Customer Reviews

Michael Covel's Trend Following Film: Broke

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this DVD, Michael Covel himself travels around the world just after the Banking/Real Estate collapse of 2008/9 and interviews:

Real estate agents - Covel drives around with an agent and looks at the devastation of vacant neighbourhoods and abandoned homes. A scene I found funny was when he stood on a proposed development in Delray Beach, Florida. He gets an agent on the line and says "I mean seriously it doesn't look like there is going to be a home development here for the next 10 years." The agent replies "yes". Aside from this this section is sad. I feel speculators should have known what they were getting into but it is still sad nevertheless.

Poker players - Some of these guys are professionals and make millions from playing Poker, one of the few casino games where one can beat the house. Being a good poker player brushes up your trading skills. The best player doesn't necessarily win the most hands. They just bet when the probabilities are more stacked in their favour.

Lottery players - Millions of ordinary people think they are going to get rich in a game where the odds are simply stacked way against them.

Traders (Larry Hite, Salem Abraham, Jim Rogers, Peter Borish, Jonathan Hoenig, David Harding, Kevin Bruce, Barry Ritholtz and more) - I enjoyed this part the most. These guys have made it big and just listening to the way they speak and think makes you realise how good they are. Furthermore, most MADE money by going short and taking advantage of the crash. On the flipside, those who bought 5 condos for nothing down are left without their shirt.

There is also footage of the crashes in 1929, 1972, 1987, 2000 and 2008, outlining the herd mentality of people who would rather be right & wrong with the herd than wrong and all alone...

The DVD is extremely watchable and I think when the next steamy bubble unfolds, it will be a gentle reminder that the world can be a scary place at times.

This film is quite impressive. Covel travels the globe and interviews big name people from Poker campanions to Jim Rogers, Salem Abramah, Larry Hite, and Charles Faulker. Many of whom were original Market Wizards. He starts with a basic question regarding the state of the economy and the investment game - so many of us want to get ahead, but why can't we? He analyzes the current crisis but doesn't waste time trying to explain all the "whys" of the situation (enough people are already doing this). He covers the effects, and points out there have always been booms and busts.

One of my favorite parts is his coverage of the state run lottery systems, where America spends around $50 billion annually on lottery games. With the odds of these games in mind, Covel points out that we obviously do not understand numbers. Furthermore, this government run lotteries are actually hidden taxes on the poor (the biggest buyers of lottery tickets).

The real gem in the video is he shows how the Jim Cramer's, CNBC's, etc. do not know what is going on. Their business is to sell advertising by having the highest ratings. Their system is to keep up the status quo, and from this angle it is impossible to get ahead. BUT(!) he says there is a solution for all of us that want to get ahead, and that is trade or invest with a mathematical advantage, and to stop eating the crap that CNBC and company shovel out on a daily basis. I love Covel for going against the grain and telling it how it is!

In this film Covel asks a lot of questions. But a main point is to get people to think about who is responsible for their financial situation. Are you willing to take responsibility for your situation or is it more comfortable to blame others? Watch this video and decide if you want to be broke or willing to work to be successful.
This film is worth every penny if you are willing to think about the what Covel is trying to communicate.

One of my major complaints about Michael Covel's film is that it seems a bit unfocused, the pacing is a bit lethargic in some places, and the editing is off. This sounds like a bit of a harsh critique, but I assure you the film is still worth it. Broke is one of the more entertaining documentaries out there, with a lot of information on a little known subject of how many people have beaten the markets for years and years, and that's through the method of trend following.

Michael Covel has made a career of teaching the mechanical method of Trend Following, a strategy of buying stocks/futures/currency and the such at new highs, and shorting them at new lows, never averaging losers, never trying to pick the top or pick the bottom. He goes through the housing market crisis, he goes after CNBC, which, in my opinion, is the Halmark of this film.

He is not crude, or mean, or offensive, he doesn't insult, just questions the logic, and lets the experts speak from there. Even the experts that have been on the show like Barry Ritholtz or Timothy Sykes that had been on other such shows, reveal their scepticism over how valid some of these things are, almost everyone claiming they wouldn't invest in anything that CNBC said, just because it was on their show. The experts get it wrong all the time. He especially goes after Jim Cramer, for whose loud banter, complete assault on one's senses--sounds, images, and emotional intrigue--becomes a labyrinth of crazy ideas on investing. Now, Covel, who stands against the concept of fundamental investing, who thinks the worst advice an investor or trader could ever take is to average losers, has especially harsh criticisms, and again allows the experts their critiques.

