2016 Hot Docs ‘Up or Out’

Up or Out (2015) is a Dutch documentary by filmmaker Jona Honer which examines the world of investing. Honer has been given carte blanche by CEO Sebastiaan Ratha to film the inner workings of his hedge fund operations where he and his brother, Joshua Ratha, run Arete Caerus Technologies as it attempts to outperform the market and deliver positive results not only for themselves but for their investors.  The two brothers have developed an ingenious twofold investment strategy run by computer algorithms that takes the human emotion out of their investing and that attempts to profit from the fear and greed that characterizes stock investing of others.  Jetze Sikkema, System Architect, and Krispijn Te Riet, Trainee, complete the staff.

The documentary opens with a wide angle shot of Herengracht (Patrician’s Canal), one of three of Amsterdam’s most famous canals that evokes Holland’s 17th century and the Dutch Golden Age, where Arete Caerus Tehnologies is located in one of the swanky mansions that line both sides of the canal.  The documentary cuts to an interior scene of the office where we meet the two clean cut brothers immaculately dressed n suits sitting at computer terminals discussing trading strategy.  As the documentary captures the inner workings of their hedge fudge operation as Joshua attempts to execute successful trades and Sebastiaan tries miserably to line up new investors, their investment strategy shows signs of cracking.  Board meetings capture the grim reality of their dire situation as they become illiquid and are eventually forced to execute painful decisions as they have become “an empty shell with a lot of bills and people on the payroll” in order to move forward and grow from their experience.

Seeing them go from an office of three to four and eventually down to two and seeing the two brothers discuss their move from Herengracht and future visually reminded me of how dreams blow up and investment strategies fall out of favour.  The title of the documentary Up and Out is very apropos.

I liked Up and Out for it serves as a cautionary tale for investors of any strip who attempt to outsmart an unpredictable stock market which is easily spooked, characterized by daily volatility, and unpredictable systemic and market risk.  Kudos to Sebastiaan Ratha for allowing Jona Honer to film his hedge fund operations and kudos to Jona Honer for giving us an unbiased glimpse into  the world of investing.  It should be required viewing for any investor who imagines he or she can outperform the stock market but especially for banks, pension plans, and mutual funds who are entrusted with our hard earned savings to invest wisely and not to get caught up with investment fades.

Up or Out will be playing at various theatres:

Scotiabank theatre 7 on May 4 @ 7:00 p.m.
Scotiabank theatre 14  on May 5 @ 9:15 p.m.
Scotiabank theatre 7 on May 8 @ 9:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased here!