

▶ Marie POFF Film analysis: Too Big To Fail

About the author

Article written in November 2020 by Marie POFF (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2020).

Film analysis: Other People's Money

Film analysis: Other People’s Money

Marie Poff

This article written by Marie POFF (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2020) analyzes the Other People’s Money film.

“Other People’s Money” is a film about a near obsolete publicly traded company, the New England Wire and Cable Company, interwoven with romance and community spirit. Issues arise because the original wire and cable division has become an obsolete parent firm of an otherwise profitable group of subsidiaries, but it employs much of the town’s population. While exploring the world of hostile corporate takeovers and the market for corporate control, this film shows the human impact of shareholder decisions. Good capitalism and greed clash in this fight to keep shareholders satisfied and save the factory from a dying industry.

Film summary

“Other People’s Money” directed by Norman Jewison, delves into the hostile takeover of New England Wire and Cable Company (NEWC) by Garfield Industries, where corporate raider Lawrence “Larry the Liquidator” Garfield is president. New England Wire is a publicly traded, debt-free company founded and managed by the Jorgenson family. Garfield arrives offering a peaceful takeover, explaining that the wire and cable division is in a dying industry, and is harming the profitable subsidiaries by depressing the share price. He believes that liquidating the harmful wire division is necessary to act in the best interest of the shareholders. However, Jorgenson denounces this offer as a death sentence for the employees and their town, arguing that companies should protect their community and have social responsibility. However, the market value of the company’s common stock decreases to equal less than the underlying value of its assets. Garfield then makes a takeover attempt, which culminates at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting with Garfield succeeding in closing the wire and cable division of NEWC. The film ends with Kate Jorgensen calling with good news from a Japanese automobile company, who are interested in hiring the NEWC to product stainless steel wire cloth instead of wire.

Otehr peoples's money film

Financial concepts from the Other People’s Money film

Other People’s Money

Other people’s money (OPM) is a slang term referring to financial leverage, whereby using borrowed capital it’s possible to increase the potential returns, but also increase the risk, of an investment. In the film, the NEWC had an inefficient capital structure with no debt to leverage the company. Instead the company had a high amount of cash and liquid assets, as well as a fully funded pension plan for its employees, but had a debt-to-equity ratio of zero. There are trade-offs to having a higher debt-to-equity ratio, but in this case, leveraging OPM would have allowed the NEWC to remain in business by transitioning into a more profitable industry.

Corporate restructuring

Corporate restructuring is a process where the structure or operation of a company is significantly modified, usually in periods of significant distress and financial jeopardy. This could involve for example, mergers, takeovers, or divestiture. In this film, Garfield persuades the shareholders to divest of the failing division by selling the division and its remaining assets. Kate Jorgensen offers a better solution – a Japanese automobile company which will hire the NEWC to produce stainless steel wire cloth, allowing the company’s assets to be repurposed instead of liquidated.

Corporate takeovers

A corporate takeover refers to when one company makes a bid to acquire or take control of another, without necessarily obtaining the actual title. A takeover is usually done by purchasing a majority stake in the shares of the target company. In the film the NEWC is debt-free, making it attractive to corporate raiders or ‘takeover artists’, who aim to provide shareholders with a better return for their money.

Market for corporate control

The market for corporate control is the role of equity markets in facilitating corporate takeovers, and mainly refers to the market for acquisitions and mergers where there is competition for control rights. In this film, takeover artist Garfinkle is blocked from purchasing more shares in the NEWC by a judge’s injunction. He fights this as he believes that a free market for corporate control is needed to enable restructuring essential for the company to remain competitive. As a value-focused individual, Garfinkle believes in market dynamism as an effective tool for poor management, where market forces put pressure on managers to perform or risk sale of the company.

Creative destruction

Creative destruction is the union of evolutionary natural selection and economics. Resources are necessarily scarce, so the world advances only when outdated industries are encouraged to die quickly, allowing capital to be reallocated to more efficient and innovative industries. In this film, cable and wire is a dying industry due to the widespread adoption of fibre optics, so Garfield encourages shareholders to sell to him and reallocate their money towards a more productive venture. The underlying assumption is that though a transitioning industry will cause disruption, there is more to gain than lose when capital is put to best use and assets are used in an economically rational manner.

Key insights for investors

Wealth maximisation vs Social responsibility

As investors, the main goal is often to maximise wealth, and the game of making money can make it all too easy to value a business solely on its share price. However, this film shows that behind the numbers are the people who keep the business afloat, and who in turn rely on employment at the NEWC to support themselves. Jorgensen’s focus is on his social responsibility to the employees whose livelihoods depend on the wire plant, while Garfield believes in free enterprise and shareholder wealth maximisation. It’s clear that a balance between the two is required to create ‘good capitalism’, where all parties involved are treated fairly and humanely.

Many sides to every story

A meaningful insight from this film is that both players had valid reasons for their actions. While Garfield is painted as profit-focused at the expense of the employees, he’s also acting in the best interests of the shareholders – he refuses to take a “greenmail” bribe because he believes it would be immoral to sell out and victimise the shareholders whose funds are not being put to best use. Conversely, while Jorgensen is painted as the town’s hero, he is also neglecting his obligation to the shareholders by failing to recognize that his company was in a shrinking market, and would become obsolete if he did not accept innovations in the industry. This dual perspective is an introduction to business ethics, showing how utilitarian thinking can clash with other ideals pushing social responsibility and awareness. As investors, this is a reminder that there are always many perspectives to an issue, and real life is never black and white.

Relevance to the SimTrade certificate

SimTrade is a course designed to teach investors how the market works, including how to make orders and build a market position, while also teaching investors how to interpret and understand what these numbers represent in the real world. A combination of theory and practice helps you to understand the complexities of the stock market – including firm valuations, the impact of events on stock prices, and how to appreciate the degree of market efficiency.

