Quants are the math wizards and computer programmers in the engine room of our global financial system who designed the financial products that almost crashed Wall st. The credit crunch has shown how the global financial system has become increasingly dependent on mathematical models trying to quantify human (economic) behaviour. Now the quants are at the heart of yet another technological revolution in finance: trading at the speed of light. What are the risks of treating the economy and its markets as a complex machine? Will we be able to keep control of this model-based financial system, or have we created a monster? A story about greed, fear and randomness from the insides of Wall Street. Director: Marije Meerman Research: Gerko Wessel
• Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
Category: Model
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25 Responses
@daweiatwork Risk vs Rewards buddy, a lot of them lose everything several times before they succeed once.
@LaughingLefty Quants are defiantly not the overall problem.
@daweiatwork No, it isn’t fair. Wealth is fine, but with a true graduated taxation and a high min. wage. I was on a train 2nd class visiting home in the US prior to 2000 and talking finance with a guy. Raising my voice: “no one should be able to make billions!”. I could feel the resistance around me to such an “unAmerican” statement. People didn’t look too well off: beneficiaries of “trickle down” econ.? Very important doc., but only part of the story.
Stop the Quants, save the world.
all you need is a thesis/argument about what the future will bring. You use data, anecdotal or quantitative facts, then you make a bet. To use only mathematical modeling using only quantitative data, where you measure human behavior with a constant, then you are screwed. I’d rather bet on a man who trades on in-depth substantive analysis about what we are trading.
@braemstabraemsta
I’ve noticed that, but thanks for warning anyway
@Cacacos duh what you mean is value investing. without opinion, but this documentary has nothing to do with value investing sir
is it fair for financial people to earn so much ?
@MegaBhatti1987 – It was in Forbes Magazine back in 1980-81, I don’t remember exactly when, but gold was really hitting big during that period.
@gcglasser could u tell me the name of that book?
“In the end you can not fool nature”
Richard Feynman
@SalsaTiger83 Yeah, but this movie isn’t criticizing financial markets, it’s criticizing banking.
“Read BEN GRAHAM & PHIL FISHER” says Warren Buffett, simply the most successfull guy at playground…
So… let’s read them and forget about fancy (and phony) math…
@SalsaTiger – True that we need financial markets.
Unfortunately, with the advent of deregulation… all of the sociopaths came out to play’. They have used hellishly sophisticated contracts and formulas successfully to HIDE the actual risk or dimish the appearance of risk and trick innocent investors into buying trillion$ of toxic crap.
Millions have been seriously hurt by this massive fraud (derivatives, CDO’s) and the greatest wealth transfer has now taken place. The damage is done.
James Sinclair has said: The formulas established by these people, regarding settlement & risk (for derivatives, etc) often times resembled… “a cartoon”.
The assumption behind a lot of this stuff was that “no matter what happened” (i.e. no matter how craZy or unworkable/unrealistic these formulas were) the markets would “work things out” & everything would “balance out”.
These formulas were also perverted further to hide risk in many cases. This was done to make Wall Street thugs rich.
@tubebunny7 ok so now as a farmer he gambles more than he did before…
@SalsaTiger83
He never gambled on wallstreet. Nothing funny about it. He was a programmer not a “gambler”.
@ungamedplayer
Never mind, just saw your other reply.
@ungamedplayer
Did you even watch the video? Weird.
Time to wake up. Consciousness vs Mind Control
watch slavoj zizek’s comment on this !
@therrydicule a very thought provoking comment
I once read an interview with a gold trader and survivor of the Nazi death camps in Forbs. The most interesting he had to relate was that when he was on the train going to the death camp, he saw a guy trade a bag of diamonds for a drink of water.
33:00 Economists don’t think their theories represent any sort of law…
18:25 really interesting graphic and explanation