The rest of the film takes us through the poker tables, to the stupidity of lotteries, to the hypocrisy of our government banning online poker--a game that skill can win--and banning average investors from investing in Hege Funds, funds whose runners get paid for their success, but allowing Americans to buy futures, day trade, with no experience, or put their money in Mutual Funds, whose only incentive is that they get paid a percent of the money no matter how much money is in the account--a hedge fund might take a function fee of 1% or so, but they get most of their money as a performance fee, a real incentive that creates wealth.

His promotion of trend following is filled with interviews with some of the greatest trend followers in the world, Salem Abraham, Larry Hite (the legendary Market Wizard), and others. The whole of this documentary is greater than the sum of its parts. It has some great humor to it, even my father who's watched three documentaries in his entire life, two of Michael Moore's, and this one, enjoyed this film a great deal.

I'd highly recommend it.

I'll give this two stars because it was entertaining, but all of Covel's flaws are on full display here. Lots of both personal and survivorship bias. While I'll agree about dissing Jim Cramer (and Suze Orman for that matter), Covel is really no better and does the exact same thing.

In areas we agree on, it's serious DUH!!! time. You shouldn't buy a house you can't afford and the lottery isn't an investment. While it's a pity more people don't get this---it also ignores that over time, homes do appreciate and while the real estate bubble has burst, eventually all those homes will be worth more than what's owed (a house was always meant to be a LONG TERM investment). Also, if you buy your house with the idea of <gasp> paying it off, eventually you live largely rent free.

Most of the buyers I'm meant to have sympathy for just looked really stupid to me. And I found it hilarious that all the real estate agents were suddenly so judgemental of mortgage brokers and flippers. These same realtors were the ones that sold single mothers homes with $1800 per month mortgage payments (seriously, my husband and I would feel pinched with that payment with two good incomes) and happily pocketed their commission checks.

As for gambling as an investment---I'll confess to buying a weekly Powerball quick pick (and I suppose I could put that $50 per year to better use), but I'm certainly not planning my retirement around it. That said, to put professional poker players in front of me and say "here's the way you can make money in gambling" is like putting any professional athlete up there and saying, "see???? that pick up game in the park could make you rich!". They're professionals, with finely honed skills I don't happen to posses.

In all, this is a very disingenuous film. Covel is largely a motivational speaker (today's snake oil salesman), offering his own get rich quick scheme---he's just prettied it up by dissing the very people he's no better than.

This is a very entertaining and original movie, and I highly recommend it. It exposes the truth that the government, media & Wall Street are not your financial friends. Of all of the movies about the recent financial meltdowns, this is the best and most original.

Michael Covel provides insights into many financial issues that impact all American's. The movie looks into the Subprime/Housing Meltdown of 2008, and those responsible...the answers may surprise you. Where were the regulators when people were buying multiple homes with no equity, no jobs, and no credit? This film exposes who the winners and losers were. The fact is after all of the controversy, not much has really changed.

He also exposes the truth behind Social Security and State-Sponsored Lotteries. Why is online gambling illegal in the U.S., but citizens are allowed to gamble their savings away on lotteries that, statistically, they can never win?

Many top level financial markets traders are interviewed, including legends Larry Hite and Jim Rogers, also David Harding and Salem Abraham, two of the best traders many have never heard of. He also interviews many poker greats, including Howard Lederer, and Nobel Prize winner Harry Markowitz.

What struck me about the movie is how the Director was able to tie together so many different, yet inter-related subjects in a highly original, entertaining and informative movie.

If you are a trader, serious about money, or have reasonable money invested - watch this movie. It's a little harsh, but facts are facts. It will make you smarter about the way you treat your investments, retirement, or whatever.

Being in China when the 2008 financial crisis started, I didn't get a first person perspective as to what really happened. Yes, the stock market tanked. Yes a few banks went under. But there was not much information regarding what really happened to the people in the US (main street).

The documentary goes in depth and shows what happened to the American neighborhoods where people lost their houses; how families were robbed.

One of the most striking scenes was a part where a vacant house was robbed of its kitchen tables and utilities. This shows desperation and gives a glimpse on what happens when greed takes control.

I recommend this documentary to everyone who wants to know what happen in 2008.

Absolutely everyone who values their hard earned money should see this film!

As a non american (Australian) it's scary, alarming and downright sad how the majority of Americans are blindly living the "new american dream". Some very sobering lessons can be learnt from the tough times documented through this DVD.

You don't need to be a finance guru to understand what is talked about in this film.

All in all, very educational, a wake up call and also entertaining. Well worth the watch!

Covel helps you to see what most choose to ignore. Most of what he says is obvious but somehow most still choose to ignore what he is telling you. Learn to know what is going on so you can ride the waves instead of getting buried by Tsuami's!