The Other people’s money concept is introduced in Period 3 of the SimTrade certificate:

  • The Financial leverage course
  • The series of simulations about market making

Famous quote from the Other people’s money film

About leverage: “I love money. I love money more than the things it can buy. There’s only one thing I love more than money. You know what that is? Other people’s money.”

Watch Garfield making his point about wealth maximisation at the shareholders’ Annual Meeting of their company.

This could be compared to Gordon Gekko explaining “Greed, for the lack of a better word, is good” to the shareholders during the General Meeting of their company (in the Wall Street movie).

Trailer of the Other People’s Money film

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

▶ Shruti CHAND Financial leverage

▶ Akshit GUPTA Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

▶ Kunal SAREEN Analysis of the Wall Street movie

About the author

Article written in November 2020 by Marie POFF (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2020).

Analysis of the Wall Street movie

Analysis of the Wall Street movie

Akshit Gupta

This article written by Akshit GUPTA (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022) analyzes Wall Street movie.

Analysis of the Wall Street movie

The Wall Street movie released in 1987 is an American drama film based on the life of a junior stockbroker aiming to work with a major Wall Street player in America.

The movie has been regarded as the most iconic film of the 1980s throwing light on the capitalistic trading mentality existing in one of the world’s largest financial markets. It replicated the drastic changes that daring corporate raiders introduced in the financial system. It focuses and enlightens us on concepts of a financial market that we observe in our daily life, which also correlates with some of what we study in the SimTrade course.

Wall Street movie

Key Characters in the movie

  • Bud fox, a junior stockbroker
  • Gordon Gekko, A famous Wall Street investor
  • Lawrence Wildman, a corporate raider
  • Carl Fox, Bud’s father and a mechanic at Bluestar Airlines

Summary of the Wall Street movie

The movie starts by introducing a character named Bud Fox, who is a junior stockbroker at Jackson Steinem & Co, a New York City-based firm. Aspiring to work with one of the leading Wall Street players named Gordon Gekko, Bud Fox visits Gekko’s office carrying a box of contraband Cuban cigars on his birthday.

In response to Bud’s gesture and courage, Gordon Gekko offers him an opportunity for an interview that Bud has always longed for. Being unable to impress Gekko, Bud takes the extra step and plays his last card. He imparts some inside information about Bluestar Airlines to Gekko which he overheard from his father.

Impressed by the act, Gekko ends up placing an order for Bluestar Airlines’ stocks and becoming one of Fox’s clients. Over the next few months, Fox made several stock deals for Gekko but none showed an increase. Furious Gekko offers a last chance to Bud for him to keep his job. Desperate to continue working with Gekko, Fox agrees to spy on a British CEO and a corporate raider, Lawrence Wildman, and discern his upcoming plans of investments. By following him, Fox learns about an investment Wildman is planning to make in a major steel company named Anacott and take the controlling interest. By leaking the news in the press, Gekko buys the controlling shares before Wildman and sells him the same for a lucrative profit.

The deal leaves Bud significantly rich and provides him with a lot of additional perquisites. He goes on to engage in illicit trading activities and makes a lot of money for Gekko and himself. In the dark, Bud does not realize that he is being put on the hotlist by the SEC.

Bud pitches a plan to Gordon Gekko, which is to expand the Bluestar Airlines after buying it. Bud does all in his power to push the deal through. But in no time he learns about the plan Gordon has, to sell all the assets once the stock peaks, thus leading the company in ashes. Being racked with the guilt of leading all the employees into unemployment, Bud plans to manipulate the stock. He also arranges for a secret meeting with Lawrence Wildman and convinces him to buy a controlling stake in Bluestar Airlines with a significant discount.

On the execution day, Gordon Gekko, realizing that his stocks are plummeting, gets rid of his remaining stake in the company on Bud’s advice, ending up in losses. But soon, Gekko finds out about the plot set up by Bud Fox and Wildman to deceive him.

To teach a lesson to the young broker, Gekko informs the SEC about the insider trading and unethical practices undertaken by Bud Fox to make illicit gains. However, Bud ends up cooperating with the SEC to get a lighter sentence and helping SEC arrest Gordon Gekko.

The relevance of the Wall Street movie for the SimTrade course

The SimTrade course focuses on the concepts of observing the market news and using types of orders to trade and create value at the end of the trading period, which of course goes into detail. The movie correlates with the concept of market efficiency where it shows that the market functions as a semi-strong efficient market at best. Since private inside information is not embedded in the market price of the stock, there is a possibility to make gains higher than the market gains by bringing it into use. It also shows how demand and supply play a fundamental role in any financial market, driving the prices in either direction. Moreover, it establishes the importance of a buyer, a seller and a common trading platform for a transaction to occur.

The ending of the movie is quite relevant portraying how illicit and unethical behavior is dealt with in present-day markets. It also shows how effective measures have been put in place by governments throughout the world to provide traders with a transparent and efficient financial market.

Famous quote from the Wall Street movie: « Greed is good »

Watch Gordon Gekko explaining « Greed, for the lack of a better word, is good » to the shareholders during the General Meeting of their company.

Trailer of the Wall Street movie

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

   ▶ All posts about Movies and documentaries

   ▶ Akshit GUPTA Trader: job description

   ▶ Akshit GUPTA Analysis of the Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps movie

   ▶ Marie POFF Film analysis: The Wolf of Wall Street

About the author

Article written in October 2020 by Akshit GUPTA (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022).

Analysis of The Hummingbird Project movie

Analysis of The Hummingbird Project movie

Akshit GUPTA

This article written by Akshit GUPTA (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022) analyzes The Hummingbird Project movie.

Analysis of the movie

Also known as The Wall Street Project, the Canadian movie was released in 2018 featuring the evolution of high frequency trading and ultra-low latency direct market access (DMA) in one of the most developed financial markets in the world. The name ‘The Hummingbird Project’ is well suited as it relates to the time a hummingbird’s wing takes to beat. The title of the film impeccably connects with the project the movie is based upon. The movie portrays how the line between success and failure is sometimes very thin. It correlates with the SimTrade course as it teaches us how to make use of technology in markets and stay ahead of others.

