10 Must Watch Documentaries for Finance Professionals

Fast deals. Rich brokers. Unscrupulous executives. What do these things have in common? They’re often found in some of the biggest films about the financial industry. Hollywood has a long history of sensationalizing the industry and the professionals who take part in it. If you’re not convinced, watch films like Wall Street and The Wolf of Wall Street.

While these types of movies offer high entertainment value, they tend to provide a skewed depiction of what it’s like to work in finance. But there are big-screen movies that try to show how life really is for financial professionals and their clients.

Documentaries attempt to explore and portray the financial industry realistically, warts and all. For current finance professionals looking to improve their knowledge of financial history or for aspiring professionals looking to break into the industry, finance documentaries are a great way to gain insight and knowledge. Here are 10 of the most important documentaries that should be on your must-watch list.

Key Takeaways

• Financial professionals should educate themselves about financial history and study the stories of other professionals.
• Films provide financial professionals with a quick and easy way to learn key financial concepts and moments in history.
• Hollywood films don’t always present an accurate picture of reality — even documentaries — so take everything you see with a grain of salt.

1. Inside Job (2010)

Inside Job is one of the most cinematic and informative documentaries on the 2008 housing and banking financial crisis. The movie won the 2010 Oscar for Best Documentary Picture.

In five parts, the film guides viewers through the U.S. policy changes and banking practices that led to the global financial crisis. It begins by highlighting how the economy was set up to fail, how the bubble grew between 2001 and 2007, how the crisis struck in 2008, who was accountable for the crisis, and the aftermath of the crash.

Inside Job is one of the most important documentaries for finance professionals. By understanding the history of one of the largest financial crises, it’s possible to learn from past mistakes, foresee when something like this can happen again, and prevent it from happening. 

2. Trader (1987)

The film Trader follows trader Paul Tudor Jones, showing him at his best and his worst. Jones, a hedge fund manager, accurately predicted the 1987 economic downturn based on his intuition and Elliott Wave graphs.

While Jones is extremely intelligent, he’s also highly superstitious. Trader highlights the fact that many financial professionals rely on luck as much as they do on skill. Sometimes, it takes guts along with analysis to make the correct investment decision.

The documentary also follows Jones as he donates his time and money to help New York City children graduate from high school. It underscores the importance of giving back to your community, rather than succumbing to greed.

3. 25 Million Pounds (1996)

25 Million Pounds tells the true story of Nick Leeson, a rogue trader whose unauthorized and speculative trading activity brought down Barings Bank, Britain’s second-oldest bank. Prior to going bankrupt due to Leeson’s trading-fueled losses, Baring’s was considered a stable and respectable bank that catered to sophisticated clients including the Queen of England herself. Leeson’s story was so compelling that it inspired the film Rogue Trader, which starred Ewan McGregor.

Through interviews with Leeson in the early 1990s, 25 Million Pounds allows finance professionals to peer into the mind of a dishonest trader to broke the law to suit his own needs. The interviews also highlight Leeson’s relationship with the trader Kweku Adoboli, who was found guilty of making unauthorized trades that lost the Swiss Bank UBS $2 billion.

4. Breaking the Bank (2009)

PBS has a series of documentaries produced under the Frontline banner including Breaking the Bank. The film focuses on the 2008 banking crisis and how it prompted the US government to release nearly $500 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to save troubled banks. These funds injected cash into the American banking system, ensuring that none of the largest institutions would fail.

While some say that the bailout that prevented large American banks from collapsing was necessary, others argue that the initiative subverted free enterprise and excused reckless management. The 2008 banking crisis contains valuable lessons about the risks of unregulated free market capitalism and the impact of government policy on the economy, subjects that all financial professionals need to understand.

5. The Ascent of Money (2009)

If you enjoy learning about financial history, you must watch The Ascent of Money. This four-hour documentary by historian Niall Ferguson takes viewers through a complete history of money, banking, and credit, from ancient Babylon to the 2008 global financial crisis.

Studying financial history leads to a greater understanding of how financial systems developed and shaped the world today. The Ascent of Money accomplishes this by highlighting milestones such as Babylonian futures contracts, the bond market during the Renaissance in Italy, and Francisco Pizarro’s exploitation of the Cerro Rico de Potosí—a mine that supplied Europe’s treasure houses with silver.

Important

Financial documentaries teach aspiring and current professionals about financial policy and the intricate systems that run the economy.

6. Commanding Heights (2002)

Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy provides financial professionals with a thorough understanding of the world economy in the 20th century. The film covers the various shifts between market and planned economies that occurred over the past 100 years. It also delves into the rise of globalization, its merits, and the problems of living in a globalized economy.

Commanding Heights highlights important events such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank’s response to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The film continues its journey through the end of the 20th century when deregulation became prevalent.

7. Life and Debt (2001)

Life and Debt is a documentary film that highlights how debt makes small, developing countries captive to rich ones. The film explores how IMF loans and American economic policies impacted Jamaican industry and agriculture, turning it from a self-sufficient economy into a source of cheap labor and resources for international interests. From the exploitation of the Jamaican banana industry to the destruction of its dairy farms, Life and Debt paints a portrait about dangers and drawbacks of debt lending.

8. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

Based on the 2003 book of the same name, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room dives into the collapse of Enron. The film explores the corruption and fraud that brought down the company, a lesson that all financial professionals must learn if they wish to avoid Enron’s fate.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room covers numerous financial concepts that Enron’s executives used to deceive investors and inflate their own wealth, including mark-to-market accounting, pump-and-dump fraud, and the use of shell corporations. By laying bare Enron’s financial scandals, the film reminds audiences that even the most innovative-looking companies can hide dirty secrets.

9. The Warning (2009)

For finance professionals, The Warning shows that it’s possible to foresee a financial crisis and work to prevent it from happening. This film examines the 2008 financial crisis from a different angle. It tells the story of Brooksley Born, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), who urged for tighter regulation that could have mitigated the crisis.

10. Freakonomics: The Movie (2010)

While Freakonomics isn’t strictly a movie about the financial industry itself, it brings to light a lot of interesting theories about why people behave the way they do. By taking seemingly random data points, the documentary shows how causality and correlation can be made between the two. For finance professionals, it’s important to understand what motivates people, how to read between the lines, and find connections where none previously existed.

What Makes a Good Documentary?

Film, even documentaries, is an art form. While this makes it subjective, several elements make the best films stand out.

First, all great documentaries tell an interesting story. The story doesn’t need to be grand in scope so long as it’s captivating and unique. Second, the narrative must be well-constructed, factual, and tight so as to engage and inform audiences. Finally, the film must use film techniques such as cinematography and score to enhance the viewing experience and support the story.

What Are Some Great Fictional Finance Films?

There are many great movies about finance. Popular films include The Wolf of Wall Street, Margin Call, and The Big Short. Many critics consider Wall Street (1987) one of the best finance films of all time, as evidenced by the fact that Michael Douglas won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko, a greed-obsessed corporate raider.

Are There Any Documentaries About Sam Bankman-Fried?

Several documentary films have been made about the life and downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the notorious founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. CNBC made an episode about SBF titled The Collapse of FTX: Insiders Tell All. There is also a Bloomberg Original film called RUIN: Money, Ego and Deception at FTX.

The Bottom Line

Financial documentaries humanize the world of finance, cutting through the veil of glamour and mystique that surrounds it. They can inspire viewers to take up a career in finance, promote financial literacy, and encourage ethical practices and smart government policy. As a financial professional, these films are a great place to start your learning journey, but should by no means be where it ends.