Nowadays, there are plenty of different places you can go to learn about investing and the economic system as a whole. Hundreds of books and websites exist for this reason, but one source that often goes unnoticed are movies and films. While they are normally made for entertainment purposes, many of them can actually teach you a thing or two. This article will focus on 5 movies on Netflix Canada that can teach you about investing and the economic system as a whole.

 

Betting on Zero

Betting on Zero is a documentary film that follows billionaire activist investor Bill Ackman after he makes a billion dollar bet against Herbalife. He claims it is a pyramid scheme and tries to short their stock, to expose them as a pyramid scheme. It dives into many things that many of us average investors might not be aware of and is a great way to expand our understanding as a whole. It also covers a lot about pyramid schemes and can teach you about what to watch for to make sure you don't get involved in one.

 

Trading Places

Trading Places is a comedy that came out in 1983, but is still worth a watch to this day. It is about the story of a commodities broker and a homeless swindler, who have to switch lives after they are made part of an elaborate bet. While it is a comedy film that looks to entertain, it does include a fair amount of information about investing, finance, and gives you a closer look at what a commodities broker does. If you want to learn a bit, without being bored to death, this is a great option for you.

 

The Big Short

Not only does this film boast an amazing cast of actors, it also does a great job of educating the audience. This film is about the financial crisis in the United-States in 2007-2008, which was brought on by the housing bubble. It uses a variety of different techniques to explain complex financial concepts and makes it so your average joe can understand it. The film also has several different parts where the on-screen talent directly speaks to viewers about various different things such as subprime mortgages. All in all, the film does a great job at being both an educational and entertaining look at the world of finance and investing.

 

The Pit

The Pit came out just over a half-decade ago and is a documentary that follows around some commodities traders on the floor of the New York Board of Trade. Knowing what those people do on a day to day basis can be confusing, but this film looks to explain and take a look at it. This movie gets up close and personal with the traders and really gives you an inside look on what they do on a day to day basis. It shows the highs and lows of the lifestyle and gives you a “hard knock life” view of trading that you don't see very often.

 

Boom Bust Boom

Learning about the financial ecosystem can sometimes be a little bit dull. However, there is nobody better than Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame) to explain it to us in a way that we can understand and enjoy. This documentary uses animations, comedy, skits and more to explain the “boom and bust” cycle and other various analysis of the financial system. While it might not solely be about investing, this is still a great film that is one of the most entertaining movies on finance that has come out in quite some time.

 

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