25423-1775808

Summary of the movie

The The Hummingbird Project movie starts by presenting Mr. Vincent Zaleski, a stockbroker working for Eva Torres, keen on convincing Mr. Bryan Taylor, an investor, on investing in his idea of installing fiber optic cables between the Kansas Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, at a distance of approximately 1,000 miles, to front-run the orders into the system giving a time benefit of at least 1 millisecond. The high frequency trading operation would have led to an increase in profits by millions of dollars.

Buying into Vincent’s idea, Mr. Bryan shows his faith in him. In order to execute the plan, Vincent convinces his cousin Anton Zaleski, a genius programmer, to resign from their current stockbroking firm, owned by Eva Torres, and work tirelessly to achieve the new feat.

Both the brothers start working on their dream project with Anton handling the technical aspects of the technology of improving his previously coded software and Vincent working on the ground for the installation of the fiber optic cables. Anton has previously coded a software that had the capability to run trades in 17 milliseconds and now, it is required to be brought below 16 milliseconds in order to gain from the system. Since success doesn’t come easy, they encounter many difficulties in attaining their dream.

Meanwhile, Eva becomes aware of their dream project and threatens Anton against using the proprietary software he developed while working for Eva. She also finds a student, at New York University, who wrote a research paper on boosting high-frequency trading using microwave pulses. Seeing a chance to beat Vincent and Anton, Eva immediately hires the student and begins with the building of a series of cell towers to make trades using microwave pulses. As a revenge for deceiving her, Eva gets Anton arrested by the FBI under charges of stock market fraud of utilizing proprietary software owned by Eva’s company.

While Vincent struggles with the digging and the installation of the cables, Eva’s company starts their operations using the microwave impulses, and thus, the front runs the market. Meanwhile, Anton being furious with the arrest unwinds a bug that he has installed in the software, used at Eva’s company, which results in a 20 second slowdown in the high-frequency trades leading to losses of millions of dollars. In order to regain access to her system and save her company, Eva agrees to take back the charges against Anton.

Due to delays and an unforeseen health condition, Vincent fails to roll out his fiber optics project resulting in losses to the investor.

The movie ends with Anton introducing a new idea to his cousin which can bring down the processing time to 9 milliseconds, named neutrino messaging.

Relevance to the SimTrade course

The The Hummingbird Project movie perfectly blends with the structure of present-day financial markets and shows how in just a matter of a few seconds, a person can gain or lose a great fortune. The concepts taught in the movie deals with ‘High-Frequency Trading’ and ‘Direct Market Access’ which are relatively new. These correlate with the courses on exchanging orders and market makers in the SimTrade course. These orders, if executed at ultra-high speed, can help in bringing liquidity to the market and narrow the bid-ask spread. If applied with great precision and knowledge, a trader can earn big fortunes using high-frequency trading which is changing the face of financial markets.

Most famous quotes from the movie

“But the thing is, if all traders use the same system, and have the same information, how do you beat the others? By having the fastest line” – Anton Zaleski

“High speed is not our priority. We don’t believe that making things faster makes things better.” – The Amish guy

“One millisecond faster!” – Anton Zaleski

Trailer of the movie

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

   ▶ All posts about Movies and documentaries

   ▶ Akshit GUPTA Trader: job description

   ▶ Akshit GUPTA Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

   ▶ Akshit GUPTA High-frequency trading

   ▶ Federico DE ROSSI Understanding the Order Book: How It Impacts Trading

About the author

Article written in October 2020 by Akshit GUPTA (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022).

Analysis of the Barbarians at the Gate movie

Analysis of Barbarians at the Gate movie

Akshit GUPTA

This article written by Akshit GUPTA (ESSEC Business School, Master in Management, 2022) analyzes Barbarians at the Gate movie.

Analysis of the movie

Barbarians at the Gate (1993) is a television movie based on a best-selling book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. The movie focuses on the leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco that took place in 1988, making it the largest buyout till that date. It is a classic example of the takeover spree occurring in the financial system at that point in time and how the battle for taking control of a company ended up with a whopping deal value of $25 billion. The movie teaches us some really important lessons on corporate greed and the execution of multi-billion dollar deals.

Summary of the movie

Picture 1

The movie starts by introducing F. Ross Johnson, the presiding president and CEO of RJR Nabisco, a tobacco and food company headquartered in New York City. The tobacco division of the company has been working busily on the development of a smokeless cigarette named ‘ Premier’, the introduction of which is believed to drive up the stock prices of the company which have rather been sluggish for a long time.

Ross’s friend Don Kelly introduces him to a banker named Henry Kravis, who has helped Don carry out a leveraged buyout for his company and is an expert in LBOs.

Due to negative feedback received during market sampling of Premier, Ross decides to take the company private in order to save it from further stock dips and public embarrassment. He considers leveraged buyout as a potential way to pay his shareholders, by keeping the business of his company as collateral. To carry out the buyout, he hires Shearson Lehman Hutton (a division of American Express) as his primary banker, with Peter Cohen leading the charge. Ross initially bids $75 per share (amounting to $17.6 billion in total payables) to the Board of Directors, much higher than the current market price of $53, to attract the shareholders.

Since the idea of a leveraged buyout was introduced to Ross by Henry Kravis, he doesn’t like the act Ross carried by going behind his back and hiring another firm to look after the takeover. Although Kravis didn’t have substantial financial information regarding the company, he gives an offer of $90 per share amounting to a total cost of $20 billion, giving rise to a bidding war. A series of negotiations start with many major wall street bankers and lawyers swamping Ross with their offers. Meanwhile, the confidential offer details presented by Ross gets leaked in the media, bringing negative publicity for him.

