Other People's Money (1991)

Trader's Film Library #7 · Markets and trading in fiction. A lesson in valuation in the form of a comedy with great actors.

Original title: Other People's Money · Type: film · Created by: Norman Jewison · Usefulness for traders: ★★★☆☆

What it's about

Larry Garfield (Danny DeVito), a hostile-takeover specialist, wants to buy an old-fashioned cable company and sell it off piece by piece. It's defended by its old chairman (Gregory Peck) and his daughter, a lawyer.

What it has to do with markets

The film shows the logic of an investor who looks only at asset value, and the dispute over whom a company serves. The famous shareholder-meeting scene is two speeches: one about tradition, one about cold calculation.

Lessons for traders

• the market prices future cash flows, not sentiment
• attachment to a company is the endowment effect (#40)
• each side has its own logic: understand who is on the other side of the trade

What to watch out for

A comedy with a moral. The mechanics of takeovers are simplified.

Discussion

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

Navigation

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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.