Floored (2009)

Trader's Film Library #79 · People, money and institutions. A farewell to the Chicago trading pits, told by a former pit trader.

Original title: Floored · Type: documentary · Created by: James Allen Smith · Usefulness for traders: ★★★★☆

What it's about

A documentary about the pit traders of Chicago's futures exchanges at the time when electronic trading was pushing the shouting crowd out of the halls. The director was a pit trader himself. He talks to people who made fortunes and to those who lost everything, and also shows the history of the exchange from the days when butter and eggs were traded.

What it has to do with markets

The film shows the end of an era: people who made a living for years reading the crowd in the pit suddenly have to trade in front of a screen or leave. It's also very honest about the costs of the job: addictions, health problems and tragedies. It's the same market where we trade futures today, just in a different form.

Lessons for traders

• an edge that worked for years can vanish when market structure changes
• trading has a mental and physical cost: look after your body and mind (Trader fitness)
• order flow has always existed: once you could hear it in the pit, today you can see it in the order book

What to watch out for

A modestly made documentary, and some reviews were cool. Its value is in the people and the history, not the form.

Discussion

The discussion takes place in Hetman Capital Club (in Polish). Join the discussion in the Club →

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The description outlines the plot without revealing the ending where possible (true stories have a known outcome). Educational content, not investment advice.