With Ross and Kravis unable to come up to a settlement, final offers are asked for by the Board of Directors to be presented in the general meeting. Although Ross submits an offer of $112 per share, Kravis’s offer of $109 per share is taken into consideration and gets accepted by the Board. The Board justifies their move by showing a leaked article in the New York times stating $2.5 billion in profits Ross’s management company would have made by taking a 20% stake in RJR Nabisco. Ross wanted to own the company to continue enjoying the lucrative benefits and not for increasing its shareholder value. The Board became aware of his intentions and decided to go with the private equity firm, which is referred to as ‘Barbarian’ in the movie title.

Relevance to the SimTrade course

The concepts shown in the movie correlates to the courses taught on the SimTrade platform. The movie portrays the importance that company-specific news plays in deciding the stock price movements. The courses taught on SimTrade also teaches us to focus essentially on the current financial news to benefit from it. The movie showcases the typical acquisition of a company by the use of leverage buyout and how the buyout wave started in the early 1980s. In a financial context, a leverage buyout refers to an acquisition of a company, division, or business using a large portion of borrowed funds or debts to finance the transaction. They are often considered to be good for acquiring a company but in certain circumstances, LBOs can also leave a company with a great pile of debt to repay. The movie is also a perfect example of things that money can’t buy which includes trust, loyalty, and respect.

Most famous quote from the movie

“It’s not the company. It’s the credibility. My credibility. I can’t just sit on the bench and let other people play the game. Not my game. Not with their rules.” – Henry Kravis

Trailer of the movie

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

   ▶ All posts about movies and documentaries

   ▶ Marie POFF Book review: Barbarians at the gate

   ▶ Akshit GUPTA Analysis of Other People’s Money movie

   ▶ Shruti CHAND Financial leverage

Useful resources

SimTrade course Financial leverage

About the author

Article written in December 2021 by Akshit GUPTA (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022).

Analyse du film « Le Grand Retournement »

Analyse du film « Le Grand Retournement »

Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI KHAIROUNI

Cet article écrit par Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole – Master in Management, 2019-2022) analyse le film « Le Grand Retournement ».

Le Grand Retournement est un film français réalisé par Gérard Mordillat en 2013.

Résumé

Le Grand Retournement est une comédie qui repeint la crise économique et financière de 2008. Les banques sont au bord de la faillite. Afin de sauver leurs mises, les banquiers font appel à l’Etat. Le film dresse un contexte où l’Etat est sauveur. C’est l’Etat “Providence” qui finit par payer les pertes et redonner le souffle aux banques. Le cadre du film annonçant la fin du monde et les dialogues subtils et captivants font de ce film une critique du monde de la finance. La cupidité, la convoitise et la bêtise humaine sont soulignées. Le film se conclut par des images de révolte du peuple, poussant le public à se poser des questions sur l’avenir de ce monde. C’est un long-métrage à voir étant donné qu’il combine finance et humour. Les critiques des intervenants financiers nous poussent à méditer. Quel sera l’avenir de la finance mondiale ?

Le Grand Retournement

Lien avec le cours Gestion financière

Le vocabulaire de la finance est omniprésent dans le film « Le Grand Retournement ». Les banquiers et les conseillers financiers font allusion à beaucoup de concepts financiers tels que les swaps, les credit default obligations (CDO), etc. En outre, dans ce film, la dette est un élément clé. C’est en lien avec ce qui a été vu en cours concernant les besoins de financement des entreprises. La trésorerie (la nécessité de « maîtriser sa trésorerie » comme dit dans le film) est aussi évoquée sans beaucoup de détails. Cela nous rappelle les tableaux de flux de trésorerie. Le film fait donc référence aux tableaux de flux et à comment les interpréter.

Lien avec les métiers de la finance

Trésorier

La Trésorerie est un concept largement évoqué dans cette comédie française. On détaille ici les métiers de gestion des flux de trésorerie. La gestion des flux de trésorerie regroupe toutes les stratégies mises en place pour analyser et exploiter les flux financiers d’une entreprise. L’évaluation du montant du cash entrant et sortant est décisive pour une gestion efficace au sein d’une trésorerie.

La gestion des flux de trésorerie définit avec précision la quantité de fonds disponibles à tout moment dans l’évolution d’un groupe, ceci afin d’estimer les pertes potentielles qui peuvent l’affecter. Ces changements de flux constituent la vie quotidienne de tout business, et la gestion du cash flow assure la sécurité financière de l’entreprise dans le temps.

La gestion de trésorerie (ou cash management) se situe un niveau au-dessus de la gestion de flux de trésorerie, et doit donc comprendre à la fois les dépenses et flux de trésorerie passés. Elle doit aussi permettre de prévoir les flux de trésorerie à venir afin d’adapter la stratégie de l’entreprise et de déterminer si des fonds sont disponibles pour investir.

Bande-annonce du film « Le Grand Retournement »

Autres posts sur le blog SimTrade

   ▶ Khairouni M.D. Analyse du film « Margin Call »

   ▶ Khairouni M.D. Analyse du documentaire « Inside Job »

   ▶ Poff M. Film analysis: Too Big To Fail

A propos de l’auteur

Article écrit en juin 2020 par Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole – Master in Management, 2019-2022).

Analyse du documentaire « Inside Job »

Analyse du documentaire « Inside Job »

Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI KHAIROUNI

Cet article écrit par Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole – Master in Management, 2019-2022) analyse le documentaire « Inside Job ».

Inside Job est un film documentaire américain produit, écrit et réalisé par Charles H. Ferguson sorti en 2010. Ce film a remporté l’Oscar du meilleur film documentaire en 2011.

Résumé

Inside Job est un documentaire très utile et enrichissant pour comprendre la crise qui a secoué le monde en 2007-2008. Ferguson était exhaustif dans ses recherches et avait recueilli les avis de plusieurs intervenants financiers (Nouriel Roubini, Christine Lagarde, etc.). On trouve aussi des personnes qui défendent les banques. Le film documentaire vise ainsi à identifier un large panel d’acteurs de la finance pour montrer que cette crise aurait pu être évitable en dévoilant les relations nocives qui avaient corrompu le monde politique, les autorités de régulation et même le monde universitaire (on trouve Glenn Hibbard, Doyen de la Columbia Business School qui a été corrompu pour sortir des garanties, faussant par conséquent la réalité économique et financière).

Documentaire Inside job

Lien avec le cours Gestion financière

Comme le film « The Big Short : La Casse du Siècle », Inside Job nous replonge dans la crise économique et financière de 2008. Le documentaire aborde la finance des marchés qu’on aborde dans le cours de gestion financière. Il met le point sur les actifs toxiques et l’opacité de financement des banques. S’agissant d’un documentaire, les preuves données permettent de mieux cerner le fonctionnement des grandes banques d’investissement (Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs …) ainsi que le rôle que ces banques ont joué dans la crise.

Lien avec les métiers de la finance

Ce documentaire traite principalement les banques d’investissement.

On détaille ci-dessous trois filières dans les banques d’investissement : Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Equity Capital Market (ECM) et Debt Capital Market (DCM).

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)

Le M&A : Mergers and Acquisitions, soit en français Fusions et Acquisitions. Les équipes de M&A sont chargées de conseiller leurs clients sur des opérations de fusions, d’acquisitions, ou de cessions. C’est un métier de conseil financier avec une forte dimension stratégique: le banquier en M&A est force de proposition sur les opérations de croissance externe de son client. Le banquier en fusions-acquisitions partagera son temps entre l’exécution des transactions pour lesquelles il détient un mandat et les propositions de nouvelles opportunités d’acquisitions (pitch) auprès de ses clients.

Equity Capital Market (ECM)

L’ECM : Equity Capital Market. Les équipes d’ECM sont chargées de conseiller leurs clients sur des opérations d’introduction en bourse ou d’augmentation de capital. C’est un métier de conseil financier lié au financement par émission d’actions. De manière logique ce métier est davantage lié au marché financier que celui de M&A, ce qui se traduit par moins de travaux de valorisation et davantage de travail d’analyse du marché et de marketing auprès des investisseurs.

Debt Capital Market (DCM)

Le DCM : Les équipes de Debt Capital Market, ou DCM, sont chargées de conseiller leurs clients sur des opérations d’émission de dette. C’est un métier de conseil financier lié au financement par émission d’obligations. Également lié au marché, ce métier requiert une veille constante du marché obligataire afin de déterminer pour son client le moment opportun pour une émission obligataire au meilleur taux

Bande-annonce du documentaire Inside job



Autres posts sur le blog SimTrade

All posts about financial movies and documentaries

   ▶ Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI Analyse du film « Le Grand Retournement »

   ▶ Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI Analyse du film « Margin call »

   ▶ Marie POFF Film analysis: Too Big To Fail

A propos de l’auteur

Article écrit en juin 2020 par Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole – Master in Management, 2019-2022).

Analyse du film « Le Loup de Wall Street »

Analyse du film « Le Loup de Wall Street »

Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI KHAIROUNI

Cet article écrit par Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022) analyse le film « Le Loup de Wall Street ».

Le Loup de Wall Street est un film américain réalisé par Martin Scorsese, sorti en 2013.

Les acteurs principaux sont Leonardo DiCaprio (Jordan Belfort), Jonah Hill (Donnie Azoff), Margot Robbie (Naomi Lapaglia), Matthew McConaughey (Mark Hanna), Kyle Chandler (Agent Patrick Denham), Rob Reiner (Max Belfort) …

Résumé

Le film est inspiré d’une histoire réelle. Il raconte la vie de Jordan Belfort, courtier américain. Le film retrace l’ascension de cet homme dans les années 1980. Commençant chez L.F. Rothschild à Wall Street, il a appris les premiers secrets de Wall Street « mettre l’argent des clients dans ta poche ». Il a également appris la nécessité d’être détendu et pour cela de recourir à la drogue, le sexe …

Picture 1

Le jour de sa nomination courtier agréé, son entreprise fait faillite et il se retrouve au chômage. Il a trouvé un poste de courtier dans une banlieue excentrée. Il a découvert le hors marché en vendant des actions de petites entreprises non officiellement cotées.

Après, Jordan crée sa propre entreprise avec quelques amis extérieurs au domaine de la finance. Il a connu un succès inédit ce qui lui a permis de s’implanter à Wall Street avec sa société Stratton Oakmont.

L’agent Patrick Denham du FBI enquête sur les transferts de fonds parfois douteux entre prête-noms utilisés par Jordan. Ce dernier se réjouissait en procédant à des opérations illégales. La plus célèbre est l’introduction en bourse de l’entreprise du designer de chaussures pour femmes, Steve Madden, un ami de Donnie. Le but est de gonfler artificiellement le titre. Jordan met son argent en Suisse.

Après de nombreuses réclamations contre lui, Belfort ne peut s’en sortir qu’en vendant ses biens et en acceptant de collaborer avec le FBI en dénonçant ses associés.

Fin 1993, il est condamné à trois ans de prison.

Lien avec le cours Gestion financière

  • Le film reflète une réalité déformée telle qu’elle est perçue par le monde de la finance des années 1990. La richesse de Jordan Belfort est fondée sur des manipulations des cours, à l’instar des actions de Steve Madden dont les prête-noms détiennent tous les titres, qui sont une violation des règles des bourses.
  • On revoit également des mécanismes classiques. L’achat d’une action (la forte demande) fait augmenter son prix et à l’inverse la vente massive fait baisser son cours.
  • Il est également intéressant de parler de l’introduction en bourse de l’entreprise de Steve Madden. Comme vu dans le cours, les intervenants sont la bourse (Wall Street), l’autorité des marchés financiers des Etats-Unis (la SEC : Security Exchange Commission) et l’intermédiaire financier qu’est la banque suisse. Le rôle de la banque est d’aider l’entreprise à la préparation de l’opération.

Lien avec les métiers de la finance

Le métier évoqué dans le film est celui du courtier.

Le courtier est un travailleur indépendant doté de statut de commerçant, qui a pour mission d’orienter les particuliers et entreprises vers les contrats les plus avantageux dans divers domaines. Il négocié ces contrats au meilleur tarif et encadre les démarches.

Le courtier en bourse est un intermédiaire entre vendeur et acheteur pour passer des ordres financiers sur les marchés boursiers.

Passage marquant

Mark Hanna, un courtier senior chez LF Rothschild avoue à Jordan que la règle d’or de Wall Street est « mettre l’argent des clients dans ta poche. On crée que dalle, on construit que dalle ; on ne sait pas si la bourse montera ou pas ! Il faut toujours réinvestir les gains des clients… Et nous, on se sucre en liquide au passage ! ».

Ce passage reflète l’incertitude envahissante dans le domaine financier, mais aussi une boulimie aux gains sans vision à long-terme. L’ambition du film est bien d’atteindre au niveau de démesure dans la déformation de la réalité dans laquelle se sont laissés embarquer les acteurs de la finance internationale dans les années 1980-90.

Extrait du film

L’extrait suivant décrit une scène de vente.

Bande d’annonce du film

Autres posts sur le blog SimTrade

   ▶ Tous les articles sur les films et documentaires financiers

   ▶ Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI Analyse du film « Glengarry »

   ▶ Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI Analyse du film « La Banquière »

   ▶ Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI Analyse du documentaire « Betting on Zero »

A propos de l’auteur

Article écrit en juin 2020 par Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022).

Analyse du documentaire « Betting on Zero »

Analyse du documentaire « Betting on Zero »

Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI KHAIROUNI

Cet article écrit par Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022) analyse le documentaire « Betting on Zero ».

Un documentaire sur le désir de faire des profits, que ce soit en anticipant l’effondrement d’une entreprise, Herbalife, en spéculant sur cette manipulation, ou en encaissant sur les petites personnes à la recherche d’une part du rêve américain.

Il s’agit d’une introduction à Wall Street et d’une découverte de plusieurs notions de la finance bien expliquées.

Analyse du documentaire « Betting on Zero »

Betting on Zero est un documentaire américain réalisé par Ted Braun en 2016.

Pendant deux ans, le PDG de fonds spéculatifs, Bill Ackman a été responsable d’une énorme position de vente à découvert chez Herbalife. Pariant la chute de l’entreprise et que si le prix des actions de Herbalife descendait à zéro, ses investisseurs feraient fortune.

Betting_on_Zero

Herbalife est une grande entreprise américaine qui se charge d’effectuer du marketing pour des distributeurs indépendants. Le but ultime prôné est de garantir un bien-être financier.

L’entreprise enregistre des résultats exceptionnels surtout après l’arrivée de Michael O Johnson. Pour ce dernier, l’enjeu est de bâtir l’intégrité et la confiance.

Mais une activiste, Julie, commence à déplorer le fonctionnement nébuleux d’Herbalife. Des gens qui ont travaillé dur et qui sont souvent des immigrés évoquent leurs pertes. Il s’agit ainsi de promettre aux gens un revenu sans fond utopique, qui au final, ne rapporte presque rien.

Herbalife est parti à la conquête du monde. Le groupe s’est étendu sur tous les continents.

Bill Ackman décide la vente à découvert de l’entreprise et défend son idée : les bénéfices liés au recrutement sont plus importants que le profit des ventes.

Il répond aux accusations des personnes concernant une manipulation du succès de l’entreprise par un argument moral : donner les gains aux charités.

Les clubs de nutrition de Herbalife pour lutter contre l’obésité s’avèrent perdre 12 000$ chaque année en moyenne. Mais les gains proviennent de la « duplication » : Il faut transformer un consommateur en client, et enfin en distributeur …

Après l’annonce d’Ackman, un autre trader de fonds spéculatifs a racheté une grosse part de la compagnie. Le cours des actions a grimpé. La raison de cet achat est la haine entre Ackman et Icahn.

Pour arriver à l’équipe du président (en haut de la pyramide avec les plus hauts gains), les distributeurs devaient non seulement acheter les produits mais aussi des pistes qui fournissent les coordonnées des personnes susceptibles d’être intéressées par Herbalife, à travers un système de violation de données personnelles. En tombant dans ce piège, les personnes perdent leur argent.

Le gouvernement décide ensuite de mener une enquête. En 2016, la FTC découvre ainsi l’injustice de l’entreprise. Elle a sommé Herbalife de verser 200 millions d’amende et de « restructurer l’entreprise ».

Lien avec le cours Gestion financière

  • Un point central du documentaire est la notion de vente à découvert (Short-sell). L’exemple des pièces rares donné illustre bien cette notion. En effet, supposant que votre ami trouve des pièces rares. La pièce vaut 1000 euros. Vous pensez que ces pièces perdront leur valeur dans une année. Vous empruntez ces pièces et vous les vendez à 1000 euros la pièce. Après une année, une pièce ne vaut que 500 euros. Alors vous achetez les pièces et vous les rendez à votre ami. Donc à la fin de l’année, le bilan pour votre ami est neutre. Cependant, vous avez fait des gains importants.
  • On voit aussi dans ce documentaire les fluctuations qui régissent les marchés financiers et le poids des annonces sur les variations des cours des actions. L’achat du milliardaire Icahn d’une grande partie des actions fait grimper les cours.
  • Un autre point important est la notion de système pyramidal pour une entreprise : Herbalife vend des produits d’amincissement et des compléments alimentaires mais ce qu’ils vendent vraiment et qui profite aux distributeurs est « l’opportunité commerciale » :ce sont les achats des amis, entourage qui génèrent des commissions.

On peut ainsi évoquer le système de Ponzi : c’est un montage financier frauduleux qui consiste à rémunérer les investissements des clients essentiellement par les fonds procurés par les nouveaux entrants. L’escroquerie apparaît au moment où l’entreprise écroule. Une simple projection mathématique permet de déduire qu’au-delà d’un certain seuil, le système finit par s’effondrer.

Lien avec les métiers de la finance

Bill Ackman Portfolio manager : Il prend en compte les besoins exprimés par les investisseurs en termes de ratio rendement / risque et équilibre le risque par rapport à la performance à l’aide notamment des business plans par actif ou par portefeuille d’actifs. Il participe à la mise en place du plan de vente actif par actif qui va également orienter le plan d’acquisition. Le Portfolio manager valorise le patrimoine avec l’aide d’experts externes et, en accord avec l’Asset Management, il a pour objectif de faire correspondre les investissements aux objectifs. Il assure le reporting à ses investisseurs. Son rôle est de s’assurer de la rentabilité de la classe d’actifs gérés tout au long de la période de détention.

Passages marquants

Plusieurs passages sont marquants dans le film dont je cite :

Le fonctionnement nébuleux de l’entreprise Herbalife sans réelle enquête au début.

La compétitivité entre les deux milliardaires Ackman et Icahn qui relève les coulisses de Wall Street.

Les témoignages des différentes personnes qui ont collaboré avec Herbalife, venant de milieux différents et expliquant les pertes subies.

Bande annonce du documentaire « Betting on Zero »

Sur la vente à découvert (short selling)

Comment voir le film

Netflix / Youtube.

Autres posts sur le blog SimTrade

   ▶ Tous les articles sur les films et documentaires financiers

   ▶ Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI Analyse du film « Le Loup de Wall Street »

   ▶ Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI Analyse du film « La Banquière »

A propos de l’auteur

Article écrit en mai 2020 par Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management, 2019-2022).

Analyse du film « Margin Call »

Analyse du film « Margin Call »

Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI

Cet article écrit par Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI KHAIROUNI (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole -Master in Management, 2019 – 2022) analyse le film Margin Call et explique les concepts financiers sous-jacents.

Un film captivant et donnant à réfléchir que je vous invite à regarder !

Le film Margin Call de J. C. Chandor retrace la crise économique et financière de 2008. Avec un casting incroyable et prestigieux, ce film aborde les problèmes de la finance avec une grande subtilité. J. C. Chandor tente de faire comprendre à l’audience ce qui s’est réellement passé la veille de la crise des subprimes.

Résumé du film Margin Call

Le film se passe en 2008 et retrace la crise économique financière qu’a connu le monde à travers l’exemple d’une banque d’affaires à Wall Street. Les actions se déroulent en 24 heures et nous font suivre les différentes étapes de la catastrophe : de la naissance du soupçon à la totale prise de conscience de l’étendue du cataclysme, de l’examen des dégâts, à la fois personnels et financiers, au retentissement du gong final, lorsque le “bain de sang” des négociations s’achève. À chaque échelon de la hiérarchie, de l’analyste junior aux dirigeants historiques, chacun doit tenter de gérer la situation et assumer sa part de responsabilité dans ce cauchemar devenu réalité. Ce film montre également le caractère humain de la finance : les hommes et les femmes qui ont engendré la crise n’étaient rien d’autres que des gens ordinaires qui, malgré leurs compétences, leur intelligence et leurs salaires souvent mirobolants, ont été victimes de leur propre négligence, de raisonnements à court terme et de priorités discutables.

Liens avec le cours

Le film Margin Call a un lien étroit avec notre cours de gestion financière. Il dessine les investissements d’une banque d’affaires et le caractère dangereux et douteux des actifs qu’elle détient. Il s’agit de produits hypothécaires sources de la bulle financière qui a secoué le monde en 2008.

Comme vu dans le cours avec SimTrade, John Tuld décide de vendre les actifs toxiques dès l’ouverture de Wall Street, au matin. Les objectifs sont atteints, à savoir la vente de plus de 93% des actifs toxiques. On voit également sa volonté à être le « premier » à liquider ces titres. En effet, Tuld annonce qu’il y a trois manières de réussir « Être le plus intelligente, être le premier ou le tricher ». Admettant ne pas être parmi les plus intelligents et réfutant se classer dans la troisième catégorie, il opte pour le deuxième choix : être le premier.

Le film Margin Call montre aussi l’intérêt porté au court-terme sans réelle réflexion visionnaire. Cette boulimie financière a fini par engendrer une crise mondiale dont les répercussions se manifestent aujourd’hui. Or, dans « gestion », anticiper est primordial.

Lien avec les métiers de la finance

Eric Dale, directeur de la gestion des risques : officiant au sein d’un établissement bancaire ou financier, le gestionnaire des risques (risk manager en anglais) a pour mission d’évaluer et de maîtriser les risques encourus lors d’une opération financière pour laquelle son employeur s’est engagé.

Ses missions principales consistent à :

  • Augmenter le rendement financier sur le risque encouru
  • Déterminer les points de fragilité d’une entreprise
  • Évaluer, anticiper et analyser les risques encourus
  • Effectuer des contrôles
  • Définir les répercussions financières
  • Prévoir un équilibre entre rentabilité et sécurité

Peter Sullivan, analyste financier : il procède à l’évaluation des sociétés sous tous leurs aspects : rentabilité, ressources humaines, restructurations à opérer…

Il rencontre régulièrement les responsables de la communication financière, les directeurs financiers, directeurs généraux des sociétés du secteur qu’il étudie.

S’il travaille dans une banque, il peut exercer un rôle de conseil auprès des gestionnaires de portefeuilles sur l’opportunité d’effectuer tel ou tel placement. Dans les deux cas, il suit de très près les salles de marchés.

Passages marquants

Certaines phrases sont particulièrement marquantes dans le film :

« Les banquiers, soumis au seul besoin d’argent que leur train de vie a fini par exiger, gagnent toujours et refusent de perdre de l’agent quitte à en faire perdre à leurs clients. »

« Dans une société qui accepte toutes les passions, celle du financement à crédit permanent doit certainement se payer d’un prix, celui des crises financières. »

Ces phrases nous poussent à remettre en cause le système : même avec parfois de faibles intérêts négatifs, le système continue de fonctionner jusqu’aux crises, ces faillites d’entreprises ou de particuliers étranglés par les taux de crédits devenus exorbitants.

Bande-annonce du film

Autres posts sur le blog SimTrade

All posts about financial movies and documentaries

   ▶ Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI Analyse du film « Le Grand Retournement »

   ▶ Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI Analyse du documentaire « Inside Job »

   ▶ Marie POFF Film analysis: Too Big To Fail

A propos de l’auteur

Article écrit en mai 2020 par Mohamed Dhia KHAIROUNI (ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole – Master in Management, 2019-2022).

Analysis of the Wall Street movie

Analysis of the Wall Street movie

Kumal Sareen

This article written by Kunal SAREEN (ESSEC Business School, Global BBA, 2021) analyzes he Wall Street movie and finds out its relevance for the SimTrade course.

The Wall Street movie (1987) has been regarded as a movie that entails a day in one of the world’s largest financial markets which is truly enlightening and entertaining at the same time. It functions as a movie which is not at all an exaggeration of how the world of the financial markets operate in the daily life and puts light on how at times people end up in the market. Lastly, it focuses and enlightens on concepts of a financial market which seems to be excessively interesting and correlates with some of what we study in the SimTrade course in the ESSEC BBA program.

Summary of the Wall Street movie

In the 1980s, a character named Bud is a junior trader at Jackson Steinem & Co. He aspires to work with a renowned Wall Street player he admires, Gordon Gekko. He works in the city of the Wall Street, New York, where he tries to call Gordon Gekko’s office as many times as he can, every day, in a row. But at last, he is not able to secure an interview to have a possibility to be working with him. At last, to make things work, he plans to visit Gordon Gekko on his birthday where he brings him a gift, Contraband Cuban Cigars, in hope that he will be able to land an interview at his firm.

Wall Street movie

In response to Bud’s gesture and the courage that he implied by his actions, Gordon Gekko is inclined to offer him an opportunity and he gives him the interview that he for so long worked for. On his interview, Bud Fox pitches Gekko a portfolio of stocks at the end of which Gekko is left unimpressed. In a last attempt, Bud plays his last card and tells him inside information about Bluestar Airlines which he overheard from his father.

Gordon Gekko is curious yet intrigues and unsure. He asks Bud for time to think about their conversation. Gordon Gekko ended up placing orders for Bluestar Airlines’ stocks and ends up becoming a client of Bud. At the end Gekko gives capital to Bud to manage and investing a portfolio of stocks. But Bud ends up losing money on all the other stocks that he selects. Gekko offers a last resort to Bud and offers him to keep his job in exchange of spying on a British CEO, Lawrence Wildman and figure out his upcoming plans of investments. Bud learns the fact that Wildman’s next plan is to invest in a steel company. Through Bud, Gekko ends up making capital gains and Wildman is obligated and forced to buy Gekko’s shares to complete the takeover.

Bud ends up rich with an office and a relationship. He goes on to engage in illicit trading activities and makes a lot of money for Gekko and himself. In the dark, Bud does not realize that he is being put on the hotlist by the SEC.

Bud pitches a plan to Gordon Gekko, which is to expand the Bluestar Airlines after buying it. Bud does all in his power to push the deal through. In no time, Bud learns that Gordon plans to dissolve the company to be able to use the funds trapped in the pension plan, leaning all of the company in ashes. Bud has an idea which involves driving up the stocks of Bluestar before manipulating them back down. The other Union Presidents along with him arrange a meeting in secrecy with Lawrence Wildman and get started on their plan for him to buy controlling stake in Bluestar Airlines with a significant discount. Gordon Gekko, realizing that his stocks are plummeting, gets rid of his remaining stake in the company on Bud’s advice only to realize that Lawrence Wildman is purchasing the stocks of Bluestar Airlines at a discount and realizes the Bud had maneuvered all of that.

In the end Bud gets arrested for insider trading and ends up cooperating with the SEC to get a lighter sentence and helps them arrest Gordon Gekko.

Relevance of the Wall Street movie for the SimTrade course

The SimTrade course focuses on the concepts of observing the market news and using types of orders to trade and create value at the end of the trading period, which of course goes into detail. It focuses on all aspects of a market in terms of trading in the form of courses, simulations, contests and case studies. All the forms talk about different paradigms of the market and explains how the market functions in reality.

The movie correlates with the concept of market efficiency where it shows that the market functions as a semi-strong efficient market at best. Since private information is not embedded in the market price of the stock and there is a possibility to make gains which are more than the market gains by taking advantage of the fact that private information is not taken into account of the stock price. In the regard, how that is illegal and unethical to perform and comes with white collar punishments from the judiciary.

It further goes on to explain the basic concept of information, that is the market news about the firm influences the price of the stock. Moreover, the price of the stock can also be manipulated by the buying and selling function of the market.

Lastly, it correlates with the function of the market where there must be sellers for the buy side and buyers for the sell side, as Gekko sells and Wildman buys, at a price that meets the buy and the sell side, for an order to be fulfilled and a transaction to occur.

Trailer of the Wall Street movie

Famous quote from the Wall Street movie: “Greed is good”

Watch Gordon Gekko explaining “Greed, for the lack of a better word, is good” to the shareholders during the General Meeting of their company.

… and the follow-up 30 years after in the Wall Street money never sleeps movie

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

   ▶ Akshit GUPTA Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

   ▶ Marie POFF Film analysis: The Wolf of Wall Street

   ▶ Marie POFF Film analysis: Other People’s Money

About the author

Article written in December 2019 by Kunal SAREEN (ESSEC Business School, Global BBA, 2021).